The Troop Held a Committee Meeting on December 18th. In attendance were Mr. Anthony, Mr. Cleary, Mr. Conner, Mr. Cox, Mr. Crist, Mr. Freeburger, Mr. Gouldmann, Mr. Luken, and Mr. O'Brien. Mr. Gouldmann led off the meeting with the Lord's Prayer.

NEXT MEETING WILL BE January 29th. Meetings are held in the Church Lower Room and begin at 7:00 . Please remember that all troop adults are encouraged to attend these meetings.

Next Camping trip - Locations for a January trip could not be secured. The next trip will be February 13, 14, and 15 at Hauck Lodge, Broadcreek. At the request of the boys, this trip will be organized similar to the camporee. Adults are needed to help with running the stations. Please see Mr. Freeburger if you can help.

Ski Trip at Shawnee March 12, 13, and 14 - Thanks go to Mr. Anderson for organizing this event. You should have already notified Mr. Anderson if you were interested.

STAND Archdiocese Youth Protection Training - This program is required for all registered adult leaders. Next training date scheduled at St. Joes is Feb. 9 th , 2004 at 7 PM . The troop is looking into arranging a training session specifically for troop adults.

2004 Troop Schedule of events - This is being finalized by Mr. Freeburger and will be presented at the Scout banquet on February 1 st .

Eagle Project Presentations Charlie and Chris Myers each presented their Eagle Projects to the Troop Committee. Chris will repair the Mt. St. Joseph 's High School cross-country track by filling in areas to prevent erosion of the hillside. Charlie will construct wooden houses that will be used for nesting by the Wood Duck at the Marshy Point Nature Center . The Committee approved these projects. Great job Charlie and Chris!

Utah/Arizona trip - Mr. Luken will be organizing a meeting of those attending. Help is needed to plan the details of the trip. Please contact Mr. Luken if you can help.

Local Summer Camp at Broadcreek - Mr. Anderson is organizing this trip. Please see him if you can help. A $10 deposit will be requested at the scout banquet of those that plan to attend. This will be August 8 to August 14.

The troop purchased a new tarp This will keep more of us dry and happy, (well at least dry) on those questionable weather camping trips.

Scout Banquet on February 1 st - Mark your calendars. Our day will begin with the troop attending the 12:00 mass. The scouts' immediate families are welcome to attend. Ms. Gouldmann is planning this event. Please help her out.

Fruit Drive - Due to the last minute change in the type of oranges offered we had to scramble to contact our customers. Thank you for helping to salvage at least a portion of our sales. We'd like to especially thank, Mr. Luken and Ms. Holmes for their many hours of work calling the troop members and fruit customers. January's fruit orders are due January 16 th . Grapefruit will continue to be available as in our brochure; however, temple oranges (not honeybells) will be the only orange available. Note this is different from the brochure.

Information for New Scouts and Adults - Mr. Cox and Ms. Homes will be putting together a packet of information for new scouts and parents. This should help clear up a lot of questions new scout families may have.

Future Dates - Changes may occur month to month. Please update your calendar.

January

2 Happy New Year - no troop meeting
9 Troop meeting
16 Troop meeting - Fruit orders due
23 Fruit delivery
24 Fruit pickup
29 Troop Committee meeting
30 Troop meeting

February

1 Scout Banquet
6 Troop meeting
13 Fruit orders due
13, 14, and 15 Hauck Lodge at Broadcreek
19 Troop Committee meeting
20 Fruit delivery
21 Fruit pickup
27 Troop meeting

March

12, 13 and 14 Ski trip