Committee Meeting Notes for August 16, 2001

This meeting was held at the Clearfield Library at 7:00 PM, and ended at around 8:15 PM. In attendance were:

• Marie Klinkman
• Kevin Lanighan
• Chris Sabuda
• Kathi Sullivan
• Gretchen Thill
• Dave Yearke

The following items were discussed:

• The meeting started with a reading of "Why I'm a Leader". This will also be read at the first Pack meeting, and at Roundup.
• Den Leaders were given a tentative 2001-2002 calendar, and a current Pack roster. They were notified that the calendar is not set in stone, and were asked to make any necessary corrections to the roster so that our Pack records are up-to-date.
• The Den Leader packets that were distributed last year, and which contained forms, information, and other such things, were not distributed, as all current leaders are returning from last year. New leaders will get packets, if needed.
• We will purchase 2001-2002 Program Help Guides from the Scout Store for all the Den Leaders, as there was consensus that these are useful.
• We talked about leaders for Den 5 (Steve Bezinque has left the area) and Den 7 (a Tiger Den last year). Kevin is going to contact one of the Den 7 parents who expressed interest in being a leader. As two boys have left Den 5, leaving only three, one may go to Den 4, and the other two to Den 3.
• Our current Pack treasury is healthy for the start of the year. On a related note, the five families that went to the Scouthaven resident session in July overpaid by $70. The Council would not give a monetary refund, but instead put the overage into our store account. So, each family will draw out $14 as they purchase new uniforms, books, and other things for their Scouts.
• We really need leadership. A chart was shown of all the positions in the Pack, and it's clear that we need a lot of people to fill various roles. Kevin stressed that activity-related positions are more important than Secretary, Publicity, etc., and that, while the latter are important, the former should be filled first. Dave made the point that the open positions should be filled by people other than Den Leaders, as they already have a lot to do, and that everyone should be contributing. Marie suggested we write up descriptions of each position, so that people know what they are signing up for, including time obligations for each position. Kathi suggested we use sign-up sheets for each position at the first Pack meeting and at Roundup, and it was agree by all that we should insist that everyone sign up for something. Chris signed up for the food drive again, as he really enjoyed doing it last year.
• At the first meeting, we will probably split the Scouts and the adults so that the kids aren't bored while we're discussing issues such as the above.
• We reviewed the calendar. Again, it was stressed that the dates are not final, and that we can't get final dates until after school starts. Once we have the dates, we can get posters and flyers printed by the Council for Round Up. Gretchen and others suggested we pass out flyers to all grades this year (about 300). It was also asked that, if anyone had any contacts within the PTA, if they could try and get something about Round Up in the newsletter.
• Next topic was the Fall Encampment. Ideas include:
  • The U.S.S. Little Rock;
  • Amherst Colony Museum;
  • Marie knows of a campsite in Holland, NY, that may be available; and
  • Camp Scouthaven;
  Other ideas are welcome. Dave is going to try and find out if the Little Rock is available this fall.
• Den 1 will do the first flag ceremony.
• A lengthy discussion about fundraisers ensued. We talked about doing popcorn again, doing a different fundraiser, such as Krispy Kreme doughnuts, or forgetting the fundraiser and just doing an activity fee. We decided that we will again do the popcorn, with the activity fee and membership fee buyouts, just like last year, We are also going to see if we can do sales at the Maple East orientation nights. Dave will call Mr. Gaughan about this.
• We discussed the change to the Academic & Sports Belt Loop/Pin policy. Previously, we purchased the pins, but not the belt loops. Starting this year, we will purchase up to four belt loops per Scout per year. On the same topic, Marian and Gretchen, who have taken over advancements from Pat Perkins, would appreciate getting any advancement info one week prior to each Pack meeting. The info can be e-mailed, or the forms can be used, whichever is more convenient.
• It was agreed that the Guide Book was useful. It will be revised and printed for all the Scouts. As an aside, we may purchase a domain name for our web page, so that the version printed in the guide book will always point to wherever it is physically located, which may change as new people take over hosting it.
• We need to think about activities for Pack meetings this year. We also talked about doing more community service projects, such as: bake sales, where the profits go to a charity; having Scouts act as guides at Maple East functions such as orientation night; visiting local retirement homes and giving handmade projects as gifts; and picking up trash.
• Again, it was asked that representatives from every Den attend each Committee meeting. We will also do more "virtual" meetings this year, possibly every other meeting.