Trail Talk – 4/21/25

Please take note of important signups, permission slips and payments needed below:

  • April Campout to Camp Tamarack
  • Girl Troop Lock-in
  • May Campout
  • Summer Camp
  • Boundary Waters
  • Mini-High Adventure

Here are our Troop announcements for the week:

T21 Orienteering Course Requirement(Updated) – From what I understand your T21 classes did not have enough time last week to finish the Orienteering Courses. If the weather holds out(no rain), then please plan on finishing your orienteering courses this Tuesday!

NEW MERIT BADGE SESSION(Updated) – If you finish up with a merit badge that you are currently working on, whether it be a partial from last session, a partial from another session or even a current merit badge, please come and see me and I will get you into a new merit badge class!

POPCORN HELP!!(New) – I sent an email out about this last Wednesday but did not hear back from 1 person! We are looking for a new Popcorn partner for Brandon Beery for next Fall. Brandon is willing to lead the Fall Popcorn fundraiser for us, but he cannot do it all by himself. Suzie is stepping back from this after having done it for several years and so Brandon needs a new partner for Popcorn! So, I am putting a call out to our parents and troop leadership. Would you be willing to step up and assist Brandon Beery with running the Popcorn fundraiser next Fall for the Troop? If you have an interest but aren’t too sure, you can contact Brandon by email at brandon.beery@yahoo.com or you can give him a text/call at 269-267-4801 and ask him any and all question you want about the position! He would welcome your call!

APRIL CAMPOUT CAMP TAMARACK(Reminder) – April 25 – 27th we will be going to Camp Tamarack for our April campout. There is a signup and permission slip for this. The cost is $40. This will be a high adventure themed campout. LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP FOR THIS CAMPOUT IS TOMORROW(TUESDAY) NIGHT!!! We need to know numbers by Wednesday.  Please pay and turn in the permission form to Sherry on Tuesday night. You can also pay by Zeffy but you must turn the permission slip into Sherry by hand. The permission form is attached to this email!

MAY CAMPOUT PIONEER SCOUT RESERVATION(NEW) – May 16 – 18. The May Campout is only 3 weeks after the April Campout. I know, that is not a huge turnaround! I need people to start thinking about this campout NOW. We will be going to Pioneer Scout Reservation to do our annual cleanup of Klewer campsite. We want Klewer to be ready for us for the first week of summer camp and so we need to get it all cleaned up after the Fall and Winter! WE NEED HELP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! A few people cannot do this alone! There is a permission slip attached to this email, and you can sign up for this campout starting on Tuesday with Sherry. The cost is $40.

GIRL TROOP LOCK-IN(Reminder) – May 2nd, 2025, at Pathfinder Church. This event is for the girl troop only! Sorry boys! We will be having a lock-in at Pathfinder Church starting at 6:00 p.m. on Friday May 2nd and ending at about 10:00 a.m. on Saturday May 3rd.  The cost is $10 and there is a permission slip attached to this email. You can pay Sherry and sign up on Tuesday. PLEASE SIGN UP, PAY AND TURN IN THE PERMISSION SLIP ON TUESDAY NIGHT. THIS IS COMING UP FAST. LAST CHANCE TO SIGNUP AND PAY WILL BE TUESDAY, APRIL 29TH!

WILDERNESS FIRST AID TRAINING(New Info) –Just a reminder for those involved in this training. This will take place on May 3rd and 4th at the Brake’s residence. 2723 Vanderbilt Ave. Portage, MI  49024 starting at 8:00 a.m. each day. The cost is $60. You can pay Sherry or you can pay on Zeffy.

SUMMER CAMP 2025(New Info) –Pioneer Scout Reservation the week of June 15 – 21st! The cost for Summer Camp this year is $430 per scout and $215 per adult! All payments are due by the end of April! That is only a couple of weeks away! We, as a troop, must make a payment to camp by the end of April. If you are waiting to sign your scout up or holding back on payments, it is going to hurt us, as a troop. Please go to Zeffy(click here) or see Sherry and sign your scout up now. Don’t forget that there is a ton of paperwork that must also be turned in; Informed Consent, Release Agreement and Authorization, Scouting America Physical Forms Parts A, B1, B2 AND C, Troop Summer Camp Permission Slip. If you haven’t selected your merit badges yet for camp, YOU MUST TALK WITH SHERRY ON TUESDAY. She will be submitting those merit badge requests on Sunday.

BOUNDARY WATERS(Reminder) –July 11 – 20th Don’t forget that we will be doing a training and shakedown on the campout this coming weekend! That is the weekend of April 25-27th. This will be our Saturday activity for the day for all scouts! Learn how to do high adventure and proper backcountry procedures! If you are going to Boundary Waters, try to come to the campout. If you can’t come, then at least come out for the day on Saturday. It is important for you to get the training, especially if you have never done this before, but it is also important to BE WITH YOUR CREW! Hope to see you this weekend! Please continue to make payments. The cost is $900, and we have been asking you to pay $200/month since January.

PHYSICAL FORMS!(Reminder) – NO PHYSICAL FORM, NO SUMMER CAMP, BOUNDARY WATERS OR MINI-HIGH ADVENTURE. Every Scout and Leader MUST have an up-to-date BSA PHYSICAL FORM with all parts of the form filled out, Part A, B1, B2 and C if you plan to go to Summer Camp, Boundary Waters or the Mini-High Adventure. You must get a new one for this year. No Form, No Trip. WE NEED ALL PHYSICAL FORMS TURNED IN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Starting NEXT Scout Year(September), we MUST have a physical form on file for your scout for that scout to be able to go on ANY outing with the troop. This is Scouting America policy.

TAX EXEMPT DONATIONS(Important) – Now that we are back under the charter of Pathfinder Church, we once again have a 501c 3 status which means that we have an EIN number that allows for tax free donations! If you have been wanting to donate money to the troop for such things as our Campership Fund(help, send a scout to camp) or for other areas of troop need but haven’t wanted to be taxed on it, NOW is the time! Please talk to Sherry about donations to the troop!

 JERKY!(Reminder) – Our annual Jerky sale began on January 28th. Each stick sells for $1.00 and for each one sold, the scout earns 24 cents into their individual scout account. You can make payments for jerky at any time here – https://bit.ly/244Jerky

Mini-High Adventure(Reminder) –The trip will take us to the historic battlefield of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This trip is taking place August 2 – 6th. A day of travel, 3 days in Gettysburg and a day of travel home! The mini-high adventure sounds like it is going to be loaded with fun and some awesome things to see. Sign up now! The final cost is to be determined but could be somewhere around $150. That is a STEAL for a trip like this. We are going to ask for a $50 deposit currently to secure your spot. Sign up for this and pay the deposit with Sherry in the office. Questions, please contact Abby Withers.

Scoutmaster Minute – I wanted to touch on something different this week for my Scoutmaster minute. I was doing a lot of reflecting this last weekend, as I tend to do, either that or maybe some would call it overthinking. Not sure. Anyway, it really hit me how much we need other people in our lives. We need attachments and we need to be surrounded by others. It is amazing to me how much a support system makes a difference in one’s life when you look at a life with a support system vs. a life without one. I got to thinking this weekend, reminiscing really about all the people I have known in my life that have been a part of it for the long term or for even a season. I was even thinking back to high school this weekend and about my long-lost friends and classmates from those days. I think back over the years in Troop 244 and all the scouts, parents and leaders that I have seen come into the program and then leave the program, many never to be heard from again. This weekend, I had that feeling because on Saturday I spent quite a bit of the day by myself. I slept in, sent for a swim, went grocery shopping and chilled out in front of the tv. However, on Sunday it was a different story. I got up early, went to church, met up with some long time and good friends at church and got to chat for a while and came home.  After being at home for a while doing some things by myself, I left to go to Kalamazoo. I went to see my dad. I haven’t been to his grave site since Christmas, but I wanted to go on Easter. I met up with my sister, Andrea, there and both of us just kind of talked about how much we miss our dad and that, even now several months later, it is still shocking to us that he is no longer around. We then went over to my other sister’s house for Easter dinner, and it was a fun time hanging out with family! I honestly think that, even though I enjoyed my swim, I was more stimulated and happier on Sunday being around people, than I was on Saturday on my own. I know that you scouts have a “friend” group that you communicate with on a regular basis and hang around with. Make sure that you are not communicating with your friends but that you are there for them when they need you. Be there for your family. Life doesn’t stop, it keeps on going and going, faster than anything. People come and go in your life. Cherish them, do not abuse them. Reach out to your support system when you need to! That is what they are there for. For me, my family and my scouting family are the biggest support systems I have, and I am so very grateful for all of them!

 “What Troop Does More!!” – 244