Venturing Crew 1150

Its time for the annual Crew Lock-in at Cameron United Methodist Church.

November 20th - Friday evening at 6:00pm to Saturday ~10:00am.

All Venturing Scouts in the Colonial District are invited to attend.

Cost is $5 for pizza and soda.

Bring your favorite movies (keep them clean!) and video games. Bring your pillow and sleeping bag. Bring your tooth brush.

Please RSVP by November 14th.

I’ve published the pictures from the weekend campout. You can see them here. I will get the movies up later today.

I’ve posted the ski trip photos! You can see them here, or go to the Gallery page. If anyone has photos they would like to share, please let me know.

Here are the photos from the Big Mac campout. Here are the videos.

For those of you in the Crew who are elligible to vote, I encourage you to do so. Please exercise your Constitutional rights and vote for the candidate of your choice. I know some of you away in the military have already voted via absentee ballot. Kudos to you!

Don’t forget the two major events in November! Scouting for Food on Nov. 8, and the Lock-in on Nov. 21.

Scouting for Food we’ll meet at St. Laurence Catholic Church on Franconia Road at 9am to help unload and sort food bags as Scout Troops bring them in. In return, we’ll go shooting at either Fairfax Rod and Gun or Clark Brothers on Sunday since we’re not camping this weekend.

The Lock-In will be Friday evening thru Saturday morning. Bring $10 to cover food costs, and make sure you invite your friends (Venturing ages 14-20). There is a gun show that weekend so if anyone is interested in going either Saturday afternoon or Sunday let us know.

Check the calendar for updates - left sidebar had the whole list (click on Calendar) and the right sidebar has the clickable 2 month preview. I had to turn off the sticky post feature; it was causing the incompatibility with the Calendar plug-in. I’ll turn it back on when they fix it.

Its time for our third annual crew lock-in/overnighter! We’ll start at 8pm Firday evening and go thru Saturday morning some time. Bring your favorite snacks, movies, console games and be preparred for a night of fun! Feel free to invite your friends to join us and see what we and Venturing is all about.

I got links for the photos Crew 1501 took of our last outing. You can see them here:

• Set 1
• Set 2
• Set 3

Next time I’ll bring my camera(s) I promise!

There is a gun show at Dulles in September (12th - 14th) if anyone is interested in going. We can make an all-day of it on Saturday (9/13) if anyone is interested. Let me know at the next Crew meeting.

FYI Brian called off the campout for August. Next one is September 19-21.

I uploaded photos from last month’s pistol instructor course and our trip to Goshen (where we ran an RSO course) and did a lot of scouting for training venues. You can get to them from the Gallery page.

I added dates to the calendar through September.

We need to decide if we want to do the August campout. We have a campout scheduled for September too, and having just done one in July, I don’t know if that too much for you all. Let me know. 

I’ve posted the May campout photos from Nadia’s camera. Still need to get Chris’ camera. You can find them here, or go to the Gallery link on the left sidebar. Enjoy!

Judi and Tony completed their TC qualifications!

FYI the calendar category is broken at the moment. The calendar plug-in does not work correctly with WP 2.5.1… You can still see events in the calendar on the right sidebar though.

I would like us to do something as a week long activity this summer. Here are some options, mostly centered around Goshen. Goshen is close, familiar, not too far into the back country for our younger or less experienced campers, and its close to ammo stores If you don’t like these options, we can come up with something else.

1) Goshen Road to Ranger Program

2) Goshen Shooting Sports Venture week

3) Goshen Field & Stream Camp

4) Personalized Goshen Program

5) Goshen Lenhok’Sin Camp

6) Go to a different BSA Camp (programs will be basically the same)

7) Something else?

Read the rest of this entry »

You can see them by going to the Gallery link, or clicking here.  If you have any that you took and would like to share, let me know and I will add them.

FYI I added crew meetings to the calendar, plus fixed some of the campout dates that have recently changed. Check back soon, I’ll have the photos from the February campout posted in a day or two.

See the calendar for specifics, but we’ve scheduled a reloading afternoon and a shooting session with David. Reloading will be at David’s, shooting at the gun club. We’ll meet at my house and leave from there.

I called off our attending the Service Rifle Competition this Saturday because the Church’s Tree Lot is not closing down this Saturday. They are remaining open another week to sell the rest of their trees.

It is VERY important that we support that effort to the best of our ability this weekend and during the evenings next week. So stop by when you can and sign up to help out. Sign up sheet is in the tree lot hut. If you need community service hours for school, this counts.

The tree lot is now scheduled to close Saturday morning, Dec 22nd.

FYI I got word back from Martha at the Church. You are good to go for your lock in on Friday night, January 11th. There is a family movie night upstairs, so we’ll need to stay downstairs - although we are invited to attend so if you want to mingle, go for it. There is nothing stated for the Church on Saturday, so we can leave when we want.

So, plan accordingly. Take the night off from work, invite your friends, bring your movies and video games. Bring $5 for pizza, the adults will cover munchies and drinks.

Note: some of these dates have been changed since first posted. These dates are current as of 3-6-2008.

FYI I made reservations for Big Mac for the 2008 camping season. Dates are in the calendar, but here is the short list:

• February 8-10
• March 21-23 (yes, its Easter Weekend)
• May 23-26 (Memorial Weekend)
• June 13-15
• July 11-13
• August 15-17
• September 19-21
• November 7-9

Please mark your calendars accordingly…

As we will have just spend the majority of the weekend together, and I know a few will be out for the holiday week, we’re not going to have a meeting on Monday. The next meeting will be on Dec. 3rd. See you then!

For those that missed the Crew meeting on Monday, here are the next 3 BIG things:

Scouting for Food

• staff food drop off location - St. Laurence Catholic Church on Franconia Rd.
• 9am to about 2pm

Church Tree Lot

• Setup November 17 (9am-noon)
• First tree delivery November 29 @ 5pm
• Sales start Dec 1
• M-F 3pm to 8 or 9pm
• Sat-Sun All Day (10am to 9pm I think)
• Partial breakdown Dec 15 @ 9m

Crew Lock In

• November 17th, starting at 7pm-ish
• At our Church, our regular meeting rooms
• The current plan is tree lot in the morning, gun show in the afternoon, and lock-in (with games, pizza, movies, etc.) in the evening with Crew 80 and Jason’s Crew till 8am Sunday.

Please please pass this info along to your fellow Crew members. It is very important that we be there for both Scouting for Food and the Church tree lot setup. As a ‘reward’ we will do a trip to the gun show (this is the BIG one) for any who want to go (I will cover your entry fee) after tree lot set up (around noon) and then come back for an evening of fun and games and movies at the Church. Crew 80 and Jason’s new Crew will be joining us, so it should be a fun night.

Despite a few minor glitches before and during, everything went really well this past weekend. We have 7 more Crew run through pistol marksmanship class. And Sue was a big help this weekend! You can see pictures here and via the Gallery page. I’ll have my journal notes transcribed in a day or three.

Will be a busy one. We have to plan for the campout that weekend - food mainly, but shooting schedule too. We’ll need head counts and when everyone can head out. See you Monday!

Don’t forget the coffee and donut sales concession we are running at FRGC this weekend. If you are slated to work the event, be at the Church by 6:30am (I know, its early) so we can get out there and set up before the crowd arrives.

For September:
We are going to the FRGC this weekend Saturday and Sunday to serve coffee and donuts prior to the competitions. This is a Crew fundraiser, and we were invited by the Club to do this. Crew decided on Class A uniform shirt as the uniform of the day. Any pants/shorts are okay. We will meet at the Church early, 6:30am or so to get out there and get set up by 8am. Please let Rory and Tony know if you are coming.

September campout (21-23) planning is still up in the air. We’re waiting for some answers to questions sent to the crew joining us to make a final determination on menus. Please let Rory and Tony know if you are coming this weekend. We will leave for Big Mac Friday evening. There will be shooting, and we will do a handgun class for our new crew members.

October Dulles Gun Show – we are going to make a day out of it on Saturday.

October Fall Camporee on Oct. 19-21 at Ft. Washington. You decided to serve as photographers and maybe set up a Venturing demo area (those plans are still in the works by District – it may not happen).

Mike is working out the details for a November timeframe hunting trip. We will need to take a hunter education class before we go.

I sent out updated permission forms. Please fill them out as soon as you can and return.

We need to push recruiting this fall. I will have brochures by next meeting. I’m asking everyone in the Crew to invite at least one classmate to come visit. They don’t have to join, just come see what we do and maybe they will join.

Unit elections are coming up in November. We thought terms were 6 months, but the bylaws say 1 year. Do you all want to change that to 6 months?

I would like to have a parents meeting with all the parents. Please find out when would be a good time to do that – check with your parents. During one Monday meeting? Probably would work best.

You need to have an annual planning meeting soon. We seem to be doing okay on the month to month schedule, so you should focus on what you want to do next summer. Goshen shooting sports week, Camp Perry National Competitions, or something else.

Just FYI, we will have a meeting on Monday, Labor Day, in case you are in town. I’ve heard from a few of you who will be at the meeting and a few of you that will be out of town. Have a safe Labor Day weekend!

We’re also going to go to Clark Brothers this Sunday for a few hours of shotgun shooting. Let me know by Saturday if you want to come with. We’ll probably head out there around 1pm and be back by 4pm or 5pm.

I talked with David from FRGC Monday, and the reloading day scheduled for the 7th has to be changed. Turns out that is his anniversary. We’ll figure out a new date for that at the next Crew meeting.

I added the dates to the calendar from last night’s Crew meeting. Make sure you read through them. Highlights include:

• reloading lessons
• service rifle positions
• shotgun shoot at FRGC
• service rifle competition

See everyone this Friday for Big Mac (okay, not the guys at Goshen, but then you’ve got your own ranges to play on :))

We’re going to the Fairfax Rod and Gun Club Thursday morning! We’re going to do some service rifle shooting, plus spend some time on the pistol ranges. Should be a fun day. We’ll leave from the Church at 8am. Make sure you bring your eyes and ears. (I’ll have the ones that folks left in my truck from Big Mac.)

Everyone approved the patch design. I’ll place the order this morning.

The bylaws were approved. A PDF is available in the Pubs and Files section.

We have to reschedule the July Big Mac trip. The Troop scheduled summer camp to depart the Sunday we would have gotten back from Big Mac, which didn’t work too well for us. I updated the calendar, and will confirm the new dates (July 20-22) with Bill this morning.

The Charter Presentation that was going to be this Sunday is postponed. Its a long story. We’ll get a new date set as soon as we can.

FYI, I added some dates to the calendar - notably some events and crew meetings. Mike and I are working out our schedules to we can do a weekday day trip to Clark Brothers the week after school gets out.

I’ve uploaded the photos from the campout this past weekend. You can get to them from the Gallery page, or click here.

Special thanks to Suzie for driving!!

I just uploaded the photos of the Crew at Spring Camporee. You can get to them from the Gallery or you can click here. These are mostly photos of the Crew at Camporee, not of the Camporee itself. If you want to see all the photos the Crew took of Camporee, you can go here.

I’m still working on the video from the camera.

You guys did a great job!

Photos are up of the field trip to the Fairfax Rod and Gun Club. You can see them from the Gallery link to the left, or click here.

It comes with great sadness that I must inform you that Bill Yehle, the Chartered Organization Representative from Cameron United Methodist Church, passed away Sunday, April 1, 2007. Bill has been the COR for Troop 1150 and Pack 1520 for longer than I can remember. He was also instrumental in helping us start this Crew. He will be missed more than words can say.

Viewing
Wednesday, April 4
2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.
Jefferson Funeral Home
5755 Castlewellan Dr, Alexandria, VA 22315
(703) 971-7400

Viewing
Thursday, April 5
Cameron UMC
3130 Franconia Rd, Alexandria, VA 22310
(703) 960-9505
9:30-10 a.m.

Funeral Service
Thursday, April 5
10 a.m. at Cameron UMC

Interment
Following Service at Mount Comfort Cemetery

Luncheon
Skelton Hall, Cameron UMC
12:00 noon

First, Monday’s meeting will be at Red, Hot and Blue. Eddie and Brittany have to work, so this way they can participate to some extent.

Next, we’re definitely going to the Fairfax Rod and Gun Club - I got confirmation from David. Now we just need to know what time. I should have that answer by Monday.

We’re all set to go to a range on April 5th. Mike, Judi and I have the day off, so now we’re just waiting to find out if its the Fairfax Rod and Gun Club or Clark Brothers. Will let everyone know as soon as I find out.

We’re good to go for the weekend of June 1-3, so mark your calendars

Our first Crew campout was a big success! Aside from some excessive horseplay and 3 inches of unexpected snow, it was a great weekend. Everyone had a good time, completed their basic marksmanship qualifications, and almost completed the Shooting Sports Venturing elective. (To finish, you just have to do your range shooting.)

I want to thank all the parents for letting your son or daughter come camping. I want to especially thank Scott for joining us this weekend. We could not have done it without your extra help!

You can see lots of photos in the Gallery section (see the link on the left).

Our next campout will be April 20-22, at the District Camporee, where we will be the documentary staff (we get to walk around and take pictures and video of everyone). Should be a lot of fun.

Our next shooting outing will probably be sometime in April during Spring Break, and I’m working on Camp Big Mac’s next availability in May or June.

No meeting tonight, but we will meet on the 26th.

Here are the directions to Big Mac. Please pass to parents if they are driving.

1) 7100 Parkway to I-66 West
2) I-66 West to Markham exit 18
get in HOV lanes, much faster
3) From the exit ramp, South (left) on Route #688 (Leeds Manor Rd).
Rally point is side of road just before #55 intersection
ALL VEHICLES WAIT HERE
4) Cross Route #55, come to “T” intersection, go RIGHT on #688 South
5) #688 dog-legs to left just after dumpsters and crosses railroad tracks
6) follow Route #688 (Leeds Manor Rd) South approximately 1.7 miles
7) Turn Right on Route #728 (Moss Hollow Rd). Starts as a paved road,
becomes gravel after 1/4 mile.
8 ) Follow to end of road - approximately 2.5 miles. Left at “End State
Maintenance” sign into Camp Big Mac.

The last time we were there the Big Mac sign was missing. There are two gates at the end of the road, we are the left one.

Tony’s cell phone is 703-347-3645
Mike’s cell phone is 757-478-1599
Judi’s cell phone is 202-368-4030

Parents, please make sure your kids read this list. Crew, please make sure
everyone sees this list - call them or tell them about it in the school
halls. Email or call if you have questions.

Use this list as a personal reminder. The crew will provide the crew and
shooting gear, so focus on the personal stuff. The weather forecast is for
highs in the 40’s, lows in the 20’s, so pack warm clothes. You can see the forecast here at weather.com.

Personal Camping Gear:
__ sleeping bag/blanket (lows in the 20’s forecast, so be prepared)
__ pillow
__ air or foam mattress (Crew can provide)
__ tent optional (crew can provide)
__ clothing (forecast is highs in the 40’s, lows in the 20’s)
__ extra pair of shoes/boots
__ gloves
__ warm hat
__ rain gear
__ personal hygiene gear (soap, tooth brush, towel, etc.)
__ flashlight (check your batteries)
__ whistle
__ water bottle
__ Venture Handbook (if you have it)
__ shooting glasses
__ hearing protection
__ permission form
__ medical form

The guy who wrote the calendar plug-in has released a beta update that fixed the Calendar link on the left sidebar. That link now properly displays the calendar events in date order on a single page. Let me know if you see any problems.

The Crew last night decided that 2 meetings a month would be the norm, and that they would meet on the first and third Monday of every month. Of course we forgot to talk about what happens when there are three Mondays a month, but there’s always something.

Planning for Big Mac this weekend continues, and I will send out an email with gear details and driving directions. You can always check the calendar entry for the latest info too.

Welcome to our newest Crew member - Sam!

Over the weekend Judi and I (with Phil and Ian) went to our first gun show. It was a pretty cool experience. Maybe we’ll do the next one as a Crew outing.

Judi bought a .22 bolt action rifle for the Crew to use. She also bought a .38 revolver, so now we have both semi-autos and revolvers for pistol training. I bought a match grade Colt AR-15 service rifle for our future competition work. State gun purchasing regulations aside, I have been put on an indefinate gun purchasing ban by my wife

On other news, Judi and I met yesterday with the Arlington and Alexandria Friends of the NRA to talk about NRA grants. While the news we came home with does not help in the short term too much - grants are due in October and awarded the following April - it does bode well for the long term. But we made a lot of good contacts, so we’ve got some good ideas for possible loaner equipment and program possibilities.

Go to the Gallery link on the left to see photos of the Crew skiing with the Troop.

We survived the ski trip. No one broke any bones, and the Ski Patrol did not have to cart anyone off to first aid - with one exception. One of our crew members got a snow mobile ride off the mountain top. That’s my idea of a cool si trip. Snow was good, but it was cold and windy most of the weekend. My daughter (10 years old, second time skiing) went with us and she went to the top of the mountain 3 times.

We’ll have some pictures posted in a day or two.