Upcoming Troop Meetings
 Troop meeting plans are posted on the website
 2/7 Gold Rush preparations
 2/14 Merit Badges
 2/28 Moomba Dinner
 3/7 Show & Tell night
 3/14 Traditional Scouting skills
 3/21 Merit Badges (New session starts)
 3/28 No Meeting
 4/4 Scale lashing project (2 week project)
 
Upcoming Events
2/2 Scout Sunday
Our annual Scout Sunday mass will be the first Sunday in February. All scouts are expected to attend their church on this day in full uniform. This is a required event.
 
2/15-17 Gold Rush – Camp Massasoit, Plymouth
It’s time for this year’s Gold Rush to begin! We have over 155 scouts from 8 units signed up for the Rush this year. Parents and families are invited to come for the day, it’s a fun time! See JASM Robert for more details and to volunteer.
 
2/24 PLC Meeting
The monthly PLC will meet at the Spellman Center beginning at 7PM. Each month the Patrol Leaders get together to finalize the plans for the upcoming troop meetings and campout. All PLC members are expected to attend. Bring a snack!
 
2/28 Moomba Feast and Court of Honor
Our annual Moomba pot luck dinner and court of honor is coming soon. This is an old Scouting tradition begun by Lord Baden Powell himself. This year we will have a display of Scouting collections for you to take a look at. Any Scout who wishes to show off their collections should bring them in that night.
 
3/2 and 3/10 Eagle Project Fund-raisers
AlexM will be hosting a Spaghetti Supper on 3/2 for $8 per person at the Spellman Center. Spread the word and come have a nice dinner together.
He will also be running a Craft Fair on 3/10 from noon until 4 PM. It will also be at the Spellman Center.
 
3/10 Recycle Day fund-raiser
**** DATE CHANGE FOR THIS EVENT ****
Our semi-annual electronics recycle day is coming soon. This is a required event since the proceeds support our troop program. The collection takes place in the Spellman parking lot from noon to 4 PM.
 
3/15-17 Scouting Heritage Campout
This month we are at Camp Squanto and we will be having a campout using the same methods and tools as the scouts did in the 1940s. Practice those fire-building and cooking skills for this one guys!
 
4/19-21 Pioneer Campout
We will be at Camp Resolute in Bolton MA for a pioneer weekend. Woods tools, lashings, dove tails, and Dutch Oven cooking. Bring your fishing rods, the lake here is great!
 
Other News and Events
2/24 Eagle Boards coming
We have our next boards for Nick and Brian coming at the end of the month. We are looking for 2 to 4 adults to sit and participate on the boards. I recommend taking part in this process, you learn a lot about the scout and our program!
 
3/7 Alaska Meeting
Our next Alaska meeting will be at 6:30 PM on 3/7. We will be finalizing our excursions this time. Everything else should be scheduled and reserved! Keep a tight line!
 
4/28 Soapbox Derby
We will be running a full-sized soapbox derby in April at the Spellman Parking lot. Plans are available on the troop website and we estimate it will take most of the winter to build your cars. More info as we approach the race!
 
6/23 Deep Sea Fishing
JakeO is putting together the day trip to go deep sea fishing in June. Jake will be announcing the plans at upcoming meetings!
 
Summer Camp 2013
We are booked into Wanalancet site again next year. In January we will begin collecting reservation fees for our week in the woods. Parents who wish to attend for some or all of the week are welcome too!
 
Potpourri
2/14 – Monthly Parent's Meeting
We ask all parents to attend our monthly Parent meetings to review upcoming events and volunteer to assist or run some of the upcoming events. We meet at 8 PM on the second Thursday of each month. Each event has a scout as the event coordinator, but we need to have an adult to mentor and guide the scout. This is also a chance to ask your questions about the troop and learn a bit more about the opportunities within the troop for your son and yourself over the next year.
 
Merit Badge Nights
We are looking to fill in our last session for Merit Badges. Please take a look at www.meritbadge.com for the current badges and their requirements.
The nights for each session (3 meetings each session) are listed here. Please understand that we do need you to commit to all of the nights in a particular session. Please see SM Mike or SA Brian to help.
Session #3 3/21 4/25 5/16
 
Stay Connected
Don't forget to visit the troop website at www.t22whitman.org  and our Facebook page at Troop 22 Whitman, MA. News and calendar events are kept there and updated frequently!
 
Outdoor Leader Skills
This training course is an introduction to basic outdoor skills like knife and ax, cooking, and pioneering. It is taught as a hands-on weekend session. Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters must take this training in order to wear the "Trained" patch but it is a good course if you are looking to learn about camping skills. The next course is May 4-5, 2013 at Camp Squanto in Plymouth. You can sign up at:
http://training.oldcolonycouncil.org/ols-2013-05-04
 
Troop Leader Development
This summer we are planning on having a leader training session for our Troop leaders. All members of the PLC should plan on attending this one day event. Other scouts interesting in taking on a leadership role in the troop are invited too.
Parents are invited to join in as instructors or just sit in and listen to how the troop is supposed to be run. As we confirm the location and date, more information will be available.
 
T22 Leadership Corps
The troop is expanding our older scout program with a specialty opportunity. Scouts who have achieved certain pre-qualifications may be invited to join the troop’s Leadership Corps. This group is an extension of the patrol and brings the scouts together who have age, ranks and leadership to become the primary teachers and mentors for the younger scouts. In return for their pledge to take on these roles in the troop, we supply them with a dark green shirt, a patch and a special event each year.
We think this will be a great opportunity for those boys who have served the troop well as leaders, allow them to focus on their high ranks and give back to the rest of the troop. Please let us know your thoughts about how this new program runs and if there are things we need to do to strengthen it.
 
Moomba
Our February Court of Honor and Pot Luck Dinner is coming on 2/28. This traditional dinner was something Lord Baden-Powell was known to have had to celebrate his birthday with his friends.
We will have our normal presentations, but this is also a chance to look back and see what we have done. Be sure to come join us that evening!
 
Scoutmaster’s Corner
I am now in my 8th year as Scoutmaster of Troop 22, and as many of you know, I was Cubmaster before that. I have 33 years of active time in Scouting. That’s a long time.
During the last campout I had some time to think about that time. I was lucky as a boy. I had fun campouts, learned about responsibility, and gained great friends (many of us are still close to this day).
When Craig joined scouting, I joined too. I thought about our campouts, meetings, and trips all over the world. But I paused when I thought about the boys and adults that I’ve worked with. I have gained friends that will last my lifetime, some were parents and some were the boys who are now men.
I realized I wasn’t lucky in the past, I continue to be lucky to this day. I have over 100 “sons” and great memories, but more importantly I have more of this to come!