Introduction

elcome to the second edition of our Troop 227 Newsletter. Our intentions are to continue using this newsletter to inform interested parties about our troop. To learn more about Boy Scouts, please visit us at any troop activity, speak to a troop leader, or visit one of the following websites.

http://www.mtcbsa.org

http://www.scouting.org/

A Message from the Scoutmaster

nd to all a good night...well, perhaps not quite yet. Troop 227 is finishing up a wonderful year of Scouting! The troop has grown, both in number and in experience, with several scouts now at the rank of First Class or higher. This allows us to plan more involved trips and activities, and 2004 will be a year filled with new and exciting outings.

To help this along, there are a few items we really hope are on your scout's Christmas List.

1) Each scout needs a hiking backpack. Here, we're not talking a school backpack, but one specifically made for taking hiking trips. These are not expensive and can often be found for $40 or so. One to look at can be purchased off EBay. This is the one I bought from this seller on EBay. Chris Paul and I also bought our bigger adult backpacks from them. Look here while online:

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=backpackplace

The specific backpack is labeled: INTERNAL FRAME Camping Hiking Backpack. These are offered at $36.95 plus shipping. They appear to be a very nice backpack and would make an excellent scout gift!

2) Each scout really needs a smaller but lightweight sleeping bag. Scouts have a sleeping bag already, but these are often large and heavy. When we backpack, they need something small enough to fit into their backpack (see item #1 above). A sleeping bag good down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit is about what we want each scout to have (not that we are planning to sleep outside in weather that cold, but one never knows what the temperature might do). Try to keep the weight of the sleeping bag below 5 pounds, preferably, below 4 pounds. Remember, each scout has to carry their own stuff on backpacking trips PLUS food, pots, tents, etc.

Placing the above two items high on your scout's Christmas List will cause the Scoutmaster to have dreams of sugarplums dancing in his head.

Here's to a good 2004!

--Gene Wright

Upcoming Troop Events

Dec. 5-6 – Junior Leader Training / Lock-In Crieve Hall Church of Christ, Youth Area (drop-off and pick-up), 6:30 PM Friday until 2:00 PM Saturday; No cost; Eat supper before you arrive Friday night; Bring work clothes and gloves for leaf raking service project (parent volunteers needed too, contact Andy Richter)
Dec. 8 – troop meeting; Popcorn Money Due!
Dec. 15 – final troop meeting for 2003

Troop Leader Contacts

Scoutmaster

· Gene Wright

Assistant Scoutmasters

· Truman Bean

· Chris Paul

· John Hammond

Troop Committee Chairman

· Andy Richter

Charter Organization Rep

· Ray Frizzell