Fall and Winter Report through 2-28-07:

Troop 50 congratulates 5 New Eagle Scouts: Mike Lisman, Grant Russell, Nicolas Kemper and David K. who received their Eagle in the Eagle Court of Honor held January 6, 2007. Alex R. has also achieved the Rank of Eagle and awaits his Eagle Court of Honor.

Bryan Gross has announced he will be stepping down as Scoutmaster. Dr. Steve Baker will be the new Scoutmaster; the transition will take place late summer after Bartle Camp.

Mike Lisman, Grant Russell. Nicholas Kemper, Michael Gude and Adam Hallquist have been appointed as Assistant Scout Masters.
Additional rank achievements include: December Court of Honor: Mathew K. & Korey H. attained Life and Tyler C. attained 2nd Class. February Court of Honor: Kydell C. attained Life, Evan R, attained 1st Class, Grant Russell and Bryce L. both received Palms.

There were a total of 15 Merit badges earned between 5 Scouts with an additional 4 Scouts partially completing another 6 Merit badges at the Merit Badge Academy. Scouts achieving Merit Badges: Kydell C., Tyler C., Korey H., Mathew K., Alex R.,
Merit badge classes have also been taught almost weekly at the Monday night meetings including: Fingerprinting, Chemistry, Aviation, Beading, Blacksmithing Wilderness Survival & Web Design.

The troop has had several campouts including: Wilderness Survival training at the Clippinger farm, Feast in the Forest & Forbes Field. Tours of several Museums: Combat Air Museum, Air National Guard Museum, Save-A-Connie Museum & the World War I Museum. And a private tour of the Stowers Research Institute.
The troop currently has 16 Scouts under the age of 18. Special thanks to Leanne Wiedemann for being the “Keeper of the Records”.

Troop 50 Welcomes “Pack 50”. The new Cub Scout pack is led by Cub Master Tony Wallace and Joe Micek. The new Pack has 7 new cubs and is off to an exciting start with field trips planned to the World War I Museum and preparations being made for the Pine Wood Derby. Alex R., Mike Lisman and Grant Russell are assisting with the Pack.

Dr. Steve Baker reports that it was another successful year for Wreathe sales. Scouts alone sold 220 pieces of greenery netting approximately $3,000 of which approximately $1,000 will be applied to Scout Camp registration Fees, netting the Troop roughly $2,000. Bruce Clippinger reports an additional 150 wreathes were purchased by Jim Bernard’s law firm. And, Jennifer Walker organized a sale at the Brookside Price Chopper, where Scouts sold roughly $300 in greenery. Special thanks to Steve B. for chairing this fund raiser.

The annual ”Scout Sunday & Chili Supper” was held February 11, 2007. Over $400 was raised by the Troop.

William Raridon reports that the Troop is dispersing several large payments for annual registration, camp fees & Philmont. Payments are due at this time. He asks that you check with him to see what the status is of your current balance.

Philmont is July 3rd through July 16th. This expedition is being led by Sam Clippinger.
Bartle Camp is July 29th through August 7th at Camp Piercing Arrow, Ft. McKenzie. Currently 20 Scouts are enrolled for camp. Campmaster is Tim Hanna.

Steve Lisman

Troop 50 reflects on an exciting summer of fun, excitement and achievements...

Bartle Scout Camp was fun and provided for several rank advancements and numerous Merit Badges earned. In all a total of 56 Merit Badges was earned by for 14 Scouts – (that’s an average of 4 each). Elections were held for new positions of responsibility within the troop. There were several “Paint” advancements in the Tribe of “Mic-O-Say” including having two members elevated to Sachem. Special thanks to Bill Cross for an excellent job as Camp Master and to Leanne Wiedeman for keeping track of all of the advancements and achievements.
Troop 50 sent a group of young men to Philmont led by Mike Lochmann and Steve Baker. All who made the journey received special “Philmont Arrowhead” patches. In all, over a thousand pictures were taken. Candice Lochmann created a spectacular slide show from all the pictures taken.
Junior leader training was taught by Sam Clippinger at the Lisman Lake House at Lake of the Ozarks. Bryan Gross, Carol Raridon and Steve Lisman also assisted.
The Troop spent a weekend Sail Boating hosted by the Rasmussens at Stockton Lake.
The Troop also enjoyed several pool parties hosted by the Lochmann’s and the Raridon’s. And, there were a couple of trips to Power Play for Go-Kart racing and Whirly Ball.

Below is a list of the summers advancements and achievements:

Rank Advancements:
Scout: Jacob B.
Tenderfoot: Benjamin C.
Second Class: Matthew G., Evan R.
First Class: Mathew G.
Star: Kydell C.
Eagle: Grant R.

Junior Leader Training recipienets:
Matthew K., Evan R., Kydell C.,Mike L., Wesley G., Alex R.

New PLC members:
Senior Patrol Leader: Colin B.
Assistant Senior Patrol Leader: Alex R. and David K.
Patrol Leader: Nick B. and Korey H.
Junior Assistant Scout Master: Nicholas K., Mike L., Grant R., Bryce L., Adam H.
Order of the Arrow Troop Rep: Jacob R.
Troop Guide: Sam R. and Wesley G.
Quartermaster: Evan R.
Historian: Matthew K.
Librarian: Kydell C.
Scribe: Matthew G.
Chaplain's Aid: Kydell C.

Mic-O-Say Advancements:

New Foxmen:
Korey H.
Matthew K.
Jacob R.

New Warriors:
Colin B.: Warrior Shattering Sandstone
Wesley G.: Warrior Hushed Pine
Alex R.: Warrior Shadow Eagle

New Honorary Warrior:
Bryan G.

New Firebuilders:
Michael G.: Firebuilder Creator of Life in Wood
Bryce L.: Firebuilder Swift Moving Falcon
Sam R.: Firebuilder Silent Gray Raccoon
Grant R.: Firebuilder Son of Watchful Circling Soaring Hawk

New Tom-Tom Beater:
Michael L.: Tom-Tom Beater Son of Swift Soaring Eagle of the Clear Blue Sky

New Keeper of the Sacred Bundle:
Andrew S.: Keeper of the Sacred Bundle Son of Stalker of Birds

New Sachems:
Dennis C.: Sachem Boat Crossing Water
Shannon T.: Sachem Stalking White Cougar


Steve Lisman

June 4- The June Committee meeting was hosted by the Lochmann’s. M. Rainen conducted the meeting, with reports from B. Gross and Bruce & Sam Clippinger. Fourteen Committee members were in attendance. Final planning and preparations for camp were top on the agenda. M. Lochmann displayed the new t-shirts and the new golf shirts. They look great! W. Raridon’s Treasurers Report: All is well.

Upcoming events:
June12- Court of Honor and Final preparations for camp.

Bartle Camp- Camp Piercing Arrow, Ft. McKenzie (same as last year)
Camp Master: Bill Cross
June 19- Depart Church for Camp, Lunch in Clinton, Opening Campfire
June 22- Call Night
June 24- Warrior Ceremony
June 25- Visitors Sunday. Leanne asks: Please bring enough food for lunch with enough non-spoilable leftovers for campers to have dinner. Gates Open: 10am-4pm
June 26- Brave Ceremony
June 27- Closing Ceremony
June 28- Depart Camp and Return to Church

July 3- Swimming at the Lochmann’s
July 7 thru 21- Philmont High Adventure
July 24- Swimming at the Lochmann’s
July 31- Go-Karting at Power Play

Steve L.

Congratulations to Shannon Tucker and Jim Bernard who received the "District Award Of Merritt" at the annual dinner in February! This prestigious award is the highest honor awarded to scouting leaders.

The Food drive on March 6th was a big success. Thanks to all scouts, adults and neighbors who helped re-stock the Church pantry.

The Committee meeting on 3-6-06 was brief and was reported that all is well.
Upcoming events:
Camp payments are due.
Philmont shake down March 31-April 2
Scouting Open house April 3rd Scouts are asked to develop a display or presentation.
Caving Trip April 7, 8 & 9 Must be 14 or older
April Campout April 21-23 Katie Trail
May Campout May 5-7 Family Canoe Trip
June 19-28 Camp, Piercing Arrow, Ft. McKenzie
Steve L.

Troop 50 celebrates the achievement of three new Eagle Scouts!
On Sunday, January 8th Michael G., Adam H. & Bryce L. were honored and received the rank of “Eagle”.

Committee meeting Jan 9th:
Candice L. said she was working on a recruiting letter & drive.
A discussion was held about the need for all adults to step-up where possible to assist with adult leadership on camp-outs.
Shannon Tucker discussed the Scout, Merit Badge & Mic-O-Say tracking software. The troops software is licensed through Jan 2009.
Steve B. gave a wreath sale report and said that scouts had turned in all of the money. He said he would analyze the cost versus profit and give a report in the future. There was discussion about the possibility of finding a new vendor for the wreaths.
William R. gave a treasurers report and said, “All is well”.
Upcoming Events…
Jan 21st Merit Badge Marathon 8:30am-3:30pm
Jan 27, 28 & 29th Cosmosphere Campout
Feb 4th District Awards Banquet (deadline for reservations is Jan 27th)
Feb 19th Scout Sunday
June 19-28 Camp, Piercing Arrow, Ft. McKenzie

Steve L.

Troop 50 looks forward to an exciting and challenging year!
Upcoming Events:
Jan. 6th Risk Night at Bruce C. house 7pm.
Jan 7th Planning Meeting for Philmont Trip 9am at Church
Jan 7th Practice Session for Eagle Court Of Honor 10 am Church
Jan 7th OA Winter Banquet
Jan 8th Eagle Court Of Honor 5pm Church
Jan 9th Committee meeting
Jan 14th PLC meeting 10am-3pm
Jan 21st Merit Badge Marathon 8:30am-3:30pm
Jan 27, 28 & 29th Cosmosphere Campout
June 19-25 Camp, Piercing Arrow, Ft. McKenzie

Bartle Scout Camp this summer:
June 19-25 Camp, Piercing Arrow, Ft. McKenzie

As a result of the successful Pancake Breakfast, Troop 50 has made a donation to the American Red Cross in the approx. amount of $1,750 to help with the Hurricane Katrina effort. Once again, THANKS to all of you who made this possible!

The Troop has been re-chartered through 2007.

As part of their pledge to be prepared: 14 young men are wrapping up a month long course in First Aid taught by Sam C. and several have completed their CPR certification.
Currently a large group of Scouts are working on completing the Architecture merit Badge.
Accountants Report: William R. said, “All is well”. He also said that a successful negotiation had been achieved and that our banking would continue with our current bank.
Steve B. reported that Wreathes would be in the week of Thanksgiving.

Upcoming events:
Feast in the Forest Nov. 11-13 Campout & Family Dinner
Backpacking Dec 2-4
Merit Badge Marathon Jan.21, Bishop Hogan
Offering Merit Badge classes including some Eagle required.
Cosmosphere Jan 27-29

Hurricane Katrina Pancake Breakfast Success! Troop 50 donates all proceeds to the relief effort. Thanks to all scouts and adults who helped make this happen. And a big thanks to those who helped eat all those pancakes!!!!

As we begin the new school year and scouting year Troop 50 welcomes new leadership. Please welcome Bryan Gross as our new Scoutmaster and Sr. Patrol Leader SamR and Assistant Senior Patrol Leader WesleyG.

Upcoming Events:
Biking Campout Sept. 30, Oct 1 & 2
CPR Training Sat Oct 8th
Camporee Oct. 14, 15 & 16
Caving Campout Nov 4, 5 & 6

Bartle Camp Draw will be held Oct. 19 or 20

Troop 50 will be participating in “Good Turn For America”. Troop 50 will be reporting Troop Service hours to help quantify how Scout’s give back to the community.

Troop 50 has recently upgraded our “Scout Advancement Record” computer software. The new software has many improvements including tracking Mic-O-Say advancements.

Hurricane Relief

Eat pancakes for a good cause!

Boy Scout Troop 50
All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast

Enjoy good food and good fellowship while you help victims of Hurricane Katrina!

All proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund

Saturday, September 17th
7 AM - 11 AM

Broadway United Methodist Church
74th & Wornall Road

$4 Suggested Donation

See you there!

Closing out past T-Shirt Inventory!

This is an excellent opportunity to pick up Official Troop Apparel at a Great price... Only $8

Large and XL remaining... Black and Grey. All have large silkscreen logo on back. Located over front left chest, some have silk-screened logo and a few are embroidered.
To view and purchase, please contact Marc.

Monday, March 7, 2005 Meeting
Next 3 Monday meetings will be: Silversmithing
Upcoming Campouts:
March 11-13th Back Packing, 5 scouts going, need 1 more leader
March 18-20 (optional) Caving with Troop 118 & 683 Camdenton, Mo., 6 scouts going, 4 leaders.

Bartle Camp is June 6 thru the 20th at PA, Ft. McKenzie. Camp Master Sam announced Final payment of $105 is due in April. The total cost for scouts is $245.

Monday, March 7, 2005 Committee Meeting:
With Shannon‘s retirement in June after Bartle Camp fast approaching, Marc stressed the need to increase the efforts to find a new Scoutmaster.

Treasury Report: All is well. The Bartle Camp deposit has been paid and all bills are paid as of this date. Mr. Raridon informed us that he is looking for a new bank with more favorable banking fees.
Additional Treasury news: Bruce asked for suggestions for investing our Memorial fund, which is set up in a trust for the troops future.

February 14, 2005 Committee Meeting:
Marc announced that Shannon was retiring in June after Bartle Camp. He said that due to personal and professional responsibilities outside the Troop, Shannon would no longer be able to fulfill the position, however he would remain an active member of the Troop. There was an open discussion by many about the excellent job Shannon has done. Marc asked for suggestions for a successor. It was mentioned that this is a considerable responsibility, but offers great rewards. Marc reassured that the Troop would be supportive and would offer guidance and training to the new Leader. He also suggested that this person should be familiar with the concept of a Scout run Troop.

It was announced that Merit Badge Marathon, January 22nd was a success with 14 Scouts attending, 18 Merit Badges earned and several others Merit Badges well in the process.

It was reported that The Chili Supper was profitable, fun and delicious! Thanks to all that helped.

Kathy suggested that all Eagle’s names be stenciled on the Troop trailer. There was discussion as to researching all names and the origin of the Troop. It was deemed favorable by all and was decided that more research as to the cost and best technique would be needed.

Troop 50 was honored at the Pioneer Trails Volunteer Recognition Dinner February 5th with several awards: Shannon Tucker received the “NESA” National Eagle Scout Association’s Scoutmaster Award of Merit and the District’s “Scoutmaster of the Year” award. Bruce Clippinger received the “District Award of Merit”. Sam Clippinger received “Assistant Scoutmaster of the Year”. Kathy Barnard received “Committee Member of the Year”. Troop 50 was awarded the District and the Council’s “Camping Award” and also received the “Quality Unit Award”.

Scout Sunday and the annual Troop 50 Chili Supper will be held this Sunday, February 13. Church services will be held from 10:30-11:30am and Chili will be served from 11:30-1:30pm.

Bartle Camp is June 6 thru the 20th at PA, Ft. McKenzie. Camp Master Sam announced the second payment is due Monday, February 14th. The third payment of $105 is due in April. The total cost for scouts is $245.

Upcoming Campouts:
Feb. 25-27th Clinton Lake
March 11-13th Back Packing
March 18-20 (optional) Caving with Troop 118 & 683 Camdenton, Mo

Meeting: Monday, February 14th:
PLC Meeting & Committee Meeting

Merit Badge academy will be held Saturday, January 22 at Hogan Preparatory Academy at 1221 E. Meyer Blvd. Morning session begins at 8:30am and scouts are asked to report early at 8am. Additionally one, preferably two more adults are needed. Please contact William Raridon if you can help.

The Bartle Work Weekend Campout is coming up January 27, 28 & 29. If you’ve not done so already, please inform Shannon if you’d like to attend.

It was announced that the Pioneer Trails Volunteer Recognition Dinner would be held February 5th at the Colonial Presbyterian Church. Cost is $17. Social gathering begins approx 6:15pm. Troop 50 will have the honor of several award recipients. Bruce Clippinger will receive the districts highest award, the “District Award of Merit”. Shannon tucker will receive “Scoutmaster of the Year”. Sam Clippinger will receive “Assistant Scoutmaster of the Year”. Kathy Barnard will receive “Committee Member of the Year”. A special Troop 50 how-how to these recipients for their dedication and hard work!

Scout Sunday and the annual Troop 50 Chili Supper will be held February 13. Church services will be held from 10:30-11:30am and Chili will be served from 11:30-1:30pm. Scouts are needed to help prepare the meal the day before as well as serve Chili on Sunday.

Camp Master Sam announced the $40 Bartle camp deposit was due in December and the first payment of $100 will be due February 14th. The total cost for scouts is $245.

the monthly committee meeting was held and all is report well.

In my attempts to repair all the broken stuff on our website, I ended up changing a couple of things around and the way some of the stuff looks like. Anyhow, the site is fixed and things are working again... so we can update the information more often.

Special note: I've updated the photo gallery and how it displays photos. You will need a Flash plugin to view all of our photos. The system will check your browser for you and provide you a link to download the free plugin. You only have to do this once and most systems already have it. Also, I'll be adding all the older gallery's as soon as I can.

FINALLY! I'm making progress on the main page news script. If you didn't already know, the scripting engine behind the scenes that controls this main page news has been broken. I'm in the process of reinstalling everything and trying to keep all the old news.

Thanks for your patience...

Your friend in scouting,

Shannon

Wow, what a fantastic summer so far. Following is some ramblings from your scoutmaster, as well as some updated information about this and that.

Family Canoe Trip: The first weekend of June we held our annual family canoe trip. We all loaded up and headed down to one of our favorite places to canoe, the Elk River in Neosho County, MO. We all arrived safely to find that the early group had setup most of camp for us and all we had to do was move in. Many thanks go out to the early crew for having everything ready for us. After moving in we settled down for a quiet evening and were soon off to bed. Saturday brought gloomy weather and a cloudy sky, but you couldn't tell by our spirits. We all had such a great time floating down the river, the water was clear and cool? as was the rain *grin*. Play boats were identified and teams were formed, and the day was off to a great start. Soon it was time for a lunch of river dogs and river cookies? a Troop 50 favorite. After lunch some passengers switched boats and new play teams were formed? and more fun was had by all. Before we knew it we were pulling up to the camp beach, and unloading our stuff and heading for the showers. Dinner was excellent? as was the company. Without much prodding or hesitation? the boys all shuffled off to bed and the adults eventually made our way to our respective tents and settled down for the evening entertainment (Which lasted until well after Midnight). Sunday's departure was flawless and smooth. We all made it home without a hitch.

Thanks to everyone that made this event a success. MikeG for setting up our reservations, Wes for doing an outstanding job as Grub Master, and to all the rest of you for making my job easy as pie.

Tribe of Mic-O-Say 75th Anniversary Celebration: During the second weekend of June you could find a group of tribesmen down at Bartle celebrating the 75th year of the tribe. Among the many tribal activities we had the fortune of meeting about a dozen T50 members from the 40's, 50's and 70's. Talking to them was outstanding. Re-hashing the old times, discussing the new times, and planning for the future times. The old-timers were interested to learn that Herbie was officially named, as they didn't have a name for him in their day. Out of this weekend came many great memories as well some things that are going to be legendary. One of them is that we have officially solved the "Herbie Totem Pole Mystery". When I was a youth, just barely in the troop, my scoutmaster told me of a totem pole that had our Herbie at the very top of it. For years my scouting friends and I searched and searched for this totem pole? to no avail. Having no clues to aid us in our hunt, we eventually gave up on the search and dismissed the "story" as just another tale told to us by our leaders that didn't have any substantial basis of fact. Well, during this great weekend this puzzle was solved. I mentioned to these old T50 guys this story and they did something that blew me away? They said emphatically that it was TRUE! Here's the story as I know now it.

Once upon a time there was this guy who took an old electrical/utility pole and carved a totem pole out of it in his basement. At this time, the parking lot across the street from the church was just a grassy field with a fire pit in it where the scouts of Troop 50 gathered from time to time. This guy set that totem pole in this lot until the lot was cleared for the parking lot. The Totem pole was then moved to Camp Osceola (Known to us as Camp Bartle) and placed just outside the Longhouse (Known to us a the Blue Elk Lodge) where it sat until it was removed. Since it no longer is there, it had to have been removed at one time or another and it's current whereabouts are unknown. One of the guys I spoke with said he had a grainy picture of it and that he would scan it and email it to me sometime. What an excellent story, which I am quite glad turned out to be true. Now to finish the story and find out what happened to it and what it looked like. Many old-timers called it the "Troop 50 Totem Pole". If you know anything about this tale I would be very interested to hear your part. UPDATE: The totem pole has been found. Bill Vandenberg found and identified the pole for us. It is not only found, but found standing! More to come on this as we complete the identification process, and gather more information.

The rest of the weekend went outstanding, and the celebration ceremony was spectacular. The finale was awesome to say the least and I will never forget how it made me feel. The 30 minute fireworks show and free peach floats for everyone put everything over the top. I will never forget that weekend and I hope everyone that attended won't either. Thanks to Marc Rainen and Andrew S. for heading up that group and making our participation a success.

Summer camp - Session One: Many of you may not know this, but I spend several days every year camping with my oldest brother and his boys at scout camp. This year was no different and I spent 4 days in the luxurious accommodations at Camp Piercing Arrow, Campsite Dodge. We had fantastic weather and everything went as planned. The most spectacular event that happened all session happened on Saturday night during Warrior ceremony. Our very own Bruce Clippinger was elevated to the prestigious position of Sachem in the mighty tribe of Mic-O-Say. He is now Sachem Quick Dolphin. A party was held afterwards and was attended by many of his closest family and friends. Bruce, I'm proud of you and everything you do for our troop and scouting in general. We couldn't do it without you and we wouldn't be where we are today without the endless support you provided. Please accept my sincerest congratulations and accept the accolades of a proud Troop 50.

Picture galleries are updated with photos from these events. If you get prompted for a password to view a photo gallery, it is Tribal pictures that are restricted to Tribesmen only. Please see Shannon for login information.

Summer camp - Session Six: Coming up in the next two weeks folks, but we'll be heading down to camp before we know it. The PLC have met and made out the duty rosters and planned this year's 1st year camper program. Campers can expect a well oiled team as the PLC are ready for an awesome year. Kathy is this year camp master and is preparing for a year of fun and adventure. Remember to turn in your merit badge schedule and health form to SamC as soon as possible. Money should be turned into Alan Hallquist as soon as possible as well. Leanne is heading up this year's visitors Sunday pot-luck dinner. Remember that we need to be able to feed the boys and leaders for Sunday night's meal off of the leftovers, so plan to bring extra food so we can have dinner *grin*. We are in the campsite with two other troops this year, and I've been informed that we are already busting at the seems for bed space. Part-timers _may_ even have to stay in a different campsite for sleeping purposes if we run out of space in our own campsite. So far there are a total of 12 full time leaders from all 3 troops. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Change in leadership: Many thanks go out to John Constant for serving the troop over the past year as Troop Committee Chairman. On Sunday, 06/18/2004, at the troop committee meeting, John stepped down as committee chairman and nominated Marc Rainen as his replacement. With the support of the COR the nomination was voted upon and Marc officially took over as the chair for the next coming year. We can't thank you enough John for giving us your time and helping us grow.

PLC Elections: I'll be sending out Election packets this coming week, so keep your eyes open at your inbox. Elections will take place at camp as per tradition, with position applications being turned in by the end of the day on Visitors Sunday.

That's updates for now, more to come later...

To All:

Due to many factors, The Court of Honor on Monday will not be a "dinner" style picnic. We are going to have a short COH and serve some simple refreshments afterwards... Then hold a parents meeting after that. (The scouts are going to work on rank advancement and/or play an organized game (in the gym if it is raining)).

Please bring some desert type refreshments for the scouts, the troop will provide the beverages and napkins. If you would like, you could bring fruit or perhaps a veggie tray. Please keep everything to a "finger" type food.

The parents meeting is primarily for the new parents, but all adults are welcome to participate. This meeting will take place in the choir room.

Greetings fellow scouts and scouter?s,

I wanted to send out an email letting everyone know what has been going on and what is coming up in the near future. I hope we have all had our fun with the snow and that this message finds everyone safe and secure. You can also find a copy of this email on our main news section at our online home: www.troop50.org. Also keep in mind that we keep a comprehensive and up-to-date calendar on our web site. You can find it by click the link on the left side of the home page conveniently labeled ?calendar?. You can also click here: http://calendar.troop50.org.

Past Events:

OA Winter Banquet
This year?s OA Banquet included a very small contingent from Troop 50. Due to several cancellations, the Troop sent Bryce as our representative. Bryce brought back news that our friend Fred L. was elevated to the esteemed rank of Vigil in the Order of the Arrow. Congratulations Fred on your honor, as well as all your hard work

Snow Creek ? Ski event
This event was held at Snow Creek in Weston Missouri. The weather cooperated with the attendees and the rain stayed south of the park. Toting 6 scouts and 3 adults, we headed for the slopes at the crack of dawn on Saturday, skied all day, and returned home in the early evening. No injuries and fond memories makes this event a major triumph.

Merit Badge Marathon
MBM has been canceled at the district level due to lack of enrollment. They have already started to plan for next year though. In the mean time, Troop 61 has approached us in an effort to hold our own MBM. They have requested our attendance as well as our church facility to hold the event. They are still working out the details and are looking for sometime in April to hold it. Keep your eyes open, as we will have more information on the scoutmaster?s table as it comes in.

Scout Sunday
Scout Sunday was a HUGE success. Thanks to everyone that participated and made this event work out as well as it did. The church really does like to see us, and you all made a great impression on the congregation.

Chili Supper
Hands down some of the best chili I have eaten in years. We had a great crowd this year, and the newly added cookie basket was a brilliant addition. Someone liked the cookies so much that they donated a crisp $100.00 bill. Thanks to Tony and everyone else that made this event an enormous success.


Upcoming Events:



Backpacking Campout ? Canceled
This event has been canceled due to a lack of participation (we need more than 3 scouts to have an overnight campout). If anyone has any ideas on why we keep having to cancel our campouts, the scoutmaster would greatly appreciate input.

Blue and gold
The annual Blue and Gold banquet for our Pack 50 is coming up soon. We all need to welcome our newest members when they all come over to the Troop side. We are expecting 5-6 new scouts to cross over the bridge and join our troop. We could possibly see a couple other scouts from various other packs, as our recruitment team has been hard at work keeping the fresh blood flowing.

Air Force Base Tour / Campout
Andrew S. has been hard at work scheduling and preparing our trip to an Air Force Base where we can all take a tour. He is supposed to have us some information in the form of a flyer on Feb 23 with information on where we are going, where we are going to camp, and how we are going to get there. Please be sure to sign up so we can get accurate head counts.

Katy trail bike-hike and campout
Mike L. has begun to schedule for the April campout. This year we are going to head out to the historic Katy Trail campout for a bike-hike along the old railroad tracks path. Keep an eye on the scoutmaster?s table for a flyer with the who/what/when/where information.

OA Induction weekend
Bryce has been a busy lad scheduling OA elections, and preparing for the OA weekend induction weekend in April. If you are elected into OA, you will not want to miss this opportunity to fulfill your ordeal and complete the induction that you were elected to do.

C.O.P.E Course
Chris R will soon begin to prepare for our May campout. For May, the PLC has elected to take the whole troop out to do a high and low C.O.P.E. Course. This will include camping and participating in the course. High C.O.P.E. is restricted to 14 and over, per the BSA policies.

Family Canoe trip / Campout
It?s that time again, time to bring out the family to join us for a scouting adventure. We have yet to determine a river or location yet, but put aside the time on your calendar. This is a great chance to see your scouts in action, and bring mom along for some fun on the river. Mike G will be gathering information over the next couple of month?s and should have some flyers and information in the coming months.

M.O.S. 75th Anniversary Tribal Feast.
The Tribe of Mic-O-Say has the great honor of celebrating its 75th Year anniversary. There is planned a HUGE celebration for Tribesman only on the weekend of June 12th. Marc and Andrew are the lead dawgs on this event and they should have us some more information to come. Keep an eye out for the new ?MOS Corner?, coming soon to a web site near you. Registration for this event is open, and further information can be found on the council web site: http://www.hoac-bsa.org

Program note from the scoutmaster:
All PLC members need to check in with the SPL ASAP about program features you are responsible for. Mike needs your help to keep things moving smoothly. If you are having any problems with the program you?re responsible for, please contact him as soon as you discover the problem. Waiting until the last minute is not a fair amount of time to ask someone for help (unless, of course, that is when the difficulty arose). Mike has a huge burden to carry and absolutely requires your cooperation to keep the program at the level demanded of him. I would like to remind everyone that in order for things to run smoothly, everyone needs to work together as a team.


Thanks for reading through this short novel. I simply wanted to update the site, as well as everyone else. If you don?t get this, please reply and let me know *grin*.


Yours truly in friendship and warmth,
Shannon Tucker

T50 has a new Eagle Scout!

It is my honor to present Benton as the Troops newest Eagle Scout! Benton passed his board of review last night (11.17.03), which consisted of Dennis Cross, Marc Rainen, Dave Baldwin, and the guest chair Sam Cauville. Keep an eye on the calendar for an Eagle Court of Honor coming up soon.

Congratulations to Benton on a well deserved accomplishment. Reaching this goal is very hard and you deserve a big "how-how" from us all.

Remember... the torch you carry is not yours, but ours.

Feast in the Forest
Saturday 11.15.03, 7 T50 scouts and a handful of webelos struck out on a culinary adventure we call "Feast in the Forest". We arrived, setup camp, and began the fun. This year we cooked 3 turkeys pit style, and one oven style. Sides included 40 pounds of real mashed potatoes, fresh (hand cleaned) green beans, salad, homemade cranberry sauce, pies, stuffing, and all the fixin's you could imagine. At dinner we had 35 mouths watering for a taste, and that they did. I hope that everyone had a great time, and also learned a thing or two about outdoor cooking. We ended the day with an awesome campfire program by Bryce, and some good old fashion "Helm on the crotch" jokes. I look forward to next year, when I hear there may be an attempt at a deep fried turkey, as well as one cooked roticery style on open flames. I would like to thank Sam Clippinger for heading this event up for the second year in a row, and to Mike Lochmann for providing Sam with his cooking assistance.

Well, it has been a busy fall and we have come through it quite well. I apologize for not keeping the main news page up-to-date, but I to have been busy as well.


OA Fall Fellowship:
Mike Lochmann and I, led by our OATR and 2 other scouts, went to the annual Lodge # 147?s Fall Fellowship. Bryce, Alex, and Nicolas went out to experience a number of different activities, most of which involved a poncho. Friday night was outstanding with some presentations by the Ceremonial team on the first Ordeal Ceremony?s. During the night the rain moved in, and never left! It was raining when we awoke, and continued all day long. Among many activities, we held our Chapter leadership election. It is my honor to present this year?s results: Bryce was elected as chapter 9 Chief, and Alex was elected chapter 9 Vice-Chief. HOW-HOW guys, keep up the good work.

Pancake Breakfast
Per tradition, we held our annual pancake breakfast during the Waldo Expo, and had a great turnout. We had good support from the scouts and their parents, as well as some good walk-in traffic from the Expo. I want to extend many thanks to Tony Jones for heading up this task and making it a success.

September Campout:
Lake Jacomo

Arriving Friday night, near dusk, we made it to the group camping area of Lake Jacomo. We were met by several other troops, cub pack, and girl scout troops. We settled in and prepared for a weekend of great lake adventure. Things were a bit easier due to Dave and Kathy being there early to grab us a great spot and having a fire already built for us. Saturday we started off building a monkey bridge before lunch, and after lunch we went to the lake to enjoy Kathy?s Kayaks and Dave?s Sail boat, along with some fishing from the shore and docks. We were joined by 2 ? second year webelos from the pack, and their parents. We finished off the day with a campfire program and flag retirement ceremony. Sunday went as expected and we departed on-time for home.

Many thanks go out to Sam (for the monkey bridge), Mike (for the great food), Dave (for the boat), Kathy (for the kayaks), and all those that came. It was a great weekend.

Recruiting event
Loose Park ? Orienteering, Folf, and food?

What a great combination of stuff to do, despite Mother Nature raining on our parade. It was defiantly a day for scouts, with all the rain we had. I saw some true scout spirit this day when scouts were out in the elements and having a great time. We were visited by some webelos and some friends interested in our Troop. Thanks for coming and having a good time. A huge thanks go out to William Raridon for putting the event together, and all the other adults that contributed to the success of the event.


Camporee
Pioneer Trails annual District Camporee

The theme this year was ?Mountain Man Rendezvous?. The troop, along with guest from Pack 50 and Pack 3286, departed for the event Friday night and arrived safely. Camp setup with off without a hitch, and soon all you could hear was the distant voices of scouts chatting in their tents. Saturday started with breakfast and opening ceremony at the main flag pole. The day was filled with all sorts of activities, from how the mountain man trapped food to how he communicated with the Native Americans. The day was finished off with a district closing campfire and 7 flags retired. Sunday we awoke, ate breakfast, went to church, packed up and headed home.

Thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed the activities. Also thanks to the guests for tolerating Shannon?s cooking *grin*.



Finally
That?s about all I can muster up folks, I?ll try to keep the page updated more frequently and I should have some pictures to post about all the above mentioned activities soon.

Yours truly in Friendship and Warmth
Shannon

Monday 09-02-03
Troop 50 celebrated the achievements of 4 of our scouts, Jamie, Skip, Adam, and Graham. The Court of Honor was a huge success, and the reception was fun and exciting. Keep an eye out in the Photo Galleries, as I will post some pictures soon.

Congratulations to all 4 of you? And remember, the torch you carry is not yours, but ours.

Saturday 09-06-03
Troop 50 launched its first annual Junior Leader Training program. It was an event for the new Patrol Leaders Council to get together and build a sense of teamwork and trust. The day included 4 hours of time on a C.O.P.E. course, other team / troop building games, group leadership discussions, and individual position specific training. I think we have a winner folks? check the photo galleries for some photos of the event.

     

'02 Winter Banquet: Our chapter had a booth with some games to play and win some gum balls. Troop 118 has a nice gallery of the booth hereat their site.

Well, the long days of the summer are upon us and it is time to start thinking of the beginning of the scouting/school season. It is hard to believe that we have been home from summer camp for over 5 weeks now. It seems like just yesterday Bryce was waving a dead snake around and Andrew was carrying Herbie all over camp with him. With the future before us, here are some tid-bits of what is to come this year? or at least what is coming up this next month or so.

Pool Party
Our Annual Kickoff Party will be this Sunday(08-17-03) starting at 4PM. The Lochmann?s will be grilling hotdogs and hamburgers, so we all need to bring a dish to go along with it. The Cub pack has been invited to attend as well, along with some other boys that are friends of current scouts. Adult Contact: Mike Lochmann

Planning Conference
The first meeting of the bi-annual PLC Planning conference is upon us. This Saturday, August 16th 2003, the PLC and the ASM corps will meet at Shannon?s office, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. If you need directions or the address, just give him a call (any roster you have dated between 1995 ? 2003 will have his current home phone number). We will be planning all meetings, campouts, and other events from 8/25/03 to 02/01/04.

Attendee?s need to bring:
Ideas and suggestions for meeting and campout events.
3-4 dollars for lunch (we will be pitching in to get pizza I imagine).
Class ?B? uniform or better.

Adult Contact: Shannon

And yet MORE MOS Elevations
After spending 6 whole sessions down at Camp Bartle, and dealing with literally hundreds of scouts and leaders... Chris has finally returned from his journey on staff. During the last closing night campfire, Chris was elevated to the additonal paint responsibiltiy of Shaman. Good job and thanks for your dedication.

Troop Meetings
The first troop meeting of the year is coming up and it is bound to be an occasion that will not be forgotten. On August 25th, 2003 at Broadway United Methodist Church, Troop 50 will be having an Eagle Scout Court of Honor. This Court of Honor will be for Graham, Adam, Jamie, and Skip. Following the COH will be a reception and party for the new Eagles. After the COH/Reception, we will be having patrol leader elections. The Raven and the Flying Squirrel patrols will need to be there in force to voice whom they want leading them. Following the Patrol Leader elections, we have to look forward to the APL appointments. Questions about the elections should go to the SPL or the SM. Questions about the COH should go to the COR. If you have no idea what I just said, call Shannon. Adult contact: Shannon

Herbie Training
There will be an all-new Junior Leader Training event that should prove to set the standard for JLT training for generations to come. The Scoutmaster and his assistants are putting together a knock-out training session that will encompass everything from team building exercises, to individual leader specific training, to how to properly plan and execute a Troop campfire. New information will be posted on the calendar; so keep checking it to stay in tune. To all you new Junior Leaders, this is the training event you signed up for when you accepted your new positions *Grin*. More information on this is to come in the very near future. Currently this event is scheduled for Saturday September 6th. Adult Contact: Shannon

Scout Fair
Led by the new Membership Advisor (WilliamR), the PLC and the Eagles nest will be hosting the first annual ?Troop 50 Scout Fair?. This new fair will be the primary recruiting event of the year for scouts that are not part of the cub pack. This event will target schools, other neighborhood churches, and scout aged boys in the surrounding residential area of the church. The fair will be on a Thursday night and will include live demonstrations of scouting skills, information tables on various scouting subjects, slide show type photo galleries, and much more. The event is currently scheduled for September 4, 2003. Adult Contact: WilliamR

Herbie Calendar
A new calendar has been installed for us to use, and it was written/coded by our one-and-only SamC. It is a slightly different format than the old one, but with this one we get to do with the calendar what ever we want, literally. Please report any bugs or errors to samc@troop50.org. This calendar will be the most current source of information. When something has changed or moved, it will be changed here first. If there is a question on conflicting dates, the online calendar overrides any and all printed material. Adult contact: Shannon

E-mail distribution list
The E-mail distribution list?s are finally online and ready to go. They have actually been up and running for a while now, but the crazy web master that runs this place has been slacking off a little and hasn?t put people on the lists until just recently?uhhh, oh wait? that?s me *grin*. The rules on the distribution lists are easy. Only Troop 50 members can be on the list. So when signing up, be sure you clearly identify yourself (with your real name)? the scoutmaster has to individually grant you permission to be on the T50 lists. Also, only people on the list? can send email to the list. This means that only people in Troop 50 (or approved by the scoutmaster personally) will be able to send email to it. Anyone else that tries, the email will be rejected (returned to sender). This is a safe way for us to keep in communications easier, as long as we use it. So far there are 28 adults on the adults@troop50.org list, and 2 on the scouts@troop50.org list. If you wish to subscribe, click the link to your left that says: ?Email list?s?, and follow the directions. After Shannon approves you, you will be able to send/receive list emails. The scouts email list will be moderated. Adult Contact: Shannon

Phone List?s and Roster
The Troop 50 Phone List and Roster is finally done. They will be available starting at the pool party, and always at the scoutmasters? table or office. Watch for a new automated way to retrieve a digital copy of the most current Phone List in the near future? In the mean time see Shannon if you need a copy. Adult Contact: Shannon


WHEW!!! *takes deep breath* That was a lot of information. I didn?t mean to overload anyone, but I did want to let you all know what is going on. I know it sounds like a lot, but with the teamwork of the adult leadership, combined with a well trained junior leader staff, it will be something we can certainly accomplish. I'm looking forward to another outstanding Troop 50 year.

I will continue with my signup sheets for all the schedule troop events, so you can all plan ahead and make it to more events. I look forward to seeing everyone, and catching up on other summer events you went on.

Had fun... thanks for coming,

Your friend in scouting
Shannon

As we all know, Benton went to Camp Geiger this summer, as is his family tradition. While he was there he was elevated to the paint responsibility of Fire Builder in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say. In addition to this, his father Larry was elevated from Keeper of the Sacred Bundle to Sachem. This is a very impressive recognition and deserves a big HOW-HOW!

Congratulations to both father and son on their well deserved elevations.

For information on Camp Geiger...

Click here to visit Camp Geiger's Web Page

Yes, it's that time again for all of us to get together and celebrate the heat of the summer, as well as congratulate all the accomplishments of our scouts.

This summer's after camp celebration will be Monday 7-28-03 at the Raridon Pool, starting at 7 p.m. Please bring a light desert, as the Raridon's will be providing a cool beverage. The attire for the evening is informal, and swim trunks are required to swim.

Come celebrate Merit Badges, Rank Advancements, MOS Elevation recognition, and the natorious Eagles Nest Awards.

Please call Shannon Tucker if you have any questions.

Session Three went off with out a hitch!