Troop 81 Committee Meeting Minutes - May 16, 2001 Attendees: Pat Thompson, Larry Herrin, Bonnie Branch, Rita Bonds, Bob Rielly, Charlie Hood, Dan Lassiter, Ben Salisbury, Ed Nichols, Lou Hocker, George Kerr, Tom Schob, Richard Carter Scouts: Matt Teplow Chair: Mark Steger Minutes: Mark Steger 1. Treasurer (Pat Thompson) o April 9-month YTD financials were presented. Income: $24,906. Expenses: $22,440. Variance from budget: surplus of $1,653. o Forecast for the rest of the year is a deficit of $800-1000, due largely to exceeding the budget for equipment. This has not changed from last month, when the Committee authorized an increase in the budget of $1000 to cover these unbudgeted expenses. o To prepare the 2001-2002 budget, Pat solicited inputs on projections for one-time expenses anticipated for next year. Two possibilities are more new tents and a storage shed for troop equipment. Contact Pat if you know of others. o When Pat steps down as Treasurer in July, the troop will change signature authority on the troop's bank account to the new Treasurer, Sharon Hood. Backups will be the Chartered Organization Representative, Craig Christensen, and the Troop Committee Chairman, Mark Steger. The Committee approved this change unanimously. 2. PLC (Matt Teplow) o New Patrol Leaders and Asst Patrol Leaders have been identified for all patrols, with some possibility of changes still to come as individual schedules (e.g., band) and leadership position needs are worked out. o June 4 PLC is the annual program planning meeting. All PL and Asst PL leaders should attend, as well as other leadership positions that make up the PLC. Tom Schob will review and clarify PLC membership before that meeting. 3. Roundtable o Troop 81 did not have a representative attend Roundtable this month. Ed Nichols will attend future Roundtables, with Dan Lassiter as backup. 4. Camping - Richard Carter o Review of April campout (Mineral Wells) - Rock climbing was popular and the campout was judged successful. Thanks to Tom Martin and the old Lightning Patrol for organizing it. o Summer Camp - Mark Steger - Registration will be Tuesday, May 29. Cost is $165. Late registration will incur a $20 late fee. - Five adults are planning to attend the full week. Other adults plan to attend part of the week. More first-year parent attendance is desired. - Swimming will be offered by Charlie Hood at RBF pool on the mornings of June 2 and June 9. For new Scouts, we will work on the 2nd and 1st Class swimming requirements. For older Scouts who do not yet have the Swimming Merit Badge, we will work on that. o Discussion on troop campout policy: - Suggestions were made to encourage better use of the patrol method on campouts and to better define adult roles to make sure all patrols have adequate adult supervision. Troop Committee agreed to require that each patrol have two adults attend each campout, preferably the Patrol Counselor and Asst PC, or a designated substitute. Patrol duty rosters will be modified to include this information. - Concern was also expressed that the troop does not do a good job of checking to make sure that all adults make it to camp and return home safely. Richard Carter will propose a check-in practice to be used. - Tent assignments, distribution, and state of repair continues to be worked out. Scouts still have not adjusted to the new, more limited schedule for trailer access. - Richard Carter reported that BSA insurance coverage is not in force when adults are not registered or listed on the tour permits. Troop will enforce this requirement more rigidly next year. 5. Meetings o Scout Show - Troop 81's Electricity Merit Badge activity was judged to be a hit. Other activities at the Show were also popular for Troop 81 Scouts, including a rock climbing wall. - Troop dropped the ball this year on ticket sales and talking up the Scout Show to get better attendance. o Court of Honor - The May Court of Honor was judged to be a good one, but it did run long. A suggestion was made to move some awards to regular troop meetings to shorten the Court of Honor and to give more immediate recognition for many accomplishments. - Another suggestion is to have the Scoutmaster for Meetings review the opening and closing readings for suitability. 6. Leadership - Tom Schob o All leadership positions for 2001-2002 have been filled, with a few tentative positions still needing to be confirmed. 7. Advancement - Bonnie Branch o Eagles - Lou Hocker/Pat Kelly - Tucker Livingston passed his board of review. - A second Eagle plaque has been ordered. - John Mowrey and Matt Scott will run their Eagle projects this weekend. - Eagle candidate meeting was held May 6. Six of 11 eligible Scouts attended. o The Committee discussed the policy for signoff of the Scout Spirit requirement for advancement. This requirement is a serious one that should be reviewed among several adults before signoff. These adults should be ones who have observered the Scout closely at meetings and campouts, preferably the Patrol Counselor and Asst Patrol Counselor and the mentor for his leadership position. 8. Committee - Mark Steger o Membership/position changes - Mark Steger - Troop still needs adult volunteers for Asst Patrol Counselor for most patrols. Also needed are adult mentors for Scouts holding the leadership positions of Librarian, Historian, Master of Ceremonies, Travel Librarian, and Den Chief. These are good opportunities for new adults to become active in the troop. Contact Mark Steger if you can help the troop by filling one of these positions. o Bylaws - Mark Steger - Proposed bylaws for the business operation of the troop were drawn up by Mark Steger and distributed. Feedback is requested by June 1. If there are no substantive changes required, the bylaws will be voted on at the June meeting. --- The next Troop Committee meeting will be June 27 at RBF. Note that this is after Summer Camp, one week later than our normal date. Troop web site: http://www.bsa.net/tx/t81