Troop 39 spent a great week at Camp Durant. Check out the official video and photos from Camp!
And the official 925 photos – did you spot yourself?
Jun 08
Scouts First Class and Higher,
Your newly SPL has created a form for you, not your parents, to select positions for the 2017/2018 Scout Year. The email from your SPL has been forwarded on to the Parent email list. If you have any questions about the form then contact him directly. Above is a hyperlink to the Google Form and here is the long URL, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc51wpd0Tn9OWhSs_vIhfy-vk9Er3pX6qxNuFwPP_ckqNXvOw/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link
Dec 06
Glenn Benton receiving his award from Sammy Rape
Assistant Scoutmaster Glenn Benton was awarded the BSA Shakori District’s Assistant Scoutmaster of the Year 2016 award.
In his nomination, Troop 39 Scoutmaster Sammy Rape wrote: “Glenn Benton has done a tremendous job as our New Scout Transition Coordinator. In that position, he leads the recruiting efforts of Webelos scouts from Packs in our area. He leads the organization of our Field Day program to help prospective scouts and their parents learn about our troop. He uses extraordinary efforts to integrate our new scouts and their parents into our troop, once they have joined. His efforts have significantly increased membership in our troop over the last number of years.
Glenn Benton has made a real difference in the health and vibrancy of our troop and I am pleased to nominate him as Shakori Assistant Scoutmaster of the Year.”
Diane Meyer with Order of the Arrow Chapter Advisor Carlton McKee
Diane Meyer was awarded the BSA Shakori District’s venturing Advisor of the Year 2016 award for her commitment to Crew 39.
Diane has always set the example of what leadership should be. Venture crew 39 has never been a large crew yet she has been diligently working to maintain the crew operational by encouraging members to attend and help expand the crew in order to ensure that everyone has the best experience possible. In addition to her dedication, her organizational skills and making herself easily reachable and more importantly, easily approachable, have had an amazing impact on Crew 39 as well as Troop 39 where she had served as advancement chair and is now an assistant scoutmaster. Crew members would have been lost without her!
Feb 04
Parents and scouts
Our Washington DC trip is nearly upon us. We need to act early in oder o reserve the bicycles. Please read this email carefully – here is a lot here! .
The White House
We do not know if we have been approved to enter the White House and the expectation is that we will not know until maybe as late as the week of the trip. I appreciate that this does not give you much time for planning and decision making however it is not within our control! I suggest you make the decision to go or not to go independently of whether we do or do not get into the White House or not and make your plans accordingly.
We also will not know if each and every one of us whose names were provided (see list in the email that I sent on February 4th) will be cleared however I do know that if your name is not on the list then I can guarantee that you will not be able to enter the White House. We do not have the opportunity to add names to the list.
I will let you know if we are approved for the White House as soon as I know.
Transportation
The bus is for scouts and adults who are supervising scouts. It does not have the capacity to carry everyone who may join the troop on this outing so I think it only fair to draw the line at the Scouts. So if you have siblings of scouts and family members who are joining us, you will need to make your own plans for transportation. Feel free as parents to work out some carpooling among yourselves but please do not expect leaders to jump in to coordinate ride sharing.
Accommodation
We have two group camp sites at the Prince William Forest Park in Quantico. You are welcome to join us there however you will need to make your own way there and you will need to bring your own camping gear. We do have troop tents however I can not guarantee any availability for parents/siblings use. Scouts will camp in patrols and not with parents/siblings. Alternatively (and this would be me given the option) you will find and book your own accommodations to suit your own needs and join the troop at rendezvous locations and times that will be published closer to the outing.
Parking
If you are traveling in your own vehicle, you will need to plan for and pay for parking in downtown DC for the day. There is a car entry fee to Prince William Forest Park.
Supervision
The troop will tour DC in patrols on rental bikes. Each patrol will need two deep adult supervision and so we need some parents who will reinforce the ranks of the uniformed leaders be able to commit themselves to this task and be prepared to help chaperon a patrol with one of the uniformed leaders. Having one or two siblings in tow is fine however remember that the boys will lead this and if they are stood on the steps of the Lincoln memorial and decide that their next stop is the Viet Nam memorial, via the Supreme Court building, then so be it! :-). Please note that we may assign you to chaperon a patrol other than that of your scout. Chaperon slots will be filled on first come, first served basis.
We also may need at least two chaperons who can supervise any youth who are not able to enter the White House (I am not anticipating any scouts failing the security check however there is a possibility that some youths wish to come on the trip but their names were not on the list gathered in the Fall). so if you are not on the list but want to join us, this would be an ideal job for you.
Chaperons will have the option to ride the bus and camp with the troop (all bus riders will camp).
Bike rentals
The troop will make bike rental reservations for all those who sign up below and pay on the troop store. There are two options for bike size. Rentals include helmet and lock. All adults attending as leaders/chaperons must sign up on the troop site to reserve a bicycle. Other adults/siblings may also reserve bike through the sign up page and the troop store.
We need to know all riders’ heights and genders so the bike rental shop will have a bike adjusted ready for you. Those less than 5′ will ride a youth bike; those above will ride an adult bike.
There is a waiver – every person renting a bike needs to provide Mr Tomkins with their completed waiver before we leave Chapel Hill.
Meals
We will eat all meals in restaurants. We will not be cooking in camp. The cost of the outing does not include the food. Scouts will need their own method of paying for meals independently:
- Vending stop on Friday night
- Breakfast on Saturday will be at a downtown DC location.
- Lunch on Saturday will be with patrols independently eating
- Dinner on Saturday will be at a restaurant of Sammy’s choosing.
- Breakfast on Sunday will be at a restaurant near Prince William Forest Park/Quantico National Cemetery.
- Lunch on Sunday will taken on the road trip back to Chapel Hill.
Uniforms
This is a uniformed troop and there are elements of this trip that will be in Class A due to the nature of the event and other elements in Class B:
- Class A will be worn for the White House tour, the service we will hold at the Boy Scout memorial and the service we will hold at the Quantico National Cemetery.
- Class B will be worn at all other times during the weekend except when sleeping, when you will be wearing Class PJs!
Provisional schedule:
Friday:
- 5pm Meet at Phillips MS at 5pm in Full Class B Uniform.
- 530pm departure. We will stop for vending on the way.
- 930pm Arrive at Prince William Forest Park, Quantico, VA
Saturday:
We will rise early and drive into DC in FULL CLASS A UNIFORMS with Class B underneath. All troop members will have a pre-packed day pack with them of items they will need on the day out in DC.
The troop will be dropped at a restaurant for breakfast in the downtown Washington DC area.
- Tour the White House
- Pick up rental bikes
- Scouts tour DC in their patrols – parents/siblings will do their own thing.
- Scouts Own service at the National Boy Scout Memorial on the Mall.
- Dinner at a restaurant of Sammy’s choosing
- Night time tour of DC on the bus
- Stop off at Iwo Jima Memorial for reflection and night time vista of DC.
- return to Camp at Prince William Forest Park.
Sunday:
- Break camp (not as early as Saturday!). Dress in Class A.
- breakfast locally near Prince William Forest Park. .
- Service project and service of remembrance at the Quantico National Cemetery in Full Class A uniform.
- Lunch
- Point bus in direction of Chapel Hill.
- Target to be back in Chapel Hill provisionally: 5pm. j
What to Bring:
- Class A (Shirt and Neckerchief on a hanger to leave on the bus)
- Class B for the rest of the weekend
- A day pack already packed – water bottle; snacks; clothing suitable for forecasted weather;
- Money/Debit card for vending, two breakfasts, two lunches and dinner and for any souvenir purchases.
- camping gear – usual stuff for a regular outing.
Sign up and payment
Read carefully: Sign-up is a three-step process.
Step 1:
For each and every individual on the trip, please fill in the form below. If you have 4 people from your family attending, submit 4 forms.
Step 2:
Pay for the outing. If you are not renting a bike through the troop, there is no fee. You only need to place one for the right number of bicycles.
- If you are a scout or a uniformed leader or a chaperon, you must sign up and pay so we can rent you a bike.
- If you are a parent/sibling coming along and want the convenience of the troop reserving a bike for you so you can also tour the city on one, then you must sign up and pay so we can rent you a bike.
- If you are a parent/sibling who is coming along for the White House tour but isn’t going to ride a bike, then you do need to sign up in step 1 but you do not need to pay anything for the outing. You can still camp with the troop even if you do not rent a bike (at no charge).
Step 3:
Every individual renting a bike must complete the waiver and return it to Mr Tomkins
Oct 26
Scouts and adults from Troop 39 enjoyed a special prepreation meeting the Wednesday before going to Gettysburg for an educational event. The scouts were able to get an excused absence from school to take a relaxing bus ride. We enjoyed a weekend of camping on the historic battlefield. Saturday we visited the museum and were to spend quite some time marveling over the 360 degree Cyclorama, the largest oil painting in the USA measuring 42 feet high and 377 feet in circumference, and is over 130 years old. We were treated to have a licensed tour guide on our troop bus that spent time making this event a memory of a lifetime for us. So much information was coming forth from him that one could not help but be moved by this retired Marine. Saturday evening we were treated to some delicious ChiliMac by Mr Fitz-Simmons and cooking crew, a Troop 39’s Got Talent event, this included patrols, individual scouts, our guest parents and uniformed leaders, sorry, no video recording was made available. We were able to close out Saturday the best way our troop could at such a historical event with a flag retirement ceremony. We were up early Sunday, an hour before sunrise to break camp, have our scout zone service, eat and go over to Pickets Charge where our Mr Benton walked us thru the steps of this pivital event of the 3 day battle where we walked the 7th of a mile where 5000 Confederate lost their lives or came up missing in this event and we saw their high mark into Northern soil.
Please enjoy the photos, most of which were supplied by the scouts.
Sep 07
Scouts and leaders of troop 39 came together at Camp Reeves in August to plan the forthcoming Scouting year. There is a lot of adventure ahead including a trip to Busch Gardens, backpacking, hiking, wilderness survival and historic trips to our nation’s capital and Gettysburg to name but a few! The capstone of the year will be a contingent heading to Philmont Scout Ranch and another heading to Bristol in England to join our brothers and sister of Troop 26!
May 10
Scouts of Troop 39 handed out 1,000s of commencement programmes today, continuing a tradition that extends over 50 years. Here are a few photos of the Antelope patrol who were covering one of the busiest gates! Scoutmasters received a continuous flow of comments about how smart and polite and cute the scouts were and what a good job they were doing. Mothers beamed smiles as a scout wished them a Happy Mothers Day along with their programme!
May 03
Just a few photos from this weekend’s fun at Camp Campbell!
Apr 14
Troop, I will be sending out a list of your service hours for Touch a Truck 2015 that are in the troop records. Please use the form below if your record is inaccurate – put the revised TOTAL.
thanks
Glyn Tomkins
Mar 01
Last year, Scottie Meyer and I took scouts to the NC State University for a fabulous Merit Badge College. The merit badges are scientifically and environmentally oriented, the instruction is by professors and graduate students and is first class and the lads loved it! Well, we plan to go again (well, I know that at least Scottie and I will be going!)
The merit badges on offer are:
- Chemistry
- Composite Material
- Electricity
- Energy
- Engineering
- Animal Science /Veterinary Science ($23)
- Robotics / Electronics ($23)
- Forestry
- Geology
- Pulp and Paper
- Space Exploration
- Plant Science
- Soil and Water Conservation
- Environmental Science
- Fish and Wildlife Mgmt
- Weather
- Sustainability
We will not be taking the bus, but we will take the Suburban and we will take another car so there is room for up to 11 scouts traveling with the two leaders. If you can drive there of back, please indicate in your reply.
To participate, here is what you need to do by no later than Saturday 3/14/15 at 9:26:54 am. Space is likely to be limited and we will register scouts in date and time sequence so please book early to avoid disappointment.
1. Review the attached flier and availability/interest with your scout.
2. If he wants to attend, please Fill in the form below. PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL DIRECTLY!
By responding you will be committing to pay the troop the following:
- $18 for a single MB program
- $23 for a double MB program
- $9 for an adult staying for lunch
Note again: responses through the web site by the deadline. Registrations are done at midnight on 3/16 and we will tell you what you got and how much is due. We will collect the checks at troop night on 3/18
Details on logistics will be shared nearer the time.
Yours in Scouting
Glyn Tomkins
Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 39
