June 2007
Committee Chair’s Corner
Marsha Kofman, Committee Chair, rdhetal@yahoo.com, 429-0794
Summer is knocking on our doors, indicating another school year has come to a close. I would like to thank all of the Leaders and parents who gave of their time to help make this program exist. Without you, the events would not have occurred. Thank you to Mrs. Becker, Mrs. Dougherty, and Mrs. Collette for running very successful fundraisers for Summer Camp and the Citizenship Merit Badges.
Troop 401 runs a year round scouting program. Although we do not have weekly meetings, the scouts can have regular Patrol Meetings. The Troop also has events scheduled for the summer. The Troop will be marching in the 7/4 parade and running the Dunk Booth at the Town Midway. This will be a fundraising opportunity for the Troop and boys. Please be sure to sign up for a time to work. Summer camp is scheduled for 7/8 to 7/14. Whip O Will maintenance from 8/2 to 8/12. The Fishercats Baseball game against the Portland Sea Dogs is August 25th. The Ice Cream Social is scheduled for 8/27. Everyone is encouraged to participate in these events. Your help is always welcome with any of these events. Please contact me to see where your assistance could be best utilized.
Have a great summer and see you at the next event.
Marsha Kofman, rdhetal@yahoo.com, 429-0794.
Scoutmaster’s Minute
Mike Marston, Scoutmaster, marstonm@comcast.net, 424-0017
Troop 401,
Well, summer is almost here. I hope everyone has big plans to have the best summer ever. I look forward to hearing all about your adventures.
We will be marching in the July 4th parade and running a Dunk Booth at the midway, please come if you can. The more the merrier!
Although troop activities and meetings wind down some for the summer, scouting does not stop. Summer is a great time to work on merit badges as well as working on rank requirements.
There will be a few other things going on over the summer, so keep tuned into the Troop email for announcements.
There are a great many rank and merit badges being awarded at our final COH for this spring. I would like to congratulate all boys on a job well done. Keep up the good work.
The troop celebrated many who attained the rank of Eagle as well as a large group of boys that have just started up this prestigious trail.
As always, contact me at any time if I can be of assistance.
YIS
Mr. Marston
Scoutmaster, Troop 401
Cell: 603-494-9023
Email: marstonm@comcast.net
Upcoming Events
June
29-7/1 Overnight Canoe Trip – Patuckaway State
Park
July
4 Parade and Dunk Booth - Town Midway
8-14 Summer Camp
August
4 Whip O Will Maintenance
16 Committee Meeting
25 Fishercats Baseball Game
27 Ice Cream Social
Announcements
Committee Meetings
There will not be a Committee meeting in July. But the August meeting will be August 16th (the third Thursday not the second.) All parents and leaders are encouraged to attend the Committee Meetings to share your ideas. We meet at St. James Church, at 7 PM.
Whip O Will
The Troop is scheduled to perform our Community Service at Whip O Will Saturday, August 4th. A reminder email with the time will be sent at a later date. Please mark your calendar.
With all of the rain, the fields have had lots of water that will result in lots of growing. We need to cut the grass, weed wack, and stack the wood in the axe yard. This is an area we have used throughout the year and we need to help maintain it. Also, the gate road is closed, until further notice, to vehicles due to the flooding. Notice will go out when it is reopened.
Thank you in advance for your time and work to help maintain this local and convenient location.
Summer E-mails
Often, the Troop is presented with opportunities to attend events or gifted tickets to shows. The fastest way to get the word out is through the Troop email lists. Please check your email on a regular basis even during the summer to participate in those opportunities.
Troop Historian Seeking Items
Michael Dougherty, troop historian, is seeking photos and programs from past Eagle Courts of Honor and troop Courts of Honor. From this collection, he hopes to form a troop archive of these important documents. If you have any to donate, please give them to Michael or to Mr.
Marston. If you can label the back of photos with names/dates, that would be very helpful. Thanks!
Summer Merit Badge Work
I would encourage all of the scouts to work on Merit Badges this summer. School work and activities are not occupying all of your time. Projects can be done and adventures can be planned to meet the requirements of many Merit Badges. See the Scoutmaster, Mr. Marston or Mr. Tucker, the Advancement Chairman for a current list of Merit Badge Counselors so that you can get started. Don’t forget to get your Blue Cards and talk with the counselor before you start the Merit Badge.
Woodbadge, the ultimate Leadership skills training, will be held at Hidden Valley on Friday – Sunday, Sept 14 -16 and 28 - Oct 1. Highly recommended and FUN! Sign up before this course is filled. Call Robin for more information. 880-8222
Powderhorn Outdoor Skills Resource training will not be held until July 2008. Mark your calendars.
The last Court of Honor for this year is a special one. Not only are we awarding every rank of advancement from Scout to Eagle, but presenting two new Eagle Scouts to the troop! This is an exciting event especially to those who have not been to an Eagle Court of Honor before. There will also be the awarding of approximately fifty merit badges. Please be sure to thank Mrs. Kofman, Mr. Marston, and all the Assistant Scoutmasters for all they have done for you this year. They are the ones that make sure the program you are in remains a quality and fun time of your life.
A special note to boys approaching Eagle, as you turn in your merit badges to me, please be aware that I do not go to the Scout council on a weekly basis. If you are planning on submitting your Eagle forms soon, please check with me first to verify all your merit badges and to be sure I have submitted your merit badge applications and any other paperwork before you do.
Mr. Tucker.
Fundraising
Fishercats Fundraiser
There are still Fishercat Tickets available for Saturday, August 25th, at 7 PM. This game is against the Portland Sea Dogs, (the Red Sox farm team.) Ticket price is $8.00 each. The troop owns the tickets. If we don’t sell them all, then the troop looses money. The Troop Committee planned on every scout only needing to sell five tickets each. Sooooo, please sell, sell, sell. Please turn in your money as soon as possible to Mrs. Kofman or Mr. Allard.
The same night as the game, the parents and adult leaders 18yrs or older will be able to work the Concession stand. This has been a very successful fundraiser in the past. You can help earn money for your son’s scout account. Parents, please sign up and mark your calendars. A great time is always had by all!!!!
Patrol News & letters
THANK YOU!
Some of the boys working on Citizenship in the Community and Citizenship in the World merit badges combined the spirit of both badges and ran a yard sale on May 26th as a community service project for the benefit of the Hogar Miguel Magone Boys Orphanage in Guatemala, Central America—a rather global idea of ‘community.’
The goal of these boys was to gather items to sell, come together collectively to do the selling, and pool the money in the hopes of having enough to purchase a new pair of shoes for each boy. This would be a special, and much appreciated treat for the boys of the Hogar Miguel Magone Orphanage. The target was a lofty goal of $750.
Although the yard sale was postponed once due to inclement weather, the morning of May 26th proved to be just perfect for a yard sale. The sale was on at 7:00 AM and set up had begun at 4:00 AM. Eight hours later, we were sufficiently worn out from the polite bartering of the day, and we had $1,026 earned for the orphanage! All forty-three boys currently residing there will take a special trip to a shoe store in August, and, due to the efforts of the Troop 401 boys, will be able to not only buy a pair of shoes, but will have money also for socks. When you have next to nothing, such a trip is nothing short of wonderful!
Special thanks go to all who made this possible with their selfless acts:
Aaron Becker, Daniel Becker, Matthew Becker, Nathan Demers, Brendan Dougherty, Michael Dougherty, Tyler Golemo, Joel Yates, Mr. & Mrs. Becker, Mr. & Mrs. Demers, Mrs. Dougherty, Mr. Golemo, Mrs. Yates and Jake Therrien
Thank you,
Kathleen Collette
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Hello Troop 401
We have 2 new Eagle Scouts in Troop 401, they are Scott Shidlovsky and Robby
Frost. Great job guys.
Hopefully we will see many more to come.
YIS,
Mr Courtemanche
Assistant Scoutmaster
On Being a Scout….
“Scouting exposes young men to people and experiences that encourage and nurture positive moral values. But we mustn’t take Scouting for granted. You can do nothing more important for young people today than to continue, or begin, your support of Scouting. I have never met anyone with devoted Scouting experience who was not a solid citizen, a loyal friend and a patriot. We need more of them!” -Wallace G. Wilkinson, Former Governor of Kentucky