[Troop139] Agenda for Tonight's Meeting

Tue Nov 4 16:56:45 EST 2014

Boy Scout Troop 139 Parent Meeting Agenda

4 November, 2014

1.       Opening - Scoutmaster, Assistant Scoutmasters

2.       Welcome - Committee Chair, Scoutmaster

3.       Fall/Winter Program Activities - Scoutmaster

4.       Eagle Candidates - Scoutmaster

5.       Flea Market/Hamfest - Fundraising Chair

6.       Administrative Positions - Committee Chair

7.       Spring Program Activities - All

8.       Camp Turrell & Floodwood Summer Camp - All

9.       Closing - All

RETREAT

Our young men had a great weekend on Retreat this weekend, despite some
really challenging weather.  In the end, they learned that they could be
effective as a Troop, with everyone taking away some positive growth
experiences for their minds, bodies and souls.  Oh by the way.THEY HAD FUN
while enjoying the satisfaction that they were the ONLY FULL TROOP to come
prepared to work and play together, and they did it with style and grace!

This is the type of experience that makes being a Troop 139 Scout different
from others.  GREAT JOB GENTLEMEN!

EAGLE SCOUTS

This week has been a bit of a whirlwind, but the personal centerpiece event
for this week was our son Jeremy reaching the rank of Eagle Scout.  He joins
his brothers James and John and another eighty or so Scouts on the Troop 139
Eagle Roster.  

Nancy and I would like to thank our friends Mr. Phil Sciame and Mr. Gurz
Gungil for their letters of recommendation and for joining the Board of
Review Chair, Mr. Anthony Catalano from the Three Rivers District of the
Northern New Jersey Council, BSA for their time in encouraging and reviewing
Jeremy's work.  Many others, both brother Scouts and Scouters, both present
and past along with other adults took their valuable time to participate in
Scouting and other areas over the years to make this day possible.  

The trail to the Rank of Eagle Scout is a long one, full of joys and
challenges which build character in young men.  It has often been
inconvenient and a sacrifice of time and resources by those around Jeremy
and the other young men of our Troop that have made a difference for them.
>From personal experience, we know that these factors are overshadowed by the
immense joys in seeing them grow to be wonderful young men.

In the next 18 or so months, there will be NINE other Scouts of our Troop
who will be candidates for the Rank of Eagle Scout, and each will need more
of the same well-deserved support from their brother Scouts and the parents
of the Troop.    See the list below and you will more fully understand the
exciting challenge before us!

1.       Kofi

2.       Reinier

3.       Joe

4.       Dino 

5.       Sam

6.       Bryan

7.       John

8.       Sean

9.       Sergio

(Did I miss anyone else?)

We will need to focus on ways to leverage the skill development and
advancement goals of the younger Scouts as each of the older Scouts attain
their advancement goal of becoming Eagle Scouts.  We also need to be mindful
that several of these young men are 17 and will need to be prioritized ahead
of the others.  

This is a TROOP and not a Lone Scout program, so we will need to help each
young man keep the "eye on the prize" and share the workload in support of
the others' projects.  We are also going to need adults (not the Scout's
parent) to mentor each of these young men.  If you are interested in such a
role, perhaps in advance of your own son's rise to Eagle, please let me know
ASAP.   Don't worry about experience.it was never something that we were
allowed to use as an excuse to not help out!  :) 

We look forward to sharing a celebration of Jeremy's achievement with you,
your sons and past members of the Troop sometime in the Spring when everyone
will be available from far-flung places.

Again, a hearty THANK YOU from us to each Scout and their families!

Yours in Scouting!

AMATEUR RADIO & RELATED TECHNOLOGY ACTIVITIES

In the next month or so we will have several Amateur Radio activities
planned including our licensing classes, part of our Holiday Flea
Market/HamFest and a really fun activity on Long Island called "Ham Radio
University".  We also have some operating activities that every Scout,
Scouter and other member of the Amateur Radio Community can enjoy!

Please let me know if your Scout, you or another family member or friend are
interested in these activities.

1.       I will be running weekly (mostly) training sessions during part of

our Troop meetings and if there is interest, on Sunday evenings for the next

few weeks.   We will review what you can do with Amateur Radio and questions

from the tests.   Free informational and online study materials for Amateur

Radio are available via email.  Please drop a note to me, Gordon Beattie at
W2TTT at ARRL.NET <mailto:W2TTT at ARRL.NET>  <mailto:W2TTT at ARRL.NET>  if you
would like to receive them..

2.       If there is interest, we will pursue the Electricity, Electronics,

Radio, Computers, Digital Technology, Inventing and Robotics Merit Badges
including the building of some basic kits.  FYI, the Computer Merit Badge is
being discontinued at the end of this year and will be replaced by the
Digital Technology Merit Badge.  It might be nice to have each Scout earn
this soon to be "legacy" merit badge.  In the future, we can also consider
adding other exciting  badges to their "technology" portfolio.

3.       Our Flea Market on features a "HamFest" section on Saturday,

December 13th in Conlon Hall.  Not only is this an enjoyable fundraiser for
the Troop, but there will be several brief (30 minute) technical sessions on
"Getting your License", "How to Get Started", "Exploring Possibilities on
the Air", "Mesh Networking" and more! 

4.       There will be a one day review class and evening test session on

Friday, December 26th in the Lower Church of St. John the Evangelist Church
in Bergenfield.  We will start at 8:00 AM and and finish at 6:00 PM.

Testing will be at 7:00 PM.  I have free study resources available online
for anyone who wishes to study for the test.  Please email Gordon Beattie at
W2TTT at ARRL.NET <mailto:W2TTT at ARRL.NET>  <mailto:W2TTT at ARRL.NET>  if you need
the materials.  Two forms of ID are needed and the candidate will need to
know their Social

Security Number.    The Troop roster functions as one form of ID for our

Scouts.  Food will be provided for Troop members and their immediate family
members.  Outsiders are asked to donate $20 to support our Troop's Amateur
Radio activities.  

5.       This annual event is an exciting opportunity, open to all, licensed

or unlicensed!  It is called Ham Radio University and is being held on
Sunday January 4th on Long Island.  This is a day of fun with interesting
displays, activity sessions and interaction with EXPERTS in a broad range of
areas.    See this link for more information.

http://hamradiouniversity.org/  Don't register yet, as we will need to work
out the logistics for the day.

6.       In 2015, we will kick off two Radio Scouting Awards from Venture

Crew 7373.  

The first is the "Venture Crew 7373 Amateur Radio Clubs Operating Award"

where a Scout or Scouter can operate from each of our Council camps and
facilities using a unique callsign for that location.  Prior permission to
use the callsign of the camp or facility can be obtained by contacting
Gordon Beattie, W2TTT at W2TTT at ARRL.NET <mailto:W2TTT at ARRL.NET>
<mailto:W2TTT at ARRL.NET>  or by calling or texting Gordon at 201.314.6964.
Any licensed Radio Amateur with a use or camping permit from the Northern
New Jersey Council, BSA for their unit may request use of the call during
their stay.   After the event, each authorized operator will submit a log of
each contact containing the following information: callsign of the station
worked, date, time, frequency, mode, power output and power source (battery,
solar, vehicle or AC power).   Logs showing at least one contact from each
of our seven

Council camps or facilities will be granted the Operating Award.

Certificates will be either emailed to the recipient or presented in person
if possible.

There will also be a "Worked All Venture Crew 7373 Amateur Radio Clubs
Award" for Amateur Radio Operators contacting each of our Council camps and
facilities.  For this award, submit a log of each of the seven contacts
containing the following information: callsign of the station worked, date,
time, frequency, mode, power output and power source (battery, solar,
vehicle or AC power).  Logs showing the seven contacts for the award may be
submitted to W2TTT at ARRL.NET <mailto:W2TTT at ARRL.NET>  <mailto:W2TTT at ARRL.NET>
or via mail to Northern New Jersey Council, BSA 25 Ramapo Valley Rd,
Oakland, NJ 07436 Attn: Gordon Beattie.  A certificate will be emailed to
the applicant, or presented in person, if possible, once the contacts have
been verified.

Club callsigns for the camps and facilities are as follows:

Callsign                Location

NJ2CO                   NNJ Council Office or other designated Council event
location

NJ2CA                   Camp Alpine

NJ2CL                    Camp Lewis

NJ2CN                   Camp NoBeBoSco

NY2CT                   Camp Turrell

NJ2CY                    Camp YawPaw

W2FMR                Floodwood Mountain Scout Reservation

Bonuses:

K2BSA                   Boy Scouts of America Amateur Radio Club

NJ2BS                    Venture Crew 7373 Amateur Radio Club

There are bonuses for working or operating K2BSA, the callsign of the BSA
Amateur Radio Club, and NJ2BS, the callsign of the Venture Crew 7373 Amateur
Radio Club.   Additional bonuses may be incorporated into future
endorsements, so this information may be helpful.  Awarding of these bonuses
will likely involve a modest expense to cover the costs of materials and
shipping.  As we qualify recipients for these "bonused" awards, we will
identify the costs and publish them.  

If you have any suggestions for further activities, please let me know.  We
are always seeking to expand technology knowledge in our young men and those
who support them!

Yours in Scouting & 73,

Gordon Beattie, W2TTT

201.314.6964

W2TTT at ARRL.NET <mailto:W2TTT at ARRL.NET>  <mailto:W2TTT at ARRL.NET> 