Troop 398 News - Dec 31

Don't Forget the Polar Bear Plunge
Start the New Year off with something different and challenging – join your Scoutmaster and Senior Patrol Leader at SportsCom for the 8th annual Polar Bear Plunge at the outdoor pool this Sat., January 2, 2010. Dennis Harden, the Mansfield's, Whitaker's, Hines', Meyer's and Spivey's have eagerly (?) signed on. Last I heard, Steve and Jarod Dix were still searching for an excuse not to come. Will Luke Clement make it two years in a row?  Still no word from Chantal "Back Paddle" Quiterio and Jane "Oshi" Paxton! Maybe the Ervin's will bring Beth over so she won't feel so bad about returning to the Philippines in Jan! The more the merrier! I've got a miserable cold, but I'm hoping the frigid water will kill the germs! Bring an article of non-perishable food for admission.  Hot Chocolate, coffee and donuts will be provided starting at 8:30 AM. The plunge itself is scheduled for 10:00 AM. Wear your troop 398 T-shirt plus any other weird garb you might have! Last weather report was predicting 32 degrees on Sat. … we may even get a chance to really "break the ice" … won't that be C-O-O-O-L !!!

Troop Meeting
This Monday, Jan. 4th will be our first troop meeting of 2010.

January Campout
We will be attending the Trail of Tears District Winter Camporee at Camp Tubbs, near Rock Island, TN, Jan. 8th – 10th. The theme will be celebrating the 100 years of scouting.  We always look forward to the possibility of snow in Jan!

Since time is short, please reply to this email if you plan to attend!

Super Bowl Barbeque Fund Raiser
Pick up tickets for the Fund raiser tonight. We want to sell as much as possible by Monday, Feb 1st.  Tell your customers that they need to buy a ticket in order to make sure they will get their order. You can collect their money when you fill out the ticket or they can pay you when they pick up their order on Feb. 7th. Each scout is encouraged to sell at least 5 orders. Top salesman wins a $165 campership.

Eagle Court of Honor
Everyone is invited to attend Michael Daniel's Eagle Court of Honor at 2:00 PM on Sunday, Jan. 17th at First Presbyterian Church.

Everyone is also invited to attend Drew Fry's Eagle Court of Honor at 3:00 PM on Saturday, Jan. 23rd at St. Mark's United Methodist Church.

Super Bowl Barbeque Fund Raiser
Tickets for the Fund raiser are now available. We want to sell as much as possible by Monday, Feb 1st.  Tell your customers that they need to buy a ticket in order to make sure we will have enough to fill their order. You can collect their money when you fill out the ticket or they can pay you when they pick up their order on Feb. 7th.

Each scout is encouraged to sell at least 5 orders. Top salesman wins a $165 campership. For every $10 sold, you will get a chance added to the hat for a drawing for a $100 gift certificate for the store of your choice.

Future Camp Outs
The PLC set the following dates: No camp out in Feb. due to short month and other activities; Mar. 12-14; Apr. 16-18; and Apr 30-May 2

KEY DATES
Jan 2                           Polar Bear Plunge 9:30 – 10:30 AM at SportsCom
Jan 4                           First Troop Meeting of the New Year
Jan 8-10                     District Winter Camporee at Camp Tubbs
Jan 17                        Eagle Court of Honor – Michael Daniel 2 PM – First Presbyterian Church
Jan 18                        Martin Luther King Holiday
Jan 23                        Eagle Court of Honor – Drew Fry 3 PM – St. Mark's UMC
Jan 30                        Tennessee Tech Merit Badge University
Feb 6-7                      Super Bowl Sunday BBQ Fund Raiser
Feb 7                          Scout Sunday
Feb 12                        Laser Quest
Feb 27                        MTSU Merit Badge University
Mar 5                          District Webelos Cross Over
Mar 6                          District Adult Awards Banquet – All adult leaders are invited!
Mar 12-14                  Troop Camp Out – destination TBAN
Mar 22-26                  Spring Break
Mar 29                        Troop Court of Honor
Apr 16-18                   Troop Camp Out – Backpacking – Walls of Jericho
Apr 30 – May 2          Troop Camp Out – Rappelling/Fishing
May 21-23                  Adult White Water School Camp Boxwell
May 29                        Flag Placement at Stones River Nat'l Batrtlefield
June 4-6                     Adult White Water School Hiwassee River
June 13-18                 Summer Camp, Camp Stahlman, Boxwell Reservation
July 2-17                     Philmont High Adventure BackpackingTrek to Philmont
Aug 6-8                      Youth White Water Canoe & Kayak School Hiwassee River
Aug 20-22                  Troop White Water Camp Out Hiwassee River

Troop 398 News - Dec 11

Eagle Court of Honor
Everyone is invited to attend Patrick Horne's Eagle Court of Honor at 2:00 PM on Sunday, Dec. 13 at St. Mark's UMC. We try to make each Eagle Court of Honor special, so please come and join with us as we celebrate Patrick's achievement.  WE NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR THE COLOR GUARD – Please Email if you plan to attend.

December Camp Out
Please sign up early for the December Campout.  It will be at Short Mountain once again on December 18 - 20. We will be sleeping in a heated cabin with beds and mattresses. Bring sleeping bag, warm clothes, work gloves. Saturday morning we will work on service projects. We will go hiking Sat afternoon. We will cook as a troop. Parents and other family members are invited to come up and join us for supper. Mr. Wiser traditionally plans a feast topped off by dutch oven cobblers. Saturday evening we will have a devotional and voluntary gift exchange. If you want to participate, bring a small, appropriate, gift (approx. $5-$10). Those who bring a gift will participate in a drawing to exchange gifts. We usually play board games on Friday and Saturday nights - bring your favorite game. A sign-up sheet will be posted - please be very accurate this time as to the meals you and your guests will eat. We usually have a large crowd so we need to be able to buy the right amount of food. 

KEY DATES
2009
Dec 13                          Eagle Court of Honor – Patrick Horne 2:00 PM
Dec 18-20                     Christmas Camp Out/Family Feast – Short Mountain
Dec 21                          Troop Planning Meeting (Leaders only)
Dec 28                          No Troop Meeting
2010
Jan 4                            First Troop Meeting of the New Year
Jan 8-10                        District Winter Camporee at Camp Tubbs
Jan 17                           Eagle Court of Honor – Michael Daniel 2 PM
Jan 23                           Eagle Court of Honor – Drew Fry 3 PM
Jan 30                           Tennessee Tech Merit Badge University
Feb 6-7                         Super Bowl Sunday BBQ Fund Raiser
Feb 12                          Laser Quest
Feb 27                          MTSU Merit Badge University
May 21-23                     Adult White Water School Camp Boxwell
June 4-6                        Adult White Water School Hiwassee River
June 13-18                    Summer Camp, Camp Stahlman, Boxwell Reservation
July 2-17                       Philmont High Adventure BackpackingTrek to Philmont
Aug 6-8                         Youth White Water Canoe & Kayak School Hiwassee River
Aug 20-22                     Troop White Water Camp Out Hiwassee River

Troop 398 News - Dec 6

Court of Honor
Tomorrow's troop meeting will be a Court of Honor.  We will meet in the Worship Center in the church at 7:00 PM. Bring in any money you have for popcorn.  We'll have some slides to show from recent campouts.

Eagle Court of Honor
Everyone is invited to attend Patrick Horne's Eagle Court of Honor at 2:00 PM on Sunday, Dec. 13 at St. Mark's UMC. We try to make each Eagle Court of Honor special, so please come and join with us as we celebrate Patrick's achievement.

Congratulations
Brandyn Whitaker successfully completed his Eagle Board of Review last Wed. night.  Upon approval of the BSA National Council, he will become Troop 398's 100th Eagle Scout. Brandyn is our 7th Eagle Scout this year. The first Eagle Scout of record for Troop 398 was Jim Burkhalter on October 11, 1966.  Congratulations, Brandyn!

Service to Country
Zac Mitchell, US Air Force, will be deploying to Iraq later this month. Twin brother, Nat Mitchell is also serving in the Air Force in Texas. Older brother, Isaac Mitchell will be entering the Air Force in January. We are very proud of these past members of Troop 398 – please keep the entire Mitchell family in your thoughts and prayers.

Summer Camp Staff
Staff Interviews for Summer Camp will take place on Saturday, December 13, 2009, 9 am-1 pm at the High Adventure Building at Boxwell Reservation.  Any Scouts 15 years or older interested in working on staff should fill out an application and attend.  Please contact Crystal Mayfield, Camping Assistant with any questions or if you need any applications for Counselor in Training or Camp Staff. Phone (615) 383-9724 ext 234 or Fax (615) 297-9916.

December Camp Out
Please sign up early for the December Campout.  It will be at Short Mountain once again on December 18 - 20. We will be sleeping in a heated cabin with beds and mattresses. Bring sleeping bag, warm clothes, work gloves. Saturday morning we will work on service projects. We will go hiking Sat afternoon. We will cook as a troop. Parents and other family members are invited to come up and join us for supper. Mr. Wiser traditionally plans a feast topped off by dutch oven cobblers. Saturday evening we will have a devotional and voluntary gift exchange. If you want to participate, bring a small, appropriate, gift (approx. $5-$10). Those who bring a gift will participate in a drawing to exchange gifts. We usually play board games on Friday and Saturday nights - bring your favorite game. A sign-up sheet will be posted - please be very accurate this time as to the meals you and your guests will eat. We usually have a large crowd so we need to be able to buy the right amount of food.

Super Bowl Barbeque Fund Raiser
Time to start talking up our BBQ. Start contacting your friends and customer's from last year. We'll have tickets ready for the Dec. 14th Troop meeting. This fund raiser has been a huge success for us each year!  It is the perfect answer for meals on Super Bowl Sunday. If you are hosting or know of a party, this is the perfect answer! Tickets will be available for you to pick up at the Troop meeting on Monday, Dec. 14th  for our Barbeque take out on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb 7th.  We will sell pork for $8.00/pound and turkey for $9.00/ pound. 16 ounce containers of beans and slaw will be $4.00 each. St. Louis style racks of ribs will be $15.00. We will also have mild "Hummingbird" and spicey "Screaming Eagle" sauce for sale.  At this point, we don't plan to offer the pork or turkey plates.  Orders can be picked up from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM on Sunday, February 7th at St. Mark's.  Let your customers know that we will only plan for a small amount over that which is pre-sold, so it is important that they buy a ticket to reserve their order. Be innovative – offer to deliver! Sell at your own church activities. It is important that each scout get involved and try to sell at least $60 in order for us to do well on this fund raiser. The top youth salesman will receive a $165 bonus for summer camp or a high adventure trip. Please do your part, this is our main fund raiser of the year!

Note Key Date Changes
Youth White Water School and Troop White Water Camp Out dates were changed to Aug 6-8 and Aug 20-22 respectively.

KEY DATES
2009
Dec 7                            Troop Court of Honor/ Popcorn Money Due
Dec 13                          Eagle Court of Honor – Patrick Horne 2:00 PM
Dec 18-20                     Christmas Camp Out/Family Feast – Short Mountain
Dec 21                          Troop Planning Meeting (Leaders only)
Dec 28                          No Troop Meeting
2010
Jan 4                            First Troop Meeting of the New Year
Jan 8-10                        District Winter Camporee at Camp Tubbs
Jan 17                           Eagle Court of Honor – Michael Daniel 2 PM
Jan 23                           Eagle Court of Honor – Drew Fry 3 PM
Jan 30                           Tennessee Tech Merit Badge University
Feb 6-7                         Super Bowl Sunday BBQ Fund Raiser
Feb 12                          Laser Quest
Feb 27                          MTSU Merit Badge University
May 21-23                     Adult White Water School Camp Boxwell
June 4-6                        Adult White Water School Hiwassee River
June 13-18                    Summer Camp, Camp Stahlman, Boxwell Reservation
July 2-17                       Philmont High Adventure BackpackingTrek to Philmont
Aug 6-8                         Youth White Water Canoe & Kayak School Hiwassee River
Aug 20-22                     Troop White Water Camp Out Hiwassee River