Primitive Campout Bonfire, 2013
Meeting Times Troop 264 – 7:30 PM Mondays
Venturing Crew 264 -- 6:30 PM Mondays
Check it Out!
Upcoming Events ------------------------------------------ 2 Calendar ----------------------------------------------------- 5 Past Events -------------------------------------------------- 8 Announcements ----------------------------------------- 11 Information ------------------------------------------------ 14 Troop Leadership ----------------------------------------- 15
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Upcoming Dates and Deadlines (Refer to calendar pages and articles for
specific times and details. (Venturing Crew activities in RED)
DECEMBER 2013 – THIRTY-THREE YEARS OF THE SIGNALER - VOLUME 33, NO. 12
Website: www.troop264olney.net E-mail: [email protected]
The Importance of Color Guard Training
What use is color guard training, you say? Well, you might be called on to lead a color guard in from of a sta-dium full of people. Here’s T264 Eagle Scout Victor Santos (far right) in a color guard to honor veterans, at the Texas A&M vs. University of Texas at El Paso foot-ball game on November 2. Looking Good Victor!!
December 2 Patrol Meeting 7-8 PG Skeet and Trap Shotgun (Crusaders) 9 Troop Meeting 11 District Roundtable 12 Venturing Roundtable 14 Holiday Sing-a-Long at Nursing Home? 14-15 WELDING MB 16 Troop & Crew Holiday Party, 7 PM 19 Troop Adult Meeting, 8 PM, Brookeville Acdy 21 Wounded Warriors Luncheon @ Walter Reed (Ventures) 23 BOR/TLC/Patrol Merit Badges 23-1/1 MCPS No School—Winter Break January 2014 6 Troop meeting & prepare for Webelos Visit Night 8 District Roundtable 9 Venturing Roundtable 11-12 Smithsonian Air & Space Museum 13 7th Annual Webelos Visit Night 16 Troop Adult Meeting, 8 PM, Brookeville Acdy 20 MCPS No School, MLK Day 20 BOR/TLC/Patrol Merit Badges 21 MCPS No School 25 Nursing Home Visit (11 AM—Vikings) 27 Winter Court of Honor (7:30 PM) February 2014 2 Scout Day 3 Patrol Meeting 8 Scout Sabbath 10 Troop Meeting 12 District Roundtable 13 Venturing Roundtable 16 Air & Space Museum @ Dulles 17 MCPS No School—President’s Day 17 District Merit Badge Day 20 Troop Adult Meeting, 8 PM, Brookeville Acdy 22 Nursing Home Visit (11 AM-Hawks) 24 Troop Meeting 28 MCPS Early Release 28-3/2 Ski Trip
Michael Russell and Peter Kirk
Eagle Court of Honor — Dec. 28
1-4 PM at the First Baptist Church of Gaithersburg
Congratulations, Eagle Scouts!
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 2
Smithsonian Air & Space Museum –
January 11-12
On Saturday, January 11, come join us for a fun day at the new Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Chantilly, VA – near the Washington Dulles Air-port. Great museum with exhibits from our earliest at-tempts of flight up to WWII fighters, to today’s modern fighter jets, rockets, space exploration and, of course, the space shuttle “Discovery” (welcomed to the museum upon its retirement in April 2012). Their website is www.airandspace.si.edu Admission is free / parking is $15. Special hands-on exhibit on Sat, Jan 11 is “From the Wright Brothers to the Right Stuff.”
Plan is to arrive at the museum when they open at 10 AM, take our time visiting the museum and its various hangers, have lunch there and then leave to set up camp nearby for an overnight winter campout. (details to fol-low on camp site). Polar Bear Points may be awarded for those brave enough to spend the night. Overnight camping is not required for this trip.
Trip planned by the Hawk Patrol
~ Mr. John Kinzer
Troop Dues Collection and Rechartering
Troop and Crew 264 must complete the annual BSA re-charter process early this year, the White Oak District has asked all its units to turn in the recharter packet on December 14. This doesn’t leave us a lot of time to do a lot.
First, adults who are troop committee members, assis-tant scoutmasters, and troop parents, need to have cur-rent Youth Protection Training (YPT. This is a half hour on-line course at http://myscouting.scouting.org . Please double check your training dates, if it will expire in 2014, please retake it. Adults without YPT may have to be dropped from the roster, but we would rather not have to do that!
Troop dues: $55 for scouts for 2014, $25 for registered adults. The $5 increase in the dues comes from an in-crease in the registration fees set by the national BSA. Mr. Bickel is collecting these dues for the Viking patrol and the Geezer patrol (adults without current troop scouts); Mr. Kinzer is collecting the dues for the Hawk patrol; Mr. Sherman for the Eagle patrol; and a collecting adult will be named for the Crusader and Serpent patrols. Thanks to the several scouts and scouters who have al-ready turned in this payment!
Troop Holiday Party – December 16
The troop’s annual Holiday Party will be held at 7:00 PM at St. John’s. Patrol assignments will be made ad-dressing setup, bringing food items, drinks, and paper goods (plates, napkins, etc.). Venturing Crew 264 crew members and parents are welcome to stay and enjoy the party.
P.G. Skeet and Trap – December 7-8
The Crusader patrol is presently planning a Shotgun out-ing to P.G. Skeet and Trap in Greenbelt. For more de-tails go to page 16.
WELDING Merit Badge –
December 14-15
The tentative date for the Welding merit badge is now December 14-15 as Mr. Fries (the badge counselor) has work that must be finished in early November. Presently 8 scouts are signed up for the badge, we may be able to bring four more. Scouts must be 14 or older (the coun-selor’s requirement), and a parent may need to the ses-sions, which will be held in New Windsor, MD (near Westminster, MD). Contact Dale Bickel [email protected] for information.
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 3
(continued)
For the Long range planners
Summer Camp 2014
When: July 13 to 19, 2014
Where: Camp Powhatan in Virginia
Seabase 2014 August 13-20, 2014
Thanks to Mrs. Robbins’ efforts, we
have a Tall Ship in the Florida Keys
scheduled for August 13 to 20,
2014. The initial payment of
$2000, or $100 per person, was
sent to Seabase some months ago,
as was the first half-payment that
was due October 1. The final half
payment is due March 1, so we will
be collecting that $385 in February.
These costs do not include airfare
or ground transportation to/from
Seabase, which will be worked out
around March to April of 2014.
Already this this trip is less than a
year away so transfer the dates to
your new 2014 calendar. Partici-
pants should expect to take the
standard BSA swim test on arrival,
so keep working on swimming skills
throughout the winter, spring, and into next summer.
We presently have one space available for a scout, crew member, or adult.
Crew Who:
David R. Matt McD. Ryan McD. Elizabeth J. Gina H. Anthony J. Luke R. Peter B. William S. Brian H. Jacob Wier. Jacob L. Sam Jones Mrs. Christiane R. Mrs. Carolyn R. Mr. Al B. Mr. Tom H. Mr. Bart H. Mr. Dirk W.
1 OPEN SPACE
Seventh Annual Webelos Visit Night –
January 13
The troop will hold its Seventh Annual Webelos visit night on Monday, January 13, 7:30 PM to about 9 PM, at St. John’s, in place of the regular troop meeting. Webelos I and II Cub Scouts from local packs, and parents, are in-vited to visit. Boys who are not presently in Cub Scouts, but who may be considering Boy Scouts, are also wel-come to attend, along with their parents.
Each patrol will be demonstrating skills learned and used in Boy Scouts. Patrol skill assignments will be made by the Troop Leadership Committee in January. Scouts and scouters in contact with local Cub Scout packs should make them aware of this opportunity and get this on their calendars. Questions can be directed to [email protected] .
This has been a popular event every year to date and we expect it to be equally so this time. We want as many scouts as possible to attend and assist with the demon-strations. This is YOUR opportunity to show Cub Scouts and parents what Scouting has done for you, and how much fun there is beyond Cub Scouts. We hope it will kindle enthusiasm in the Webelos scouts to tread the same path beyond Cub Scouts, whether with Troop 264 or elsewhere. Information about Troop 264 is always available on the troop’s website, www.troop264olney.net , and in the recent Signaler newsletters therein, and via e-mail at [email protected] .
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 4
(continued)
Philmont 2015 – To the Lottery!
Mr. Dan Parks has offered to begin the process that might allow the troop to attend Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico in 2015. That may seem very far away, but we must enter the lottery for 2015 in November of 2013. The troop should know by December or January whether it has been selected to attend, or placed on a wait list.
We had a meeting of interested scouts and scouters on October 14, and found nearly two crews’ worth of inter-ested people. This gives us enough information to enter the Philmont 2015 lottery. However, if you missed the meeting, you can still sign up with Mr. Parks at [email protected] – no commitment at this time. Venturing Crew members may attend also. Ex-pect the cost to be about $1800 per person, including airfare, ground transportation, and accommodations in Colorado for a couple of days before Philmont actually starts. Scouts must be minimum age 14 by the Philmont start date (or 13 and completed 8th grade), no excep-tions. Youth are considered “scouts” up to age 21 at the High Adventure bases. Adults will need to have 2 weeks of vacation available.
Philmont excursions are either 12 days of backpacking in New Mexico’s Sangre de Christo mountains, or an 8-day Cavalcade (horseback riding) through those same areas. There are daily stations that crews stop at, with activities such as rock climbing, branding, blacksmithing, ascending to any of the several peaks in the Ranch, and more.
For reviews of the 2013 expeditions, please see the Sig-naler write-ups in the August 2012 and September 2012 on Backing by Mr. Dale B. and Peter B., respectively, and Elizabeth J.’s very full account of a Cavalcade trip in the October 2012 edition.
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 5
December 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2
Patrol meeting
3 4
5
6
7 P.G. Skeet & Trap
Shotgun at Green-
belt
(AM) (Crusaders)
8
9 Troop meeting
Troop meeting Open: Serpents Skill: Vikings MB: Hawks
10
11
District
Roundtable
(Scouter Holiday
party)
12
Venturing
Roundtable
13
14
Holiday Sing-A-
Long at Nursing
Home?
Welding MB
15
Welding MB
16
Troop and Crew
Holiday Party, 7
PM
17
18
19 Troop adult
meeting, 8 PM,
Brookeville Acade-
my
20
21 Wounded Warri-
ors luncheon at
Walter Reed
(Ventures)
22
23 BOR / TLC /
Patrol merit badg-
es
MCPS – no school
24
(no school)
25
Christmas
(no school)
26
(no school)
27
(no school)
28 Eagle Court of
Honor, 1 PM –
Peter Kirk and
Michael Russell
29
30 (no school)
Patrol meeting
31
(no school)
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 6
January 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 New Year’s Day
(no school)
2
(no school)
3
(no school)
4
5
6 Troop meeting &
prepare for We-
belos Visit Night
Open: Hawks
Skill: Eagles
MB: Vikings
7
8 District
Roundtable
(Crusaders)
9 Venturing
Roundtable
10
11 Air & Space
Museum (Hawks)
12 Air & Space
Museum (Hawks)
13
7th annual
Webelos Visit
Night
14
15
16 Troop adult
meeting, 8 PM,
Brookeville Acade-
my
17
18
19
20 MLK Day – No
school
Last Chance BOR /
TLC and / Patrol
merit badges
21
MCPS – No school
for students
22
23
24
25
Nursing Home
visit (11 AM –
Vikings)
26
27 Winter Court of
Honor, 7:30 PM
28
29
30
31
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 7
February 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
2
Scout Sunday
3
Patrol meeting
4
5
6
7
8 Scout Sabbath
9
10 Troop meeting
Open: Eagles
Skill: Crusaders
MB: Serpents
11
12 District
Roundtable
(Eagles)
13 Venturing
Roundtable
14
15
16
Air and Space Mu-
seum @ Dulles
17 Presidents’ Day
(no school)
District Merit
Badge Day
18
19
20 Troop adult
meeting, 8 PM,
Brookeville Acade-
my
21
22
Nursing Home
Visit (Hawks) 11
AM
23
24 Troop meeting
Open: Vikings
Skill: Serpents
MB: Hawks
25
26
27
28 MCPS Early Re-
lease day
Ski trip (Eagles)
Ski trip (Eagles)
(to March 2)
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 8
Scouting for Food Collection
November 9
Thanks to all who helped load the Manna truck as troops and packs delivered their collections. Out of 15 very large plastic bins availa-ble, 14 ½ were filled with dona-tions (the drivers only expected to fill about 10). In plastic grocery-bag terms,
this corresponds to more than 1450 bags. This illustrates the generosity of people in the Olney area, and the efforts of the Packs and Troops to make this a suc-cessful drive. Weather was per-fect, sunny 50s with very thin clouds.
Tyler was the “man with the clipboard”, counting bags and logging in donations, and learned firsthand what is like to be pulled in many different directions at once.
Thanks to Mrs. Ann C and Mr. Gary S., who fetched lunch for hungry loaders.
Participants (hours): Evan N. (5) Joey U. (3.5) Joshua F. (5.5) Tyler H. (4.25) Matt McD. (5.5) David R. (4.75) Luke T. (3.75) Peter B. (2.6) Brendan O. (3.1) Jonah S. (3.75) Luke M. (2.75) Ben R. (3.25) Caleb H. (3.5) Joel P. (2) Brandon O. (2.75) Bradley N. (1) Rhyth G. (2)(Troop 4316) Mr. Al. B. (2.5) Mrs. Trish U. (3.5) Dr. Paul F. (4) Mr. Jonathan G.(5) Mr. Bob I. (0.75) Mr. Jim C. (2.25) Mr. Dennis B. (7) Mr. Dale B. (7) Mr. Walt McK.(1) Mrs. Linda L. (6)
Ice Cream Party – November 25
Eagle scout Jim Bickel, now currently at Penn State, brought back 16 half gallons of various fla-vors of Penn State Creamery ice cream to share with the troop. The ice cream was scooped at the end of the regular troop meeting. There was plenty to go around, more than enough for seconds or thirds. A good start to Thanksgiving week. Thanks, Jim!
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 9
(continued)
In the evening the wind was starting to pick up, so the property owner asked the troop to remove some of the large stack of wooden material (pallets) that some older and Eagle scouts had assembled. After removing a large pile, still a large pile of pallets and brush still re-mained. The fire was lit with flares and burned brightly and hot, with the flames sharply askew because of the wind fanning the fire. Apparently someone thought the fire was out of control and called 911, as a fire truck pulled up shortly thereafter, stopping outside the field
entrance. A firefighter came and circled the blaze and returned to the truck. Mr. Haviland spoke to the firefighters and they left with an admonishment to keep the fire at a lower level, which we did (still a re-spectable fire, however).
Toward 9:30 PM, as the night chill was growing (away from the fire), scouts crossed the river and went to their shelters.
(Except for the Venturing Crew – they abandoned their shelters for a minivan and spent the night there.) The
wind continued strong and cold all night long and into the morning. Once up on Sunday morning, scouts began sending gear back across the river and coming themselves. It seems the shelters did their job.
It was then I heard a cry from Mr. Sher-man “bag in the river!”. Eric L.’s sleep-
ing bag had fallen off the pulley, or perhaps fell off the bank, but I saw it serenely floating down the river. At-tempts to reach it with a rope and stick failed, and Mr. Barth could not get to it with his waders, but for-tunately the bag nestled along the far bank where Peter B. scrambled down and fished it out, none the worse for its watery excursion.
The temperature dropped to 20° overnight, so all scouts and scouters who stayed overnight gained 12 polar bear points in that one night. (32 polar bear points earns one a Polar Bear patch.)
We don’t have a participant list at this time, patrol lead-ers are asked to make a list for their patrol (indicating who camped and who did not) and pass them to the SPL, for inclusion in the next Signaler.
~ Mr. Dale Bickel
Primitive Campout – November 23-24
The 2013 Primitive Campout was cold but fun. Scouts started arriving at Mr. Haviland’s field north of Ashton around 9 AM. The various patrols set up their tarps and
gear as they arrived throughout the day, and people and gear shuttled across the two wire bridge crossing the Patuxent River. Patrols and Venturing Crew mem-bers established primi-tive shelters in the woods on the far side of the river, with plastic
tarps on the bottom to keep sleeping bags clean and dry. Viking patrol used a large log, that had a bend large enough to crawl under, to construct their shelter against. The Crusaders and Serpents made a joint shelter, with timbers angling from a cross brace tied to two trees, cov-ered with leaves. The Hawks’ shelter was similar to the Serpents/Crusaders . The Venturing Crew built two low shel-ters with cross braces between two par-allel fallen trees, covered with grass. The Eagles’ was perhaps the most inno-vative, with several braces in an “A” shape against a 6 foot tall log. At about two feet above ground level, a criss-cross of twine sup-ported tall dry weed stalks laid crosswise, with dried grass on top and on the sides.
Potato guns were brought out in mid-afternoon, ranging in size from smaller arm’s length shooters to Jimmy’s long barrel howitzer. Spuds of various sizes were launched downfield toward the riv-er.
Several older Eagle Scouts came out for the day — Max Simpson, David Light, Holland McCabe, Jonathan Godfrey, and Jimmy Bickel and An-thony Justus (both of whom stayed overnight). Nice to see these guys again! Also coming out for the after-noon was Mr. Ethan Breitland, who we expect to see more of in the adult leader capacity. Three Cub Scouts from Packs 774 and 434 joined us along with two dads, they camped the night in tents on the near side of the river.
The cooking contest was won this year by the Viking pa-trol, for their beef, potatoes, and apple cobbler meal (the beef was very tender –Willy gets the credit for the meal!) although all the patrols and crew acquitted themselves very well.
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 10
(continued)
Primitive Campout Cooking Contest Results
The Serpents received honorable mention for their last minute save of dinner with Louisiana style chicken and biscuits. Their cobbler was very good.
The Crusaders patrol made a rather good mini-pizza us-ing hamburger rolls in place of the usual English muffins -- very quick, hot and tasty.
The Eagles and Ventures separately made fajitas, one with chicken and one with ground beef and sausage. Mr. Irvin and I were split on which tasted better. I liked the sausage better – spicy!.
The Hawks patrol made a good hunter stew with slow-cooked beef, Polish sausage, and vegetables with some good flavoring.
The Viking patrol did a Dutch oven roast that was very tender and did not need to be cut with a knife, good fla-voring for the vegetables. Apple cobbler too. SO THE
VIKINGS ARE THE WINNER.
All the meals were well done and well planned. Mr. Irvin and I were impressed with the presentation as well, a job well done by all!
~ Mr. Dennis Bogan, Scoutmaster
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 11
2014 Duty to God Award
All scouts interested in earning the NEW 2014 Duty to God Patch, also scouts interested in earning their faith's medallion, please contact Dr. Paul Fowler, [email protected].
Wreaths and Ornaments
It’s time to start the troop’s annual winter fundraiser, the sale of White House ornaments and holiday wreaths. Please start making contacts with people you know who may be interested, and line up orders early. A portion of each sale goes to “scout credits” that can be applied to a future larger outing such as summer camp or a High Ad-venture trip.
This year, Mrs. Ann Carr has offered to coordinate the sales of the White House ornaments. We need an adult
to coordinate wreath sales.
The 2013 White House ornament honors Presi-
dent Woodrow Wilson:
“The 2013 official orna-ment of the White House honors the administration of Woodrow Wilson. Wil-son was the 28th Presi-dent of the United States. He served during a critical time in American History when the nation was thrust
into World War I. President and Mrs. Wilson visited the troops on Christmas Day in 1918. He was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in ending the war and bringing about peace.
”The focus of the 2013 ornament is an American Elm tree planted just before Christmas by Woodrow Wilson on the North lawn of the White House 1913. The snowy scene is surrounded by a 24-karat gold-plated frame, comprised of elm leaves, a wreath of olives branches, and holly leaves. Two white doves of peace perch on the olive branches and hold the banner, "The White House 2013". ”The words on the back of the ornament were delivered by Wilson in his War mes-sage to Congress April 2, 1917. ‘Peace must be planted upon the tested foundation of political liber-ty.’ “
WHITE HOUSE ORNAMENTS WILL BE SOLD BY THE TROOP
FOR $22 APIECE.
Video Training for Tenderfoot, Second
Class, and First Class
Scouting.org has videos available to help scouts with the rank requirements of Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class. These short videos include the current requirements listed for Tenderfoot through First Class.
http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Applications/RankVideo.aspx
Getting Credit for Troop Activities
It’s important that everyone who participates in Troop 264 campouts, trips, and community service activities gets credit for their hard work. The Signaler provides the permanent record of everyone who attends these events. Patrol leaders need to take responsibility for collecting the names of participants in their patrols and send those lists, preferably by email, to the Signaler staff by the monthly deadline. E-mail lists to [email protected].
Wreaths and Ornaments (continued)
Holiday wreaths will be available just before Thanksgiv-ing. The wreaths are 22 inches in diameter, well made and decorative. Wreaths come boxed and bagged for protection and freshness.
HOLIDAY WREATHS WILL BE SOLD BY THE TROOP FOR
$27 APIECE.
Keep in mind that it’s easiest to sell early: the Friday and Saturday right after Thanksgiving are a particularly good time for
sales!
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 12
(continued)
Last Chance to Purchase Before the Holidays!
100% of the proceeds benefit our
Adopt A Soldier Program Serving our Troops since 2005
Fleur de Lis Accessories
Zipper Pull - $ 2.00
(Silver-Tone)
Earrings - $ 5.00
(Silver-Tone or Gold-Tone)
Gift Package - $ 10.00
(Gift Boxed - Zipper Pull, Silver-Tone
and Gold-Tone Earrings)
Crafted by Mrs. Josey Simpson
Assistant Scoutmaster
Adopt A Soldier Program
Eagle Scout Courts of Honor
301.512.5439
God Bless America … Land of the Free … Because of the Brave
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS
Troop Activity Policy
Please be reminded that it is troop policy (and common courtesy) for a scout or scouter to pay the costs associ-ated with an event he or she has signed up for but did not attend, without being asked. No-shows increase the costs to the troop and the participants, require the troop to reserve unneeded space and transport excess equip-ment, and results in wasted food and materials. We re-alize that situations inevitably will occur that prevent a scout from attending events, and ask that the scout or scouter contact the person organizing the event right away. If the conflict is raised early enough, adjustments can often be made where food has not yet been pur-chased or reservations have not been finalized.
NCAC Website Update
NCAC Council's website is now located at http://www.ncacbsa.org . Please update any links and bookmarks you have to the old site.
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 13
Resources for Planning Troop Outings
On the troop website, under “Outings” at http://www.troop264olney.net/outings.html, you will find links to infor-mation about places the troop has visited, as well as:
Guide and Checklist for Planning Troop Outings (revised July 2013 ), which provides a step-by-step guide for Scouts and adults to plan a successful trip;
Troop Outing Expense Accounting spreadsheet, to help Scouts and adults ensure that costs of troop outings are fully covered;
Historical Hikes and Camping Summary Form, that Scouts and adults can download and complete or update with new information about particular hikes and campouts that can then be sent to the troop webmaster [presently Mr. Bickel] for uploading to the troop website; and
Links to completed summary forms containing information about various historical hikes and campouts the troop has done, including information about Scout patches or medals that can be earned and information about accessibility for physically-challenged Scouts or adults.
For further information about any of these tools, contact Mr. Bob Irvin at [email protected].
Troop and Crew Drivers’ Info Update Needed
Each Boy Scout troop and Venturing Crew is required to maintain some basic information about the adult drivers that may be transporting scouts to and from events. This information is kept confidential and is only used to ap-ply for BSA Tour plans, which are required for all trips outside the NCAC Council area, and for specific kinds of ac-tivities within the Council.
So that we can keep our records current, please complete the attached form with current information and return it to Mr. Dale Bickel. Thanks in advance for your assistance! Note that changes in the BSA requirements means that we don’t need as much data as in the past.
Name(s): _______________________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________________________
City, State: ____________________________ BSA registration no. (if known): _____________________
Phone number: ________________________ E-mail address: ___________________________________
Vehicles (Make, Model, Year) ___________________________________________________________
and No. of Seatbelts __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
My insurance meets state standards: Y / N
BSA Youth Protection online training is current (if known)? Y / N
(continued)
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 14
BOR Any scout needing a Board of Review should call Mr. Walt Greenspon @ (301-774-5394) no lat-er than two Sundays (8 days) before the scheduled Board of Review. Failure to give proper notifi-cation will delay your BOR until the next month. Get your Scoutmaster Conference prior to calling Mr. Greenspon. If your scout is scheduled for the BOR, he must bring an adult with him. That adult is needed to sit on a BOR for another scout. This way we can accommodate all scouts striv-ing for advancement.
Dress Code for BOR: Class “A” shirt, neckerchief, slide and scout pants (khaki or black pants can be substituted).
A scout hat is preferred.
Attention: Board of Review (BOR) Procedures
Some years ago we set up a new procedure for scouts to follow for requesting Board of Reviews. Being a large troop, we needed to give the adults sitting on the BORs some lead-time. Recently the procedure has been sliding and the adults are getting short notice because of last minute BORs being scheduled. Therefore we are restating our policy. FORGOT THE PROCEDURE? NO PROBLEM – It is almost always on one of the last pages of each Signaler edition. Also, you can look at any past edition of the Sig-
Editor Nicholas C. [email protected]
Webmaster Mr. Dale Bickel 301-774-0416 [email protected]
Reporters: William S. 301-260-8605 [email protected]
Signaler Adults: Mr. Dale Bickel 301-774-0416 [email protected]
Adult Advisors:
Scoutmaster: Mr. Dennis Bogan 301-774-2768 [email protected]
Treasurer: Mr. Al Barth 301-570-0869 [email protected]
Troop Committee: Mr. Mark Russell 301-774-1077 [email protected]
Order of the Arrow (OA) Mr. Rick Justus 301-774-7833 [email protected]
Advancement Chairman: Mr. Gary Matyas 301-570-0610 [email protected]
SPL: Joshua F.
Adult activity coordinators – please submit information about upcoming activities to Signaler Staff
(electronically or hardcopy) by the deadline. Please contact a Signaler reporter if you would like to
have a Scout generate the announcement for you. If any information about or participants of activities
have been left out of the Signaler; corrections will be made in the next issue. Please send any correc-
tions to The Signaler at [email protected].
The Signaler is posted on the troop’s website, www.troop264olney.net. Notice is sent by E-MAIL when the new Signaler edition is posted. To get on the e-mail list, or to be removed or make correc-tions, please send an e-mail to [email protected] (Mr. Dale Bickel).
The Signaler
The Signaler - Troop 264 Newsletter
December 2013 15
Troop Leadership Senior Patrol Leader (SPL)······················ Joshua F. Assistant SPLs and assigned patrols: ········ Peter B. (E,C) ·························································· Connor E. (H,V) ·························································· Adam R. (S) Chaplain’s Aide: ···································· Nate K. Librarian ·············································· Eric F. Scribe: ················································ Jacob L. Quartermaster: ····································· Atticus M. Historian: ············································· Peter B. Instructor: ············································ Jacob Wie. Troop Guide: ········································ Anthony F. ·························································· Trevor B. Order of the Arrow Representative: ··········· William S. Buglers: ··············································· Peter B. ·························································· Kevin C. Signaler Editor: ····································· Nicholas C. Leave No Trace Trainer: ························· Joel P. Den Chief: ··········································· John F.
Eagle Patrol Patrol Leader: ······································· Evan N. Assistant Patrol Leader: ·························· Jacob Wei. Patrol Quartermaster: ····························· Caleb H.
Crusaders Patrol Patrol Leader: ······································· Tyler H. Assistant Patrol Leader: ·························· Bradley N. Patrol Quartermaster: ····························· Luke R.
Hawk Patrol Patrol Leader: ······································· Nate K. Assistant Patrol Leader: ·························· Jonathan S. Patrol Quartermaster: ····························· Peter B.
Viking Patrol Patrol Leader: ······································· Samuel J. Assistant Patrol Leader: ·························· Anthony F. Patrol Quartermaster: ····························· Kevin C.
Serpents Patrol Patrol Leader: ······································· Brandon S. Assistant Patrol Leader: ·························· Elijah H. Patrol Quartermaster: ····························· Mr. Mark Freedman
Troop 264 Shotgun Fun Shoot
What: The Troop will provide a safe environment to introduce shotgun shooting at moving targets.
Safety will be our number one priority.
Where: Prince Georges Trap and Skeet in Glendale, MD
When: December 7th at 9:15am - approximately Noon
Sign up closes on Nov. 25th
How will it work: Participants will receive one-on-one instruction from an NRA Certified Shotgun In-
structors and dedicated supervision from an NRA Certified Range Safety Officer.
All participants must attend (and pay attention during) the mandatory safety
briefing starting promptly at 9:30 am in order to participate in the event. Partici-
pants will be organized into experienced and inexperienced groups to provide
differing levels of instruction. Experienced participants are defined as possessing
a shotgun merit badge, a hunter’s safety card or other tangible proof of shotgun
proficiency. We will have youth and adult sized firearms in both 20 gauge and
12 gauge. Our goal is to cycle experienced participants through at least one round of skeet (25 shots)
and inexperienced through at least 3 rounds of 5 shots at station 7. Priority will be given to scouts
and then adults as time permits. Limited to 20 participants.
What do participants need: Participants will need only a troop permission slip, a Troop-264 Firearms
Release, twenty dollars and the ability to follow instructions. All clay targets, ammunition, firearms,
hearing and eye protection will be provided.
Safety: Safety is our utmost concern. We utilize trained and certified personnel
in a strictly controlled environment to maintain safety. As such, all participants
are required to attend the mandatory safety briefing which will detail our proce-
dures and rules. We strictly follow and enforce these protocols. All firearms will
be sequestered as they arrive to the event and remain in the custody of the in-
structors until disbursement at the conclusion of the event. Ammunition will only
be managed by certified instructors and RSOs. Participants are not permitted to bring any ammuni-
tion with them to the event. Participants will receive ammunition from instructors only when pre-
pared to fire. Ammunition and will be dispensed one-shell-at-a-time with the exception of doubles
on the experienced range. Anyone desiring to utilize their personal firearm must gain permission
from Mr. Wiersma prior to event and will be subject to the same rules above.
For more information, questions or to sign up please email
Mr. Wiersma: [email protected]