Trail Talk – 9/8/26

Good morning 244!

I hope you are all doing great and had a fabulous Labor Day Weekend! Our group that went on the September campout up to Cheboygan State Park and then did the Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk yesterday had an absolute BLAST! Scouts earned a merit badge on Sunday, went into Mackinaw City and walked around, hung out at the beach and Lake Huron in the afternoon on Sunday! Yesterday morning, we got up while it was still dark out (5:15 am) so we could head off to Mackinaw City and walk on the Mackinac Bridge! It was definitely a different experience but really cool! Everyone had a great time!

I wanted to also let everyone know that I will NOT be at the scout meeting tonight if you were looking to talk to me for some reason. Because it is swimming season and Rebekah has swim meets every Tuesday night, I am going to be doing a sort of week on and week off schedule for scouts. I don’t want to miss all of her swim meets. If you need to talk to me about something, you can email me and let me know and we can figure out a way to chat. Christy will be the scoutmaster in charge tonight.

KEY ITEMS TO PAY ATTENTION TO THIS WEEK:

  • TROOP OPEN HOUSE – NEXT TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH!
  • PATROL ELECTIONS!
  • POPCORN! POPCORN! POPCORN!

IMPORTANT NOTES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THIS WEEK:

  • TROOP OPEN HOUSE – RECRUITMENT!
    • Tuesday, September 15th
    • Starts at 6:30 p.m. (note the time)
    • Ends at 8:00 p.m. (note the time, parents please pick up scouts at 8:00 not 8:30 this week).
    • WEAR YOUR RED TROOP T-SHIRTS!! No Class A’s for this meeting!
    • We need more people to experience the scouting program!
    • Invite a Friend! Invite a Classmate! Invite a family member!
    • GET THE WORD OUT AND GET PEOPLE TO COME!
    • Let’s see how many new young people we can get into scouting this year!!
  • PATROL ELECTIONS – TONIGHT!
    • Last week you elected your SPLs
    • Tonight you will elect or choose your Patrol Leadership.
    • This is a 6-month term. We will reelect in March.
    • You need leadership positions to advance in rank!
    • Tonight, you will select a Patrol Leader, Assistant Patrol Leader, Scribe and Quartermaster for each crew.
    • Assistant Patrol Leader does not count for rank advancement – Scouting America rules.
    • Other positions available include Troop Librarian, Troop Historian, Outdoor Ethics Guide and so on.
    • Be ready to elect your next 6 months of leadership.
    • Be ready to be a leader!
  • MERIT BADGES – 1st Session
    • Last week you were put in merit badge classes.
    • Make sure to stick with those classes until you finish the merit badge or until you finish what you can do at troop meetings for the badge.
    • If you need a new merit badge, please see Brian or Christy about that.
    • EVERYONE should be doing something during Advancement time whether that be a merit badge, T21, or special assignment given by Brian or Christy.
    • If you were not at last week’s meeting, make sure to see Christy tonight for your merit badge class. (Brian will not be there).
  • POPCORN! POPCORN! POPCORN!
    • It is that time of year again! Time to sell Popcorn!
    • Our Popcorn sales actually started this last weekend with our first popcorn booths!
    • We have several weekends ahead where we have popcorn booths available that you can sign up for!
    • Attached to this email is an information sheet for Parents and Scouts about the Trail Ends app and selling popcorn this fall.
    • You can sign up for popcorn booths directly in the app!
    • 35% of all your sales go directly back into the scout account.
    • A portion of sales goes to Trails End
    • Another portion of sales goes to Michigan Crossroads Council.
    • Sales will go through October!
    • ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT POPCORN, PLEASE TALK TO BRANDON BEERY OR MIKE CLAPP – brandon.beery@yahoo.com or michael.r.clapp@gmail.com
  • OCTOBER CAMPOUT – CHIPPEWA LANDING
    • October 2 – 4
    • Cost is $45 per scout and $20 per adult
    • Permission slip is attached.
    • You can start signing up at the troop meeting for this tonight!
    • We will be rafting/floating down the Manistee River on this campout!
    • Come on the campout and check out the Manistee Forest in the Fall time!
    • It will be a nice float adventure down the river with some chances to really enjoy nature!
  • ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY
    • September 26th
    • Car wash next to the Speedway gas station on the south side of Schoolcraft
    • 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. or whenever we are done
    • Sean Harrigan will be the leader in charge. T
    • To get this done quickly and efficiently though, we need scouts to show up. This typically only takes about 3 hours if we have enough scouts.
    • This counts as service hours towards your rank advancements!
    • Long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Boots and hats. Bring gloves and a water bottle.
    • We DO need ADULT help to drive and escort the scouts for safety reasons. If we don’t have enough help, it may take longer than 3 hours and spill over into the afternoon!
  • MINI-HIGH ADVENTURE FOR NEXT SUMMER!

We are looking for feedback on some ideas! Parents, please check the Troop Facebook page as Abby has started a “This or That” survey/poll to see what adventure people will decide upon without knowing which “place” it is that they are looking at. It is all based on pictures. Destinations will be revealed once the results are tallied! Please check out the ideas below. You can also send your feedback to myself, Christy or Abby Withers(abby.withers@gmail.com)

  • PHILMONT 2027 – REMINDERS
    • Payment of $815 per person due by September 22nd.  THAT IS TWO WEEKS AWAY.
    • We have to make sure to collect these payments so that we can pay Philmont. They are the ones setting this deadline.
    • TENTATIVE Preparation Meeting Dates:
      • Sunday, September 20 at 1:00 at Al Sabor Land Preserve(Training hike). Not really Tentative.  
      • 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.
    • START DOING PHYSICAL PREPARATION NOW!
    • Want to know what to expect, talk to those who have gone! They will be happy to talk about it for HOURs! Chances are you won’t get them to shut up!
  • 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  – This last weekend I experienced something that I often experience in my life and because I suffer from things like anxiety and depression, it is a very common occurrence for me. Because the troop was doing something new this last weekend with the campout to the Labor Day Bridge Walk and it was something that neither troop, nor I, personally had never done before, I had been filled with a ton of trepidation leading up to the campout. Not only because it was something new but because this event attracts big crowds(34,000 people this year) and places like Mackinaw City are always really busy on weekends like this. I hate big crowds and it is hard for me to handle “a lot” of people. I always tell people that I could never live in a big city like Chicago, New York, or Los Angeles because of how many people there are. However, it turns out that my trepidation this last weekend was unfounded because of YOU! The scouts, leaders and parents that we had going on the campout this weekend were truly awesome! Our adult leaders are the absolute best of ANY troop in the country! They are the greatest role models that our scouts could have, and they are some of the most selfless people I have ever met in my life. They are willing to go the extra mile for all of our scouts and because of their help this last weekend, everything went well. On top of all of that, our scouts are absolute rock stars! We have scouts who are willing to step up and lead, who are willing to help out wherever needed, and who are willing to find the best in all situations! When I say that we have the best scouts in the world, I am not joking about that! We truly do! Our scouts this last weekend just rocked the campout, especially our NEWLY elected SPLs and ASPLs, all of whom were on the campout this weekend! I am truly blessed to be surrounded by this community and family of people, and I need to keep telling myself that whenever I get that feeling of anxiety or trepidation about something. Troop 244 is truly the best in it’s adult leaders and its scouts! YOU are what makes this troop work! Thank you!

“What Troop Does More!!” – 244!!!

Yours in Scouting,

Brian Poppen