Dear Scouts,
A big thank you to our SPL Nathaniel, who has done a super job as SPL starting with crew chief in Iceland then summer camp, which is one of the most challenging roles all the way through September. October 1 is this Sunday and our fall term for positions of responsibility start. Congratulations to Lincoln on being re-elected in a landslide to his second term as SPL. Nathaniel will back him up shifting to ASPL. Congratulations to Matt and Marcus for taking on Patrol Leader positions. These positions, including Den Chief, Quartermaster, Scribe are key positions that will also be shared at the senior level. We are lucky to have such dedicated senior scouts in our troop. This weekend is the Swap Off / Drop Off. This event was usually in October and this year moved to September. I will unfortunately not be able to attend as I planned a trip to the great north woods for ATV’s and to check on my snowmobiles. This was planned far in advance before the Swap Off was rescheduled. Many thanks to Mr. Galluccio and Mr. Rzepczynski for their dedicated service for this event. I invite other adults to help out too. Please coordinate with Mr. Galluccio. They could use the help. Do you good turn daily. YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster
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Busy, Busy, Busy
September 23, 2023 Dear Scouts, This has been a busy scout week; PLC Monday night, Troop Meeting Tuesday and Troop Committee Meeting Wednesday. Let me give some highlights. PLC Meeting: Under the leadership of our SPL Nathaniel, we went through most of the school year for planning. Adjustments have been reflected in an updated calendar. Take a look at the calendar (link is above) as some dates had to move around to account for holidays, including those for the PLC, Troop Committee Meeting and Troop Courts of Honor. Eagle COH are just placeholders, since this is up to the families to schedule, when scouts pass their Boards of Review. Eagle projects are not scheduled this far our as well as merit badge classes we conduct as well. I’ll be counting on some help to make sure the troop has all opportunities do to all these wonderful and challenging events. So please take a look. The Troop meeting was focused on advancement, since there is a dearth of qualified scouts to hold Positions of Responsibility. That means the burden falls on a few. Our SPL will have APSL’s that are also serving as Scribe, Quartermaster and Den Chiefs. Do all you can to support them. We will be going to two patrols most likely led by Matt and Marcus, who will also train APL’s in the art and skills of patrol leadership. This is a very important role led by some very experienced scouts. Our aim is to help all those scouts who want to advance to First Class. That said, if you don’t want to advance, that’s ok too. I like to think of our scouting as “stress free” scouting where if you want to advance great but our aim is to prepare and develop good scouts. What’s a good scout? Those that know, advance, believe and live the scout oath and law. Plain and simple. The Troop Committee met at Monument Hall on Wednesday. We are in good shape financially; our annual Christmas Tree fundraiser/ service project is on the horizon and will need “all hands on deck” for this. This is complicated, requires a great deal of planning but is extremely rewarding for our scouts and community. We need your help so stand by for more details. The Troop Committee also voted to put a deposit on Maine High Adventure Canoe trip in 2024. Mr. Green and Mr. McWilliams are leading the charge here and will require some trips to learn to canoe. The trip is open to 13 or higher with Scoutmaster approval. So we will be in touch and have more details. This is not an easy trip and requires upper body strength, stamina and remote wilderness camping. There are places deep in Maine that will not be easy to get out of. Not to scare off anyone but that’s the reality of the trip and requires scouts to be prepared. Our troop will also consider hiking Mt. Katahdin as a separate trip for the troop. I’ve been up twice and once got snowed out in May. Katahadin is the beginning or end, depending on how you look at it, of the Application Trail. Very interesting mountain and difficult. Some other interesting things on the horizon: 2025 is Concord’s 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution and there is planning underway from our town and state. We scouts need to determine what and how we want to contribute and participate. Another topic is Warner’s Pond and the effects on Scout Island. We will be hearing more about that and the Scout House would like our point of view on some proposed steps. I realize our troop is busy, focused on fun outdoor activities but these two topics will deserve some attention. In a couple weeks, I’ll start the Family Life Merit badge at 6pm (most likely at Monument Hall before the meeting and we can walk over at 6:45) starting October 3, 2023. All good scouting is on the horizon. I’m looking forward hiking Mt. Greylock and climbing Ramblewild in the Berkshires in October. Great fun and planning another big campfire. Today is my mother’s birthday. She passed away many years ago and is part of the Dee family (funeral home here in Concord back to 1868). Luckily, I still have two uncles (her brothers) who are in their 90’s and doing great. They share with me the history of my family in Concord which is always great to hear stories and remember those who have passed. My mother’s father was in the American Legion and carried the flag in Concord’s parade’s for over 50 years and he also took care of the Armory on Everett Street. He had great stories of horses, WWI and WWII as there was some very sad losses in the family resulting from the war. Some of these stories include the hurricane of 1938 and my young 10 year old uncle on top of the barn watching the winds. No satellites back then and it came without much warning. Do you good turn daily. There are so many ways but start small with some small act and the others will follow. YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster Dear Scouts,
This has been a challenging weather summer and fall. We had to cancel some summer meetings due to the rain and now a hurricane is moving up the coast. In some ways, we have been lucky with the weather in late summer (September) for sailing but in my experience, fall sailing is the best. Good winds, cooler air temperatures and warm water. I know the sailing overnight is a favorite trip and we wanted to combine this with our hikes to the Atop New England (ANE) climbs by ascending to the highest point in Rhode Island!! At least check this off the box. We will do our best to look for opportunities for a day trip before they pull the boats out of the water and see if we can get a trip in. Looking ahead we have the Drop Off/Swap Off (DOSO), which has moved from October to September. This is new and we will do our best to support them. As older programs we supported (the Drop Off, for example) emerge from post-COVID schedules, we are adapting to what we can do but it’s challenging and want to be realistic with our scouting trips as we all know you all lead busy and well-scheduled lives. So please be patient while we adapt. This Monday our PLC will meet and I’m hopeful we will adjust the schedule as far out as next summer and at least have save-the-dates lined up if we don’t already have detailed plans. Our focus this entire year is on helping those who want to advance with a goal of reaching First Class rank. This is a big milestone for scouts and our troop. Once a scout is First Class, they will have more opportunities for holding Positions of Responsibility like Patrol Leader, Scribe, Historian/Librarian, Den Chief, Quartermaster, ASPL, SPL and to participate in some adventure trips. The PLC will help define what we need as we move forward this year. Congratulations to Tommy Dohoney for earning Eagle Rank on Monday September 11,2023. Tommy was well-prepared. He did an outstanding job answering thought provoking questions on his scouting journey from merit badges, his positions of responsibility and his project. He answered questions openly, honestly and with maturity and we are all very proud. One big highlight was that after the Board met and interviewed Tommy, he went into the hallway where he surprisingly met by Freddy and Lucas. What a wonderful surprise and show of support. It was a very rainy night and Lucas and Freddy took time from college, drove out to support Tommy and arrived just in time while the deliberations were in process. This is scout spirit in action! What is scout spirit? Living the oath and law and putting it into action. Freddy and Lucas demonstrated this and are role models. They were loyal, friendly, kind, cheerful and even brave (traveling in rain and wind!). Tommy was very appreciative of this support and just a wonderful demonstration of the way that scouting makes a difference. Well done, Tommy, Freddy and Lucas! Do your good turn daily! YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster Dear Scouts,
I spent last weekend and part of the week sailing from Newport to Swansea (near Fall River), stopping along the way at Gloucester, Provincetown, Marion, Cuttyhunk (Elizabeth Islands) and on to Swansea in Narragansett Bay. Will and I sailed about 175 miles with a lot of motoring since we either had too much wind from the wrong direction or not enough wind from the right direction. Such is sailing. Sailing is a lot like camping. You carry everything you need, plan in advance, pack your gear, food, check the weather and off you go. As conditions change, you monitor and make adjustments. You always check your mates to see if everyone is ok. Glad to say we had a great time and covered a lot of miles and it was a great trip. I hope school is off to a good start. Tommy’s Eagle Board of Review is Monday September 11, 2023, so we will move our PLC meeting to Monday September 18, 2023 starting at 6:30-8:00pm. All senior scouts are invited. Our focus for this year will be to help scouts who want to, achieve the First Class rank. First Class is a big milestone in your scout journey, and requires meeting many requirements. Once you have achieved them, you know how to set up camp, what to bring and how to pack your gear, how to administer first aid, find your way (navigation), how to recognize animals and avoid poisonous plants, and how to demonstrate scout spirit. You also know your duty (to God, to country), and to help your patrol and troop. So this focus is important and will ensure the Troop has more . Congratulations to the 8 scouts (Grady, Ethan, Matt, Nathaniel, Lincoln, Rowan, Eric M, Charlie) and 5 scouters (Mr. Ely, Ms. Green, Ms. Liazos, Ms. McLeod, Mr. Sprague) who hiked Mt. Frissell on August 20, as a kickoff for our "ANE" (Atop New England) adventure series. The Troop hiked through Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts and reached the Connecticut high point! Great work Grady for arranging and promoting this exciting trip. For more information/pictures, see the trip report below. We are also looking to schedule the follow up for the Automotive Maintenance Merit Badge. Just looking for a time that works for many of you. This is a good opportunity to learn how to maintain a vehicle. Welcome back and ith all the trees, limbs and branches down, it will be easy to do your good turn. Help a neighbor and help pick up after the thunderstorm! YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster Dear Scouts,
Summer is drawing to a close and we will be meeting in the Scout House next week (9/5/23). I won’t be attending as I’ll be sailing from Newburyport to Rhode Island and will be in transit at this time. I’ll brush up on my sailing for our trip September 16 and 17. Congratulations Rowan for passing his Second Class Board of Review ! Good luck with back to school and here’s a question for you. How would you recognize other scouts in school (if you didn’t already know them to be scouts)? Remember to do your good turn daily. YiS, Mr. Duggan, Scoutmaster |
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