Troop 870 Newsletter Update
By Christina Gran, Troop 870
Secretary
As summer is now fully underway and the kids are
out of school, the boys of St. Andrew?s are enjoying the season and are being
quite active. On May 29,
2009 our boys held an ice cream social court of honor in
recognition of their achievements for this past quarter. One of the Merit
Badges that several of the boys earned is the Swimming badge, as we recently
visited the Big Vanilla Athletic Club on April 3 to have the boys work on the
badge and to take the BSA swim test in order to prepare them for summertime
water activities. Another Merit Badge that most of our boys earned at the court
of honor was the bicycling badge, as on May 16th, the boys gathered
together at the State Highway Administration building and went on an 11 mile
bike hike along the BWI trail and then was able to have a tour of the SHA
building after the bike hike, courtesy of Mrs. Beverly Goetz. The scouts also
spent an entire weekend at the end of April camping at Merit Badge Madness,
allowing the boys to work on approximately 2-3 badges of their choice. Speaking of camping, the boys also went on
another overnight camping adventure to Gettysburg
for a weekend in May, where they earned the Tote?n Chip, which allows the boys
to carry pocket knives on BSA outdoor adventures as needed. In addition to the
weekend camp at Gettysburg,
the scouts also went on a 5 mile hike while there, which was enjoyed
tremendously by all. In observance of Memorial Day, our Troop visited Maryland Veterans Cemetery
in Crownsville and placed flags on many of our service men and women graves. It
was a very humbling experience for the boys, allowing for them to reflect on
the true meaning of the holiday, not just a day off of school or work.
Our Troop would like to
congratulate Mr. Joseph Rosenthal on his promotion to Eagle Scout. Joe had his
Eagle court of honor held on June 13th at Lake Shore Baptist Church,
with our entire Troop and their families invited to celebrate this outstanding
accomplishment with him.
As I mentioned earlier with
summer upon us the boys have tons of activities planned to keep them busy. Several
of the scouts will be heading to West
Virginia on June 20th for an overnight
white water rafting camping trip, where they are river rats on Saturday after
arriving and setting up camp and then are happy hikers on Sunday for a few
miles before heading back home. The entire Troop is preparing for summer camp in
the Blue Ridge Mountains at the end of July. The
boys will be gone for eight days and will do everything imaginable at camp that
boys enjoy doing. Fun times for all!
Makes us wish that there was a camp for us adults to go to for a week or
so!
Unfortunately for the boys all of
these wonderful activities that they are consistently doing are not free;
therefore it cannot be a summer of all play and no work. Please look for your scouts out in the
community fundraising throughout the summer and fall. Some of the upcoming
fundraisers that we are currently involved in are as follows: We are scheduled to wash cars at Auto Zone on
Mountain Road
next door to Lighting Jacks on June 27th, July 18th,
August 15th & September 12th. Please stop in for a
visit and let us make your vehicle shine. The young men are also selling Entertainment
books for the 2010 season. The coupons will be good beginning November 2009 and
carry on throughout 2010. Books are $25.00 and save you tons and tons of money
throughout the year. Please see a scout or a scout leader if you are interested
in purchasing a book. The boys of Troop 870 and their families appreciate
tremendously the continued support the family of St. Andrew?s shows to our
scouts. It takes the combined dedication and work of all of us to be a fun and
successful Troop and we would not be where we are without the interest and love
of all the members of St. Andrew?s. We are blessed to have this amazing
partnership and I am excited to be working with you each month.
Next Page