Troop 2 NewsCenter

Committee Meeting Minutes - February 2008

Called to order: 7:15 pm

Present: Jack Armata, Paul Sobierajski, Tish Michelson, Shannon Vinton-Delmore, Matt Fitzgerald, Tom Pittsley, Jackie Sobierajski, Brian Donahue, Jay Bradley, Kevin Pratt, Debbie Armata

Minutes from January meeting approved. – Minutes are not being mailed to new scouts’ homes – P. Sobierajski will send T. Michelson a new roster for mailing to bring to Mrs. Grant

Senior Patrol Leader Report – not present – no report

Medical Officer Report – Debbie Armata – currently reviewing forms for Summer Camp 2008 – will have list of what is needed for each Scout at the Feb. 28th parents meeting.

Scoutmaster Report – Jack Armata

• Light attendance at last few meetings due to school conflicts.
• Jr. Leadership structuring meetings so that scouts can go from Scout to First Class in one year
• SPL elections will be in March – J. Armata spoke with the 5 eligible boys about guidelines for a 3-5 minute speech

Advancement Report – Jay Bradley –

• no new advancements since recent Court of Honor
• February vacation – Bryant Hopkins taught Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge – 17 scouts attended
• Several parents have stepped up to offer to teach merit badges: B. Nealon, A. Donahue, S. Mullahoo, and D. Bertonazzi – Troop will follow up with them

Service Opportunities/ Eagle Projects

o Mike K– resubmitting
o Matteo – moving forward with project
o Mike B– project is to paint Whitinsville pool – needs approval

Outdoor Trips/Activities Report

o Merit Badge College – March 8 and March 29 – registration is closed – if Scout signed up MB booklets should have arrived in the mail –Blue Cards need to be signed by Mr. Armata
o Camp Sayre (Blue Hills Milton, MA) – March 15 & 16 – pool is not open – permission slips will be out at Feb. 28 scout meeting – plan on possibly doing a 5 mile hike and 1 mile orienteering trek
o Louisa Lake Open House - March 29 – Bryant Hopkins has approved flyer - Paul will print flyers – ADULT NEEDED TO SUPERVISE SET UP AND DAYTIME ACTIVITIES
o April – Spring Camporee – May 2 – May 4 – Hopkinton State Park – nicer area than previous year (near pavilion) – OA call out will be done – the is Sports – planning on night events – cost will be approximately $15-$20
o Advancement Day – tentative date 5/10 – no plans yet – day for scouts to get sign offs for rank
o Memorial Day weekend – flagging/Camporee/parade/luncheon – “Milford Scout” (Boy/Cub/Girl) Camporee organized by Ray Hirx and Chuck Clark – in planning stages – will be held at Votolato Field Saturday after flagging – goal will be to raise money to purchase Girl Scout cookies to send to soldiers – Troop 2 will be selling baked apples to raise money – Also, talk of a quilt project Joann Fabrics has offered to sew together with messages to soldiers – various activities will be going on – Packs/Troops will have information tables – bonfire – skits – songs- Mike Shain has volunteered to organize the veterans luncheon on Monday – motion for Troop to sponsor luncheon was passed
o Whitewater rafting – June 22– will be two trips – Level 3 & 4 in Deerfield for older boys and Level 1 & 2 in Zore Gap for those under 14 – sign ups are slow – Tom Pittsley is sending a weekly email reminder – debate about opening trip to others if we cannot fill spots – concern about insurance/liability – no decision made
o Summer Camp – July 20-25 – Parent meeting Feb. 28th 7 pm – sign-ups have begun – early bird fee $290 – 2nd week $229 – sibling fee $234 – website will have forms shortly – Camp Resolute has replaced many tents and replaced the floor in the lodge – working on different themes – also, going to have a “partial day” where you can pay a fee and attend for the day to finish any merit badges for which you only have partials – this will be held during a specialty week – Golf merit badge will be offered this summer for an extra fee – Many adults have expressed an interest in going to camp this summer – possibly more than we need – which is a good position to be in – Sean Riley will be Commissioner of Camp
o MASSJAM will be October 11, 12 & 13, 2008 at the Barnstable County Fair Grounds – Scouts from all over the country – Matt Fitzgerald volunteered to be Tripmaster and liason
o New England Experience – Scottish Scouts visiting in Oct. 2008 – will not be here for MASSJAM – Troop 2 will have list shortly of what is expected of the hospitality homes – two vans will need to be rented
o Yellowstone – tabled until Summer 2009

Quartermaster Report – not present – nothing to report

Chairperson’s Report – Paul Sobierajski

o Other Troops in town: Dues $48 and $45 plus registration of $23 for totals of $71 and $68. Troop 2 has been $60 total for several years. Discussion of raising fee to $75 and only having Camp fundraiser (to mitigate individual cost of camp – completely voluntary)

Treasurer’s Report – not present – has the flu

Fundraising Update – Shannon Vinton-Delmore

o THERE ARE STILL BOXES OF CANDY TO BE SOLD – PLEASE CONSIDER BRINGING ONE TO WORK SO THE TROOP CAN RECOUP THE MONEY THEY INVESTED
o Gillette Stadium will let the Troop know in the Spring about running the concession stand for several events
o will ask the parents as Camp meeting on the 28th about participating in a Summer Camp fundraiser of some sort that the Scouts may use to defray their individual Summer Camp costs
o Silent Auction tentatively scheduled for November 2008 – motion to start Sub-Committee passed – Shannon will Chair Auction Sub-Committee

Training Report – Nancy Bradley via Jay Bradley

• some adults have not completed YPT – Nancy will send Jack a list
• there has been an update to the Scout books regarding rank requirements for several ranks – changes include topics such as bullying and internet safety

Old Business – none

New Business

o Ray Hirx – Unit District Commissioner – wanted Council to meet with Scout parents for a 30 minute meeting regarding supporting the Council financially – the Committee passed a motion to send Council a donation of $250 in lieu of the parent meeting
o Council also needs to purchase a computer program to streamline the Merit Badge Counselor process – motion was passed to increase $250 donation to $260 with the additional $10 to be applied to the purchase of the software
o Jack Armata has been invited to the Blue & Gold banquets for the three Packs in town – there are 4 Webelos crossing over to Troop 2 that are definite – unsure about any others

ADJOURNED: 8:40 pm