Trail Talk – 8/17/26

Good afternoon 244!

We have a couple of things that I want to let you know about in the last few days! First, Ian Wesselhoff held his Eagle Project today at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary for the removal of invasive species. See the photo below. Second, I wanted to let you know that Romario Oliveira completed his Induction and Ordeal into the Order of the Arrow this last weekend at Gerber Scout Reservation. See his picture below as well!

There are 4 key items I want to bring your attention to in this week’s Trail Talk. Please see the announcements below for more information on these 3 things:

  • Troop Meeting This week, August 18th – NOT  regular troop meeting. Annual Planning Meeting. PLEASE BRING A CHAIR AS THERE IS LIMITED SEATING OUT AT THE PAVILION AT THE CHURCH! WE ARE MEETING AT PATHFINDER AT THE PAVILION!
  • EAGLE COURT OF HONOR – August 30th
  • September Campout – Labor Day Bridge Walk
  • Philmont Payment of $815/person due by September 22.

IMPORTANT NOTES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THIS WEEK:

TROOP MEETING AUGUST 18TH – ANNUAL PLANNING MEETING.

  • AUGUST 18TH – will be our annual planning meeting for the next year.
  • At Pathfinder Church out at the Pavilion
  • We DO NOT have a normal meeting this week!
  • THIS MEETING IS FOR TROOP YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND ADULT LEADERS.
  • YOUTH LEADERSHIP = SPLs, ASPLs, Troop Quartermaster, Scribe, PLs, JASMs, Troop Guides
  • If you are a scout NOT a part of troop leadership – NO TROOP MEETING
  • Troop will supply the main dish – hamburgers, hot dog, something like that.
  • PLEASE EVERYONE ELSE, BRING A SIDE DISH OR DESSERT TO PASS!
  • PLEASE BRING A CHAIR!! THERE IS LIMITED SEATING AT THE PAVILION!
  • Planning Meeting will start at 6:00 pm(instead of 7:00)
  • COME WITH IDEAS FOR THE NEXT SCOUT YEAR!

EAGLE COURT OF HONOR

  • Our next Eagle Court of Honor will be Sunday, August 30th at 2:00 p.m.
  • Honoring Sophie Schmidt, Ryan Jones, Yuna Sullins and Reilly Reinhart
  • Will need scouts to show up by 1:00 p.m. to be a part of the ceremony.
  • Please wear your Class A and neckerchief to this.
  • Please come out and help celebrate these NEW TROOP 244 EAGLE SCOUTS!
  • There will be cake!

SEPTEMBER CAMPOUT – LABOR DAY BRIDGE WALK

  • Let’s have MORE scouts and leaders sign up for this campout!
  • September 5 – 7th
  • Cost is $45 per scout and $20 per adult leader.
  • Scouts will need to bring extra money for sightseeing and lunch on the way.
  • Permission Slip attached
  • SIGN UP AT THE TROOP MEETING THIS TUESDAY!
  • Saturday – Monday. Leave Saturday morning at 10:00 am from Pathfinder
  • Arrive back home on Monday evening around 5:00 p.m. (time may vary)
  • Hang out in Northern Michigan Saturday evening and Sunday all day! Visit sites!
  • Walk the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day Morning!
  • Most likely will walk halfway from Mackinac City and then doubleback to save on time and transportation issues.
  • After Labor Day Bridge walk, return to campsite, pack up and head home!

PHILMONT 2027 – REMINDERS

  • Cost: $2,200: $150 Deposit already Paid. $815 by SEPTEMBER 22nd.
  • $815 by last week of February. $420 by last week of May.
  • Tentatively: July 5 – July 22nd. Our actual arrival date at Philmont is July 8. HOWEVER, the past several treks, we have tried to arrive a day early, which would be July 7. I have to communicate with Philmont about that. Typically, we take two nights to drive out there, hence July 5. On the other end, our last full day at Philmont is July 19. In the past, we have taken 1 night to drive home. So, leave Philmont July 20. Could get home on July 21 or if we take 2 nights, July 22. All of this depends highly on transportation.
  • Transportation: We have a scout leader or 2 looking into Train options at this point in time.
  • Preparation Meetings: Mandatory. Even if you have been to Philmont before, it doesn’t matter. Preparation for Philmont starts with your commitment to attending preparation meetings.
  • TENTATIVE Preparation Meeting Dates:
    • Sunday, September 20 at 1:00 at Al Sabor Land Preserve(Training hike)
    • Sunday October 18th at 3:00 p.m. at Pathfinder(Expectations and Gear)
    • Sunday January 10th at 3:00 pm(Important!!, Itinerary Selection!) at Pathfinder 
    • Sunday April 18th at 3:00 pm at Pathfinder(Final Information and readiness).
    • THESE DATES ARE ONLY TENTATIVE AT THIS POINT IN TIME BECAUSE I HAVE TO CONFIRM THESE DATES WITH PATHFINDER CHURCH! I will send out more firm dates once I have communicated with the church about whether spaces are available on the given dates. PENCIL them in for now but be ready for changes to be made.
  • COMMITMENT – Philmont is a commitment. That is the only way I can say it. To have a successful, MEANINGFUL, trek, you have to commit to be at everything.
  • Want to know more about Philmont – ASK THOSE THAT HAVE GONE! Best information source possible!

SUMMER TROOP MEETING MERIT BADGES

  • Only a couple more weeks left of summer merit badges before we begin Eagle Required for the school year!
  • Non-Required Merit Badges offered at Troop Meetings in Summer
  • Geocaching – Mrs. Bliss
  • Orienteering – Brian
  • Artificial Intelligence – Mr. Thurn
  • Gardening – Mrs. Knapp
  • Photography – Mr. Greene
  • If you want to work on continuing to finish up Eagle Required Partials you have, you may do that as well IF your counselors are present at the meetings.
  • T21 Scouts will continue to work on T21 requirements.

STEM NOVA Awards

  • Do you want to earn a Nova Award and get a unique patch?  Do you want to Do More, 244 Style?
  • You are in luck! The Michigan Crossroads Council is offering you an opportunity to complete a Scouts BSA STEM Nova Award that you can earn right here at Troop 244.
  • See the attached requirements and inquire with Michael Clapp for more details.
  • What are the STEM Nova Awards?
  • The STEM Nova Awards are designed to excite and expand a sense of wonder in Scouts. By working with an adult counselor or mentor, the various modules allow you to explore the basic principles of STEM and discover how fun and fascinating STEM can be.  If you are super ambitious, you can work to earn a Supernova award and go above and beyond by earning multiple STEM Nova Awards.  More Information on Nova and Supernova Awards on the Michigan Crossroads website: https://michiganscouting.org/stem/.
  • All of this will be worked outside of regular troop meetings unless we get a lot of interest in doing an activity at a meeting or a campout!
  • Contact Mr. Clapp for details.

Scouting America PHYSICAL FORMS!

  • NEW 2026 Printing of the Medical Form
  • Use the New Printing from now on!
  • Only Good for 1 year! Will need a new one for next summer!
  • Rather than waiting until the last minute, start thinking about the medical form BEFORE next summer!
  • Parts A and B – required for all troop activities
  • Part C – required by doctor for all activities 72 hours or more.

Troop 244 Payment Portal – Zeffy. Our Zeffy page remains open for you to make payments or by troop merch! Wanna pay for the campout, Pictured Rocks, SwampBase, Registration, etc. Go to the following link: http://bit.ly/pay244
For troop Swag/Merch you can click on this link: http://bit.ly/244swag

Scoutmaster Minute  – EAGLE REQUIREMENTS – Wow, I have talked a lot about the path to Eagle Scout in the last several weeks of Trail Talks! Well, now you have done everything you need to do to earn your Eagle Scout. What’s next? The next part of the journey to Eagle Scout is being awarded your Eagle by having an Eagle Court of Honor. The way the Eagle Court of Honor generally works is through a series of steps leading up to it and then holding the actual Eagle Court of Honor. We usually start planning an Eagle Court of Honor when we have a number of Eagle Scouts to honor at the same time. Generally, it is nice to have 4 or more Eagle Scouts for an Eagle Court of Honor. The first step is that I will communicate with scouts and their parents and set up a meeting to start planning the Eagle Court. Typically, we will hold that meeting on a Tuesday night before the regular troop meeting. During that meeting, our very first thing will be to decide on a date about 2 months or so out. Usually, we do the Eagle Courts on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. I will then explain that the troop takes care of the actual ceremony and invitations to specific dignitaries such as congressman, city council, governor and so forth. Parents and Scouts are responsible for invitations to friends and family, setting up their displays outside of the sanctuary prior to the Eagle Court of Honor and the reception that will follow the Eagle Court of Honor(namely food and drink). I will also ask for scouts and parents to send me 20 – 30 pictures of the Eagle Scout from throughout their scouting journey so that I can create a picture slideshow. Finally, I ask that each parent or scout complete a write-up of information on the scout and something about their Eagle Scout project. Don’t worry, I will give you an example to follow!

After we get all of that settled, we all do our respective parts to prepare for the Eagle Scout Court of Honor. Once the court of honor begins, Christy and I will take the lead, and we will award our brand-new Eagle Scouts with the official insignia and such as Eagle Scouts. Even without that official insignia it is important to remember that an Eagle Scout is always marked both outwardly and inwardly by how they follow the Scout Oath and Law in their everyday life!

“What Troop Does More!!” – 244!!!

Yours in Scouting,

Brian Poppen