Troop 132

Special thanks to Erik Limpaecher, leader of the Energy Systems Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. He did a great job presenting on energy resilience and disaster preparedness, based on his research and field work in New England and Puerto Rico. A good scout should be able to join a team like this to help others.

All scouts should take to heart his message that we should all “be prepared” for any disaster, even one in Concord, MA. As Mr. Limpaecher stated, every scout can ask their parents whether their family is prepared and help with an emergency plan. For example. if there is a significant power loss, does your family have a plan for coping with this issue? As scouts, we follow the motto, “Be Prepared”. So we should be ready for most events.

Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts explains the meaning of the phrase "Be Prepared":  The Scout Motto is: BE PREPARED which means you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your DUTY.

• Be Prepared in Mind by having disciplined yourself to be obedient to every order, and also by having thought out beforehand any accident or situation that might occur, so that you know the right thing to do at the right moment, and are willing to do it.
• Be Prepared in Body by making yourself strong, active and able to do the right thing at the right moment, and do it.

Scouts, remember that we have our Concord Minuteman Pursuit Trail hike coming up on April 19th. This is a 20-miler but with some fun stops along the way. If you are interested, you may want to get in some shorter hikes and check your boots beforehand to be ready for the day.  The sign-up is above.

Nice Job scout leaders with planning our first movie night at the Scout House. The choice of “Free Solo” was a good one. The climber Alex Holonld practiced and prepared many times leading up to his ascent. In some cases, he practices over 60 times to master certain pitches. Being prepared means you can do most anything. His special gifts of climbing enabled him to do that. You all have special gifts and its up to you to find them. Scouting may unlock or expose you to new things. Who knows, in the future some of you may camping in your cars, cooking your meals and climbing to new personal heights.

This week we reconciled the accounts with Holy Family Parish and closed on the 2019 Christmas Tree Pickup event with over $7400. Wow. Thanks to the Spragues and so many others who make this so successful. It’s a community event, we do a good turn and we get some funds for our troop. Super! There are not enough words of thanks to all the scouts & family.

This coming Tuesday Troop meeting we will have a guest speaker from Concord and one of our own, Erik Limpeacher. Mr. Limpeacher will describe how the government prepares for emergencies in and around our energy grid. As part of all of us being prepared and those learning about Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge, this will be very beneficial. Friends and family are welcome to attend.

Congratulations to Miles Inman who recently passed his Eagle Board of Review. He earned it and he was prepared. He lives the scout law and that was evident and demonstrated in his board of review. Well done.

All of our scouts at this rank are well prepared and ready thanks to Mr. Rzepczynski. Mr. Rzepczynski’s has helped all our Eagles for the past several years now. His experience with the process and attention to detail makes us a stronger, well-prepared troop. When Troop 132 presents an Eagle candidate we can rest assured they have earned it, know it and can past muster. We can’t thank Mr. Rzepczynski enough for all his advice and counsel as each Star and Life scout knows.

Our troop has many unsung Scouters (adults) who help all our scouts. That’s what makes us a strong, active troop. This means parents (and scouts) read the weekly announcements, support the program with both time and energy (our most precious resources), get our kids to the meetings, help with equipment, drive to far places, camp at remote locations, provide merit badge counseling, and provide adult leadership. We are all volunteers and are awarded with great scouts and a strong Troop.

This year, our Troop Committee Chair, Mr. Gekle, was nominated and recognized and awarded The Flintlock District’s Scout Leader of the Year. This award will be presented at the District dinner on April 24, 2019. This is for Mr. Gekle’s devotion to supporting our Troop, organizing the adults, acting as a honcho on Troop outings, facilitating monthly adult planning meetings, publishing the weekly announcements, representing the Troop to our council, leading high adventure trips, and a general commitment to the success of our Troop and scouts. He makes this look easy. Well done.

On behalf of Pack 133, Troop 132, and the Flintlock District, it is with great honor and appreciation to inform the Troop that Fred McWilliams is the recipient of the 2019 Flintlock District Service Award for his tireless and selfless devotion to Scouting in Concord. We appreciate all that Mr. McWilliams has done for Pack 133 over so many years. We all recognize his generous commitment to transitioning the Webelos to the Troop, his love of the outdoors, and making sure all of our Scouts (and leaders) are safe, learning new things, and having fun.  With great enthusiasm, Pack 133 and Troop 132 congratulates Mr. McWilliams on this fantastic achievement and he will be presented this award on April 24 at the District dinner.

Mr.Duggan is away this week so I (Mr. Sprague) am helping out by writing this week’s Scoutmaster Message,
 
This week we had the pleasure of hosting Webelos scouts as they get a peak at what it is like to be in a Boy Scout Troop.  I want to thank all of the scouts (and adults) for making our guests feel welcome.  It was awesome to hear Luke’s comments at the end of the meeting about how patient and inclusive you scouts were towards the Webelos. Scout leaders, good job for working to control the raw energy of our young visitors and keep things moving forward. The unbridled enthusiasm of the boys can sometimes be exhausting, but you all did a great job of taking it all in stride.
 
It is useful to remember where you came from. Most likely, you too were once a Cub Scout with a healthy set of lungs and boundless energy. Now that you are “older and wiser”, think about how far you have come since you were in the 5th grade. Take a minute to reflect on how much you have learned and experienced, and on how much you have grown. You should be proud of your accomplishments. You should also realize how important it is to set a good example for the younger scouts around you. They are watching you whether you realize it or not. You are a role model for the scouts that follow you, which means you can make a difference in shaping the character of the young men around you.

Spring will be here soon. There is still time to enjoy winter and get out to enjoy our upcoming trip to ski, board and enjoy Berkshire East.

That was a great Troop Court of Honor. Congratulations to all for being good scouts, earning your ranks, and merit badges. Remember the four parts to advancements and it holds true in any life situation. You learn, you are tested, you are reviewed, and you are recognized. Your advancement is up to you but remember, there are other scouts, scout leaders, and adults to help you along the trail. The best way, and in my humble opinion, the only way to advance is by doing. Go camping, go on any and all of our trips to learn scout skills, test the skills, try new things, and this will get you to where you want to be. You will always learn something and have fun with your other scouts along the way.

To this, scouting is different. In sports and other school activities, you might be a leader for an hour (sports event) or even longer if you get involved with student government. In scouting, you are actually accountable and responsible for your patrol and Troop all of the time as an elected leader. Yes, leadership is hard. Leadership means that you need to be the first to arrive and the last person to leave. But that’s what you learn through scouting. Putting others first makes a difference.