Court of Honor celebrates productive spring, active summer calendar

On Monday, June 7, Troop 50 families gathered at Auburn University’s Mary Olive Thomas Demonstration Forest to celebrate Scouts’ advancement efforts during the spring. The troop’s spring court of honor also marked the transfer of responsibility to a new group of youth leaders who will serve in leadership roles during the second half of the year.

The court of honor was the last troop function Will presided over as senior patrol leader. He welcomed families and led a traditional opening that included the Pledge of Allegiance, Scout Oath and Law, and a prayer. Assisted by Assistant Senior Patrol Leader Jake, he also presented advancements earned by Scouts in the spring — which included eight ranks and 20 merit badges.

Senior Patrol Leader Will (left) congratulations Thomas on the merit badges he earned this spring.

After a series of uncontested troop elections, Scoutmaster Andrew Baird installed the troop’s summer/fall youth leadership. Among those serving the troop will be Jake, senior patrol leader; Olen, assistant senior patrol leader; Connor, troop quartermaster; Rhett, troop guide; and outgoing senior patrol leader Will, who will serve as troop instructor.

Scoutmaster Andrew Baird leads the troop's newest youth leaders in the oath of office.
They include (right to left): Rhett, troop guide; Will, troop instructor; Jake, senior patrol leader;
Connor, troop quartermaster; Beck, Gladiators patrol leader; and Johnson, Wizard Lizards patrol leader.

Continuing its tradition, the troop also celebrated Will’s service as senior patrol leader during the spring. Scoutmaster Baird presented Will with a hand-carved neckerchief slide — a recognition item he’s bestowed on outgoing SPL’s since the troop’s founding in 2012, including Will’s older brother and past SPL Camp.

Will accepts a hand-carved neckerchief slide commemorating his term as senior patrol leader
from Scoutmaster Baird.

The spring court of honor represents a pause in weekly troop meetings for the summer, but the troop will still remain active during the summer. Troop Committee Chair Rob Stanford announced that the troop is considering a summertime opportunity to reschedule its annual planning retreat, which was postponed in April due to weather.

A contingent led by assistant scoutmasters Matt Podemski and Christian Dagg will depart June 15 for the Northern Tier High Adventure Base, Scouts BSA’s premier experience for canoeing and winter camping. The five-person crew will spend a week canoeing the biodiverse waterways of the Northern Boreal Forest unique to Northern Minnesota and Canada.

Another group will enjoy a traditional summer camp experience at Camp Sequoyah in north Alabama located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and on the edge of Talladega National Forest; Camp Sequoyah is a wilderness destination steeped in Scouting Spirit and the beauty of Northeast Alabama.

At its weekly meeting prior to the court of honor, the troop hosted elections for membership in the Order of the Arrow. Scouts who were elected will learn of their election either while attending summer camp or through some other manner prior to Chattahoochee Lodge’s Aug. 6-8 Summer OA Induction weekend.

The troop anticipates resuming its weekly meeting schedule in August.

For more photos from the court of honor, visit the troop’s online photo album. Stay up to date on the troop’s Northern Tier and summer camp experiences here on the troop blog.

Scouts, families gather for annual planning retreat

Fresh on the heels of new Scouts and families joining Troop 50 as part of the pack-to-troop Webelos crossover season, Scouts, parents and leaders gathered at Auburn’s Kreher Preserve and Nature Center April 26-28 for the troop’s Annual Planning Campout and Retreat.

The campout represented the first time most of the Webelos who recently crossed over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts camped with the troop. Friday evening’s traditional activities of setting up patrol areas and tents, and preparing dinner in their respective patrols, gave the troop’s newest Scouts the opportunity to see how patrols operate on a typical campout.

Scoutmaster Andrew Baird briefs Scouts on the morning's GPS exercise.

Oliver, one of the troop's newest Scouts, addresses a first aid
need encountered along the GPS course.

Following Saturday morning’s breakfast preparation, Scouts divided into a number of group activities designed to satisfy rank requirements for most of those working on ranks ranging from Scout to First Class. These activities centered on reading maps, using GPS units and applying first aid techniques.

Typically, the troop looks for ways to volunteer and improve the facilities where it camps. For this campout, that included three projects: rebuilding the campsite’s campfire seating area and cleaning up weeds and other debris from the area around campfire, cutting small trees and brush on the dam for the pond, and cleaning out and organizing the lumber in the nearby storage pavilion.

Scouts, with the guidance of Assistant Scoutmaster Matt Jordan, cleared out and sorted lumber as
one of the troop's three service projects on Saturday.

Parents, Scouts and leaders discussed a variety of topics
during Saturday afternoon's planning retreat.

Scouts and leaders prepared lunch for the troop’s parents, who began arriving around noon. Following a lunch of burgers, fries and cookies, the troop began the annual planning retreat portion of the weekend. The afternoon’s agenda, led by Troop Committee Chair Rob Stanford, included identifying dates for troop outings and activities for the upcoming year, as well as soliciting feedback from Scouts about possible campout locations and programs, highlights of the current troop year, and ways in which the troop might improve during the course of the upcoming year. After Scouts returned to the campsite to ready for dinner, parents and leaders continued to discuss administrative matters like the troop’s operating budget, fees and policies. Following dinner, Scouts led a troop campfire program, complete with songs, skits and the like.

On Sunday, following breakfast, packing up gear and campsite cleanup, the troop gathered for its regular Sunday devotional service. The program included an opening prayer by Troop Chaplain’s Aide Rhett and a devotional by Troop Chaplain Michael Tullier about Jesus’ “Parable of the Weeds” found in Matthew 13:24-43. He and Scouts discussed how the weeds of sin can creep into our lives, and how each of us must be diligent in keeping them from taking over.

Since the Annual Planning Retreat served the purpose of the troop’s monthly Patrol Leaders’ Council, the troop’s next activity will be its regular troop meeting on Monday, May 6. Visit the troop’s online photo album for more photos from the Annual Planning Retreat and Campout.

Hitting the ground running

On the evening of Friday, April 20, the Pack 29 Webelos crossover ceremony was barely over when Troop 50’s newest Scouts loaded up in the Auburn United Methodist Church bus to join the rest of their fellow Boy Scouts for the troop’s annual planning retreat. As soon as the bus arrived at Pioneer Park in Loachapoka, these newest additions to the troop hit the ground running — literally — with gear in hand for their first two nights of Boy Scout camping.

Troop Committee Chair Rob Stanford (center) leads officially opens the troop's sixth annual planning retreat.

The troop held its annual planning retreat the weekend of April 20-22 in a new location — Pioneer Park, maintained by the Lee County Historical Society. The living museum features nine structures that depict life in the county from the mid 1800s through mid 1900s. Among the park’s attractions is Dr. McLain’s Office, the site of Aiden Lytle’s Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project, and the McLain Garden, where Life Scout Jacob currently is completing garden improvements and the site of his Eagle Scout project.

This year marks the troop’s sixth annual planning retreat, which provides Scouts, leaders and parents a forum to share observations about troop operations and input into activities that will comprise the troop’s upcoming year of programming. As a function of the troop committee, the retreat is facilitated by Troop Committee Chair Rob Stanford, who led discussions throughout the morning.

Senior Patrol Leader Rusty and Assistant Senior Patrol Leader Joe
outline the Scouts' discussions for parents and leaders in attendance.

The retreat includes two components: a session for Scouts, where they critique past troop activities and offer suggestions for campout locations and programming for the upcoming year; and a session for parents and leaders, who review troop policies and budgets, and evaluate the best scheduling opportunities on the troop’s calendar for monthly outings and other troop events.

The two groups then came together, where Senior Patrol Leader Rusty summarized the Scouts’ discussions, as well as their ideas for potential troop outings. And, as usual, those ideas ranged from the regular staples, such as canoeing and backpacking, to the extremes, like amusement parks and swimming with the manatees. Many of their ideas, however, made the list of potential outings and will appear on the troop calendar once logistics are evaluated and finalized.

While the adults finished reviewing budgets and policies, Scouts and leaders returned to the campsite, where Scouts began preparing a lunch of hamburgers for everyone’s enjoyment. The campsite lunch gave parents the opportunity to see how the troop camps and the type of gear it uses.

Following lunch and the parents’ departure, Scouts went about several afternoon planned activities. Most of the scouts participated in a service project to benefit the Historical Society by cleaning trash and other debris from a newly acquired building adjacent to park property. In addition to the use of brooms and shovels, Scouts also learned the benefits of dust masks when cleaning as the air soon became thick with the dirt stirred up by the brooms.

At the same time, some of the older Scouts assisted Jacob with completing his Eagle Scout project. Later in the afternoon, the troop’s newest Scouts learned the basics of orienteering (that’s using a compass, for the benefit of those new to Boy Scouting lingo), and completed other early rank requirements. The troop concluded the evening with cooking dinner and dining by patrol, followed by an improv-style campfire organized by Life Scout and Troop Historian Jason.

Sunday morning, after breakfast preparations and packing up camp, the troop assembled for its traditional Sunday morning devotional service, led by Charter Organization Representative Michael Tullier. The group discussed the idea of “making yourself at home” at a friend’s house and paralleled that with several passages of Scripture that speak to making God at home in our hearts.

For more photos from the annual planning retreat, visit the troop’s online photo album.

Troop ‘retreats’ to Forest Ecology Preserve for annual planning event

Troop 50 parents joined Scouts and leaders — at least for part of the weekend of May 19-21 — at Auburn’s Forest Ecology Preserve to plan for the 2017-18 troop year.

Senior Patrol Leader Josh reviews with parents and leaders feedback from the Scouts' breakout session.

Parents, Scouts and leaders enjoyed a lunch
of burgers and all the fixings.

The troop’s annual planning retreat, held this year on Saturday, May 20, provides opportunities for parents, Scouts and leaders to have input into the troop’s ongoing operations and the types of events it schedules throughout the year. The retreat included separate breakout sessions for parents and Scouts. As Scouts discussed the types of monthly campouts and outings they wished to schedule for the upcoming troop year, parents and leaders reviewed calendar opportunities to schedule those activities, in addition to discussing various operational and membership matters. The group came together to review those discussions and to develop a tentative annual calendar. Leaders and parents also considered feedback from Scouts about positive aspects of the troop and matters or processes they’d like to see adjusted.

Following the retreat programming, everyone in attendance enjoyed lunch prepared by some of the troop’s senior Scouts. This gave everyone time for some fellowship, and for parents to see how their Scouts and the rest of the troop camp.

After the parents departed the campsite for the day, Scouts and leaders performed a service project benefiting the preserve. They pruned back trees and cleared the overgrowth from the trail connecting the campsite with the preserve’s north parking lot. The group then broke into different activities, with some Scouts geocaching, some fishing, and others relaxing before the afternoon rains began.

(Left to right) Joey, Jacob, Hunter and Nicky "test the waters" to see if the fish are biting!

Jacob (left) from the Armored Armadillos Patrol and Michael (right) from the
Patriots Patrol present their campout culinary cuisine.

Light evening rains did not dampen the troop’s evening cooking efforts, which featured a friendly cooking competition between the two patrols — the likes of which rivaled the popular television show “Chopped.” Interestingly, the competition pitted brother against brother, with Armored Armadillos Patrol Leader Jacob presenting his patrol’s culinary concoction, and brother Michael doing the same on behalf of the Patriots. The Armored Armadillos prepared a dish featuring a grilled chicken quesadilla, dollop of sour cream and buttered corn on the cob. The Patriots offered a generous helping of spaghetti and meatballs and two pieces of garlic French bread. Adult leaders served as judges and assessed both taste and presentation, and promised to announce the winners after their samples settled in their stomachs (and, joking, the threat of food poisoning passed).

Saturday evening’s rains persisted overnight, and at times were marked by thunder and lighting. The troop woke to soggy tents and some typical May humidity, but prevailed nonetheless. Following breakfast and packing gear, the troop gathered for its traditional Sunday morning campout devotional, which focused on Jesus’ retreat to the Garden of Gethsemane for prayer following the Last Supper, and how the troop’s retreat and our own quiet prayer time give us a chance to reduce the distractions of life and focus on matters of importance.

Creighton (left) and Rusty (right) at the
council's jamboree shakedown

The Forest Ecology Preserve was not the only place you could find Troop 50 Scouts and leaders in action that weekend. Scouts Creighton, Rusty and Liam, along with Assistant Scoutmaster Wes Williams, were at Chattahoochee Council's Camp Lumpkin readying for the upcoming National Boy Scout Jamboree. All three will join 40,000-plus Scouts at The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in late July as part of the council's contingent. This weekend's "shakedown" provided members of the jamboree contingent a retreat of their own to prepare for the week-long national event.

For more photos from the troop’s annual planning retreat, visit the troop’s online photo album.

An annual planning retreat without the annual rain

Scouts, leaders, and parents gather for the troop's
third-annual planning retreat.

For the third year in a row, Troop 50 Scouts, leaders, troop committee members, and parents gathered for the troop's annual planning retreat. Unlike the previous two gatherings, however, this year's combination retreat and campout lacked one usual element: rain! Scouts and leaders arrived at the Auburn's Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve & Nature Center Friday evening to begin the camping portion of the retreat weekend.

Scoutmaster Baird and SPL Andrew lead a discussion
of the merit badges and campout locations Scouts
were interested in for the coming troop year.

On Saturday, troop committee members and parents joined Scouts and leaders for the annual planning portion of the weekend retreat. After gathering together as a group, Senior Patrol Leader Andrew, Scoutmaster Andrew
Baird, and Assistant Scoutmaster Wes William facilitated a discussion of the ideas Scouts had for troop outings and merit badge opportunities. During this same time, other troop leaders, troop committee members, and parents reviewed the calendar and discussed the best windows of opportunities each month for troop outings.

Scouts and adults regrouped, and Scouts reviewed their interests with the adults. Their camping activity interests ranged from ziplining, swimming with the manatees, skiing, overnighting on the U.S.S. Alabama, mountain-biking at Chewacla State Park, visiting Cumberland Island or Dauphin Island, and whitewater rafting. In addition to Eagle-required merit badges, Scouts were also interested in pursuing merit badges that included Woodworking, Geology, Geocaching, Fishing, Indian Lore, Model Building, Backpacking, Leatherwork, Wilderness Survival

Louie, Joe and Andrew create a team strategy for the
Saturday afternoon map-reading competition.

Scouts left the planning session to prepare lunch, and the remaining leaders and parents discussed other administrative matters like budgeting, fundraising, and other troop operations topics. The planning portion of the day adjourned, and after enjoying lunch prepared by the Scouts, parents toured the campsite before departing for the day. For the troop, the afternoon included compass course basics for the troop's newest Scouts and an orientation and map-reading team competition among the remaining Scouts. After each patrol prepared and enjoyed their respective dinners, the troop gathered for a campfire of various skits that demonstrated obvious differences in pre-campfire rehearsal as the evening went on.

Chaplain Michael Tullier looks on as Creighton reads
a variety of Bible verses during Sunday's
"Duty to God" gathering.

On Sunday, patrols began the day preparing breakfast, followed by the troop's "Duty to God" gathering. In his role as troop chaplain, Chartered Organization Representative Michael Tullier, assisted by Creighton, led a discussion of the importance of retreats and instances in the Bible when Jesus and others sought solitude and time away from others for prayer, peace, and decision making.

At Monday's Patrol Leaders' Council, the troop's youth leaders commended the campout for its great weather, productive planning session, Saturday night's entertaining campfire, the Carnivorous Pandas Patrol's good food and menu planning, and the overall smooth packing-up procedures on Sunday. They also noted the need for all patrol members to be better engaged in patrol cooking, cleaning, and making (and following) duty rosters; more efficient in their use of time around meal prep and clean up; and more attuned to their efforts pitching tents and setting up dining flies. The troop also needs to improve pick-up procedures so there is not so much coming and going during in-town campouts, or Scouts leaving early while the troop is still packing up.

For more photos from the weekend retreat and campout, visit the troop's online photo album.

Retreating at the Forest Ecology Preserve

Troop 50 camped this past weekend at the Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve as part of its annual planning retreat (first conducted in May 2013).  However, with rains on and off Friday and Saturday, the troop experienced bouts of retreating to dry ground throughout the three-day campout. Fortunately, rain dampened neither the opportunity to plan for the 2014-15 troop year nor our helping the newer Scouts continue their advancement efforts toward the rank of Tenderfoot. The troop camped at a site by the pond, off the Preserve's North Parking Lot, coming full circle since the troop's inaugural campout there in January 2013.

Planning retreat activities began Saturday morning as parents arrived and the troop assembled at the Preserve's amphitheater. After Troop Committee Chair Rob Stanford welcomed everyone, the group of more than 30 Scouts and leaders quickly went to work in two groups. In one group, in a discussion led by Senior Patrol Leader Will, Scouts shared ideas for activities, programs, merit badges and other advancement opportunities. Later, they discussed meeting and campsite etiquette, leadership and any other topics they felt should be examined.

Other leaders and parents, in discussions facilitated by Rob Stanford, identified ideal times each month for campouts and day outings, reviewed opportunities for adult leadership and specific needs the troop had, reviewed the troop's finances, and established the budget for the coming year.

The adult attendees then traveled to the campsite where, after enjoying a hamburger lunch prepared by the Scouts; leaders, Scouts, and parents together tentatively plotted on the troop calendar the ideas Scouts had for campouts and outings. Adults continued their discussions of finances, membership, and other topics while Scouts broke into patrols to participate in an orienteering and geocaching activity as follow up to its recent troop meeting focus on geocaching.

Rain that cropped up Saturday afternoon quickly cleared and gave way to the first sign of sun and blue skies seen since arriving at camp. After a dinner that included grilled chicken prepared by the Scouts, the troop gathered for a campfire emceed by Michael and featuring a variety of planned and impromptu skits and songs offered by Scouts and leaders. At the end, everyone enjoyed cobbler prepared by Scoutmaster Baird.

Hamburgers, grilled chicken, and cobbler weren't the only delicacies Scouts had a hand in preparing during the weekend. Reprising their efforts to bring new, bacon-themed culinary delights to the troop's dining palette, first attempted with the bacon-wrapped Little Debbie Zebra Cake during the Saugahatchee District 2013 Spring Camporee, Scouts Davis and Kyle offered a new creation - the bacon-wrapped Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie, which they said "was good." However, like the bacon-wrapped Zebra Cake, which has not seen the light of day or the inside of a skillet again, we're not sure we'll see bacon-wrapped Cosmic Brownies on the menu in the future!

The troop woke early on Sunday, packed up camp and, in observance of Scouts' "duty to God," held a devotional service before leaving camp to wish their mothers a happy Mother's Day. While a few troop meetings remain before the troop concludes its academic year meeting schedule with its June 2 court of honor, the campout concludes the troop's 2013-14 weekend campout schedule. Summer activities will include an older-Scout contingent heading to Camp Daniel Boone in Canton, N.C. in June for its "Five Rivers in Five Days" whitewater rafting program, and the majority of the troop heading to Camp Woodruff in Blairsville, Ga. in July for a week of traditional summer camp. The troop will gather for tentative day outings during the summer, as discussed during the planning retreat, before resuming its regular troop meeting and camping program in mid-August.

View more photos from the weekend on the troop's online photo album.

Scouts, committee hold inaugural planning meeting

Scouts, leaders and parents met together on Saturday, May 18 in Auburn University's Nichols Center to hold its first-ever planning meeting. The effort, designed to occur annually, considered the scheduling, advancement and budgeting needs of the troop. While the rain derailed some outside activities planned for the Scouts, the indoor time was well spent.

Troop Committee Chair Rob Stanford started the meeting by having Scouts discuss equipment, skill-development and advancement needs while leaders and parents reviewed the troop calendar for openings for weekend activities.

Scouts and the committee came together, at which time Senior Patrol Leader Jake summarized the Scouts' discussion. Using that information, the troop committee and troop leaders discussed weekend activity ideas with Scouts, as well as how to plan for their advancement needs and interests.

The meeting adjourned with a tentative calendar of troop events -- one weekend a month from August 2013 through May 2014, as well as dates for courts of honor and summer camp -- with plans to slate exactly what those events will be as Scouts and leaders research opportunities and weigh ideas. The troop will also organize merit badge opportunities, as well plans for offerings like religious emblems and rank advancement. The troop's Patrol Leaders Council -- the senior patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, and patrol leaders -- will refine those ideas at its meetings. Look for placeholders to appear on the troop calendar soon, and for this planning meeting to become an annual tradition.

In the spirit of planning for the coming year, the troop will hold youth leader elections at its May 20 meeting, ushering in a new set of leaders who will put the troop committee's plan into action. This will be the last regular troop meeting before the June 3 court of honor and the troop's modified summer schedule, which won't include weekly troop meetings but will include some informal gatherings following trips to Camp Sequoyah and Philmont, and provide chances for Scout advancement and fellowship.