Livingston, Montana January 2003 Volume 5 Issue 12
New Chartered Organization:
Troop 563 has a new Chartered Organization which is the Grace
Universal Methodist Church. A chartered organization "owns"
the Troop and its equipment and helps to run the yearly program.
They provide meeting space and a Chartered Organization Representative.
We will be looking for a volunteer from the church to be the
liaison between the church and the Troop. This representative
approves new adult leaders and can be a great resource for helping
us meet our needs. They can also provide ideas for additional
service projects that we can participate in. The church will
be the new location for our 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Monday night meetings.
It is on the corner of 9th and Clark Streets with the front door
on 9th Street. We will meet downstairs in the large meeting room.
We will continue to meet at the Lincoln School at the beginning
and end of campouts and keep our equipment there. We look forward
to a great relationship with the Grace Methodist Church. Thanks
to Mrs. Jovick for recommending this organization to us.
Year 2003 Troop Budget:
Scouts will develop a recommended budget during the
January Green Bar meeting. This budget will utilize the funds
that we earned during our one Troop fund raiser of the year,
Christmas Tree sales. We made just slightly less than our goal
this year. However, we have funds left over from the 2002 budget.
At the Troop Committee Meeting on Monday, January 20th we will
look over the budget. Changes can be made and then the final
budget will head to the Green Bar meeting on the 7th of February
for final approval by the Scouts.
New Scoutmaster Required:
As announced at the November Troop Committee Meeting, Mr. Andrews
will be retiring from the Scoutmaster position effective April
1st. He would like to begin training a new Scoutmaster as soon
as possible. He will be gone for most of the summer this year
and possibly moving from Livingston this August. There are no
definite plans or job offers yet but he does not want to leave
the Troop suddenly and have this great program stall. Anyone
that would like more information about this position should talk
to Mr. Andrews as soon as convenient. He also writes this newsletter;
updates the mailing list; hosts and updates our website; keeps
track of advancement; makes insignia orders; and attends nearly
every campout, service project and activity. Some of these jobs
can be split up into newly created positions to make the transition
for the new Scoutmaster a bit easier.
Troop Recharter:
Every January the Troop has to recharter with our Chartered Organization
and the Montana BSA Council. The cost for each boy is the same
as last year, $17 per boy or $25 for two Scouts from the same
family that share a copy of Boy's Life. This fee is due at the
January 6th Scout Meeting. In addition to the above fee, if your
son is in the Order of the Arrow there is an extra $10 fee. You
can write one check for the total and the Troop will send out
a combined check for the sum. Anyone that has difficulty paying
this yearly fee can talk to the Scoutmaster to arrange for financial
aid.