ScoutMaster�s Minute

After a great fall, Troop 697 is in the middle of its 2006 -2007 season and is looking to the continued growth of Scouting in the Patriot District and Fairfax County. We continue to grow in Scouting with more advancements and adult involvement in the Troop. Thanks to the new families for joining our troop, your boys are fitting in well and will find we have an exciting year ahead. We have had a very �high flying� year so far with 4 scouts awaiting their Eagle Court of Honor. I want to congratulate Connor, Buzz, Will, Chris, and Adam on their advancement to the ultimate level of success in scouting. I also want to encourage your support for Phillip, Matt, Andrew and Michael as they accomplish their projects or finish off the other eagle requirements and prepare for their board. I also know we have a fist full of life scouts looking up at the looming peak and knowing they can make it and will soon. The Troop could not continue this frantic pace with out the support of our fantastic Eagle Mentor, Tim Donavon. It is never too early for the boy to start preparing for Eagle and we turn him over to Tim as soon as they earn their Life rank. But the Troop Committee and I really appreciate the work of all who sit on our recent Eagle Boards of Review and invite any parent who has a scout preparing for life to sit on one of our upcoming Eagle Board of Reviews. Remember though we also always need parents to sit on our regular Scouting Boards of Review. We have a handout to help you prepare, so please help us out and volunteer with either Tim or John Wyatt if you are available to sit on either type of board. As we start the holiday season, I want to stress to all boys and parents that we have a very busy year planned and are less than half way through it. With a campout next weekend at Bull Run, Christmas Party in December during the Court of Honor, and a campout or shotgun shooting in December. In January we have the annual ski trip over MLK weekend. I want to acknowledge the hard work Bob Kazimer, Troop 697 Committee Chairperson, and his committee have done in the troop operations and management. He has taken the reigns and has everything in firm control. But he needs your help as adults to work with the boys to coordinate one of the many events we do for the boys. Whether its managing one campout or running events like Friends of Scouting or Scouting for Food, your hard work is always appreciated by the Scoutmasters and the boys. Troop 697 is not just a bunch of boys. Without the support of all, we could not make it as good as it has been for our sons over our past 13 years of operation as a Troop associated with the Knights of Columbus Council 8600. Together we can and will make the remainder of the 2006-2007 year and the upcoming years even better than the past. We should all remember the four most important points about scouting:      1-The Youth are the reason for Scouting. They own          the movement.      2-Anything that supports #1 is good,      3-Anything that diminishes #1 is bad.      4-In cases of confusion, consult #1.