NW Scouters’ Club: Minutes
March 22, 2005

1st Freeport Scout Troop

Cindy Elliot

Jamie Leggott

Mark Panchaud

8th Kitchener Scout Troop

Don Paterson

11th Kitchener Scout Troop

Ted Claxton

Viet Truong

30th Kitchener Scout Troop

John McCuish

38th Kitchener Scout Troop

Nick Ebner

Pierre Michiels

4th Waterloo Scout Troop

Mark Carruthers

9th Waterloo Scout Troop

John Bain

21st Waterloo Scout Troop

Liam Morland

Resource Persons

69th Kitchener Rover Crew: Adam Sargent, Amber Schlievert, Beth Montgomery, Cherie Montgomery, Harry Niezen, Ken Coyle

Regrets

• Dean Watt, 43rd Kitchener Scout Troop

The meeting opened at 19:04. In honour of winter, the tables were set up with a hexagonal arrangement instead of the usual pentagonal arrangement.

The Owen Sound Winter Camp was an exciting time for the Scouts. There was good weather with plenty of snow. The events hosted were as challenging as in previous years, including the most anticipated Rescue Mission. Congratulations to the 21st Waterloo Scouts for taking home two awards: Knot Tying and Best Campsite. The Scouts had an opportunity to attend the local OHL hockey game between London Knights and the Owen Sound Attack. The highlight of the hockey game came when Scouter Ted Claxton was interviewed by local television station.

This year's Spring Thaw BBQ Social for Scouters will be held at Camp Mohawk. Meet and greet will be at 17:30; dinner at 18:30; campfire at 19:30. Pierre will arrange sausages and other food. Ted will bring a key. If you are attending, please bring your own drinks, plates, cutlery, chairs, and avoid bringing any disposable items. Bring a skits, song, story, or something else to share. Mark P. will be assisting with calling around to invite guests.

There will be an all-section Scouters' Social on Tuesday, September 27 at Camp Mohawk. It will be a potluck dinner to introduce all the group committee members and a chance to socialize with each other around the campfire. This event is being coordinated by Ken.

There are about 5-7 candidates for the Chief Scout's Award. April 23 or 24 was set as a probable date for holding interviews of candidates. Final decision is to be made at the Spring Thaw, April 19. Ted, Liam, Pierre, Mike Smith, Jim Williamson, and Bill Hopf have expressed an interest in helping with this. The awards will be presented May 26 at the North Waterloo annual gathering. There will also be a ceremony on June 12 in Guelph. [After the meeting, the interviews were set for Sunday April 24 from 14:00 to 17:00 at North Waterloo Scout House.]

Haliburton Summer Camp

4th Waterloo Scouts are planning to camp at Hidden Bay at HSR August 6-13, 2005. They will have 15-17 Scouts and have room for about 10 more. HSR charges $115 per person. The 4th Waterloo's fee will be about $225. Please make arrangements with 4th Waterloo by mid-April. 21st Waterloo will be going August 13-20. They do not have extra room on their site, but Scouter Liam is happy to give advice to anyone who is planning their troop's summer camp.

Everton Scout Forest

Summer camp will run at Everton Saturday, July 23 to Friday, July 29. The plan this year is to have four patrols totalling 24-30 Scouts. The week will have a voyager theme. Activities will include hiking , trail work, map work, community service project, swimming, and camp craft for each day. The cost is $230 per Scout, all-inclusive.

Introduction to Scouting Day will be Saturday, October 1 at Camp Mohawk. The day provides new members of the troop the opportunity to learn basic Scouting skills and to meet each other.

Scouters reviewed the calendar for the coming year and agreed that the Club is holding the right number of events. Scouters can share what they are doing with their troops so that joint activities can take place.

Ken is coordinating a Scout Parade during BP Week for any groups that do not have their own.

Scouter Ted announced that there will be a meeting on Tuesday, April 5 at NW Scout House to discuss the North Waterloo properties, Camp Everton, Camp Mohawk, and NW Scout House. The purpose of the meeting is to create an association representative of the groups in North Waterloo which will be responsible for the management of the property.

Scouters discussed the Coyote Canyon Camporee.

• Crest: Ted and Pierre will come up with a design and order 250.
• Tuck shop: Pierre will ask with Ed Wright.
• First Aid: Pierre has asked Medical Venturers.
• Campsite Inspection & Check-out: Pierre.
• Security: 69th Kitchener Rovers/Harry. Will be based at Greenwood Cabin.
• Registration: Tony Skells.
• Publicity with former attendees: Ted will coordinate with Wayne Zinger.
• Evaluation questionnaire: Liam.
• Friday BBQ: 38th Kitchener Venturers/Pierre.
• Saturday Lunch: Lunch will be provided for the Venturers, Rovers, and other helpers at Lions Lodge. Cindy will coordinate. Everyone who is coordinating a program which includes such helpers must inform Cindy of who will need to be fed so that numbers will be known.
• Other Meals: For the other meals, everyone will eat with their section or make arrangements with Ted and Ken Arnett who are the campmasters that weekend.
• Mug-up for Scouters on Saturday: Cindy.
• Flag Break and Ceremonies: Ted.
• Wascally Wabit Stew Cook-off: 69th Kitchener Rovers/Harry.
• Saturday Wide Game: Volunteer needed.
• Silent Auction Items and Money: Ken and Dan Fleischman. Tony Skells has a list of sources. Will also get prizes for cook-off, best campsite inspection, and best campsite theme.
• Campfire: Liam.
• Sunday Scouts' Own: Pierre will ask with Ed Wright.
• Pennants: Volunteer needed.
• Budget: John Bain. Wayne has 2004 budget. All events need to get their estimated expenses to John so that a budget can be made.

Main Program Events

1. Thor's Hammer Throw (farthest throw) — 69th Kitchener Rovers/Harry.
2. Acme Catapults (lashing catapults, throwing water balloons; spars needed) — Volunteer needed.
3. Coyote Canyon (zip line) — Brian Robertson.
4. Spiderman Climb (climbing wall) — Brian Robertson.
5. Spider Web (get whole patrol through without ringing bell) — Volunteer needed.
6. Acme Cannon (water balloon fight with surgical tubing slingshots) — Volunteer needed.
7. Fire in the River — Ted Claxton.
8. Hunting Wabbits (archery) — Volunteer needed.
9. Texas Sweed Saw Massacre (timed cutting, one person) — Volunteer needed.
10. Trebuchet (throw stuff with pre-made trebuchet) — 9th Waterloo.
11. Balloon/Blanket Toss (toss a water balloon over a net with a blanket or tarp) — Volunteer needed.

Also on the list was Road Runner Escape, but no one could remember what activity this great title refers to.

Scouter Liam shared his experiences taking Scouts on bike hikes. He showed pictures from a recent trip along the Welland canal. Liam has found that Scouts average about 14 km/h on a flat, paved surface. This will fall even on packed gravel, which is somewhat softer than pavement. A bike computer is very helpful. Groups should go on a test ride at a meeting to get a sense of how fast they travel and to practice safe group riding. The head and tail of the group should wear a bright vest to make them distinct. This helps to keep the group together. Scouts should share taking these roles. Groups should not be larger than ten. If they are, riding should be done in patrols.

Prior to going biking, troops should hold bike repair night. Scouts should bring their (name-labelled) tools to tune-up their bikes. Most bikes will have seats that are far too low for efficient riding. Many will have breaks and gears that need adjustment. Most young Scouts will not know how to use their gears and must be specifically taught. Scouts need to learn how to properly adjust a bike helmet. These are often worn incorrectly. In particular, straps are often too loose and not fitted correctly. Scouts should learn about basic field repairs, such as a flat tire.

Bike panniers are very nice to have as wearing a backpack is not very comfortable while biking. They are expensive and are not needed for a day trip when one need only bring a lunch and a few other items. Be careful with cheap panniers: Some designs tend to get caught in the wheel. Mountain Equipment Co-op sells some excellent panniers and various prices.

The 21st Waterloo Scouts have taken bike routes: Niagara River, Welland Canal, Cambridge to Hamilton camping at Brant Conservation Area, and Elora Gorge to Belwood Lake. Please contact Scouter Liam if you have any questions or would like assistance planning a troop bike trip.

Scouters mentioned that Braun's Bicycle & Fitness will visit Scout meetings to talk about bike repair. The police will visit to talk about safety.

It was suggested that it would be helpful to construct a list of Scouters and other willing and able to assist with different areas of the program.

Scouters were pleased the meeting was productive, on-time, kept to the agenda, and included time for the Pentagon.

The meeting was adjourned at 21:03. The next event is the Spring Thaw on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 at Camp Mohawk. The next meeting will be Tuesday, May 10, 2005 at 18:45 at NW Scout House.

—Minutes prepared by Viet Truong and Liam Morland.