2000 Registration is Now Due

• $12 for Scouts (without Boys' Life )
• $21 for Scouts (with Boys' Life )
• $7 for Adults

Each troop must register with the local BSA district by the end of the year. Please send a check for the appropriate amount with your scout to one of the Tuesday night troop meetings. Make checks payable to BSA Troop 849. We need to wrap-up registration by December 1st.

Scouts and adults who have not renewed their membership by midnight December 1st will not be re-registered.

If any of you parents have not registered with the troop, please consider this an invitation to do so. Membership on our Troop Committee (Manhattan Beach Parents for Scouting) is always open to interested parents.

2000 Medical Release Forms

The troop maintains a medical release form that authorizes emergency treatment for each scout. Please stop by and sign the 2000 form at any troop meeting.

Thank you.

Rockin' and Rollin' in Joshua Tree

The recent rock climbing outing at Joshua Tree produced both great Scout fun for the boys who were there and some major anxious moments for their parents back here (thanks to 7.0 Hector). Special thanks to Liz Ono and Michelle Fox for their fine phone work. We will be discussing emergency contact procedures and other related topics at the next Troop Committee meeting.

Troop Committee Meeting on Nov. 4

The monthly Troop Committee meetings will be moving to a bigger location across the street to the "school hall", effective Nov. 4.

Greenbar Training on Nov. 6 and 7

On the Bicycle Hike we will be having a training program for our youth leaders. All youth leaders should plan on attending the training portion even if they cannot attend the whole weekend. The hike will be at the Chilao Campground in the Angeles Crest area. All new patrol leaders, guides, and ASPLs must attend. It is strongly encouraged that instructors, quartermasters, and den chiefs also attend. We will be covering the patrol method and working through leadership methods.

Scouting for Food & Clothing on Nov. 13 and Nov. 20

The annual Boy Scout National Good Turn will once again take place in November as Scouts across the country participate in a massive food and clothing drive. On Saturday Nov. 13 Cub Scouts will be dropping off fliers and bags at homes and apartments throughout Manhattan Beach. On Saturday Nov. 20 Troop 849 will take the lead in picking up the bags full of food and clothing and transporting them to the collection area (Salvation Army in Redondo Beach).

We need maximum participation in this event this year. We will be picking up bags over a bigger area this year (three Cub packs instead of one) and there will (hopefully) be more bags to pick up as a result of more publicity for the event this year.

Scouts should be at the Scout House at 10:00 am on Sat. Nov. 20 in uniform. We will also need help at the collection center that afternoon (if a soccer game clogs up your morning, join us in the afternoon). Any questions, please call Don McLellan.

A Reminder About Courts of Honor

We'd like to remind all parents that their attendance at the semi-annual courts of honor is strongly encouraged. The boys receive their hard-earned rank advancements, merit badges, hiking awards, etc., and it is very important that they also receive personal parental and family support and attention during the ceremony. We realize these evenings can be lengthy (due to the size of the troop and the number of awards) so we are working on speeding them up. The next Court of Honor will occur in February and we hope all parents and scouts can attend.

Summer Camp 2000

Emerald Bay has been chosen as next years summer camp. Mark your calendars as we have reservations for the week of August 13-19, 2000. The cost is $330.

Due to the large number of scouts that are expected to attend, we are also investigating the possibility of adding a second summer camp. More details to follow later.

Donate Vehicles to the BSA

Donate your unwanted vehicle to the BSA. The Boy Scouts of America, like many other more publicized charitable groups, has implemented a Vehicle Donation Program and hassle free pick-up service. You benefit by donating an old vehicle and receiving a charitable donation on your federal and state tax return. In turn, your donation helps the BSA organization. If, after checking with your tax advisor, you want to donate a vehicle, you can arrange for vehicle pick-up by calling 213/413-4400, extension 268.

Adult Leadership Training Classes

Adult members are strongly encouraged to sign up for next year's BSA backpack, winter backpacking, and search and rescue training classes. We are very lucky in Troop 849 because our own award winning Dick Rose is the instructor.

This is a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and help make our outdoor camping program a huge success. Please call Dick Rose or see Mike Vahey for more detailed information.

Patrol Reorganization
by Mike Vahey

Scouts and Parents, please let me explain why we have changed our patrol structure and the process we used.

The Boy Scout program is based on patrols. It has been ever since Lord Baden-Powell started the program in 1907. In Troop 849, we have used the patrol method with mixed success over the past 10 years. When the patrols have been strong, the boy-led program has been very successful. Good leadership opportunities were available for more scouts. Troop meetings were easier to organize. Inter-patrol competition presented some exciting interaction and fellowship.

During the past few years, the patrol method has not been active. During back packing months it is difficult to organize trips by patrol due to trail head limits. During meetings, we line up by patrol, but training, games, and advancement have been organized by troop or ad hoc groups. This is partially because patrol size varies greatly with meeting attendance. We also have limited places for patrols to meet during patrol corners, thus making it difficult for the patrols to have meaningful meetings.

The troop youth leaders have decided that they would like to use the patrol method more actively. They expect the benefits we listed above and better training/advancement by working with smaller groups. As such, we decided to create 5 active patrols, each with approximately the same number of active scouts. We will be moving inactive scouts into a sixth patrol. Five patrols were chosen, because we have 5 areas for patrol corners. We expect each patrol to have 8-10 scouts in attendance each week at troop meetings. This will facilitate inter-patrol competition and give each patrol a unique place to meet separately.

At the October 19th meeting we asked each scout to write the names of 5 scouts they wanted in their patrol. We then looked for the best grouping of scouts that wanted to be together. We kept each patrol to less than 12 scouts. We then checked to ensure that each scout had at least 2 scouts from their list in their patrol. Most had 3 or more of their friends.

At future meetings and outings, we expect to use the patrol method actively. Training, games, camping, and cooking will all be done by patrol. Adults will work through the Senior Patrol Leader, who in-turn will work with the Patrol Leaders. We would like each patrol to develop its own identity and work as a team. We expect to have inter-patrol competitions. Scouting for Food will be organized by each patrol. Each patrol will have new leadership positions including a patrol scribe and quartermaster. Scribes will keep patrol attendance records and work with the troop scribe. Quartermasters will be responsible for issuing equipment to patrol members and ensuring that equipment is returned after each trip.

I have great expectations for this renewed patrol method. Let's give the Patrol Leaders and our Senior Patrol Leader our best support.

Mike

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