TROOP 14 WEEKLY UPDATE

SCOUT REMINDERS IN BRIEF
* Court of Honor - Wednesday, April 14th
* Scouting for Food - Bring donations to Court of Honor
* Signups for Upcoming Events - Also at Court of Honor
* Friends of Scouting Campaign Starts
* Flower Sale Ongoing -- Through April 20th (Eight Days Left!)

SCOUT UPCOMING EVENTS
* First Annual Spring Hike: Saturday, April 17th, 9:30am
* Earth Day Fair at Central Park: Post-Fair Cleanup - April 17th, 4pm
* Outdoor Adventure Show, Saturday, May 8th

PATROL LEADER UPDATES
* Patrol Leader Council Meeting: Tuesday, April 13th
* Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Skills Weekend -- April 16th-18th

PARENT UPDATES
*  Scout Roster
*  Friends of Scouting Drive - April 14th @ Court of Honor
*  Parents Helping Out Need to Take Online Youth Protection Training
*  Upcoming Parents Committee Meeting Topics

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COURT OF HONOR IS FINALLY HERE. CONGRATS SCOUTS!

Current Court of Honor information

Location: Grand Haven Elks Upstairs Ballroom. Located at the corner of
Third/Franklin in Grand Haven.

Taco Bar Dinner from 6:15 PM to 6:50 PM

Ceremony on Wednesday, April 14th from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

Admission: $2 per person, Under 5 = complementary

If you haven't done so, please RSVP with Shelly Brower at 616-566-6659
or browerm@monashores.net.

NOTE: Grandparents, aunts, uncles and others are welcome to join us.

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SCOUTING FOR FOOD - BRING DONATIONS TO THE COURT OF HONOR

At the Court of Honor, we'll also be Scouting For Food. Bring non-perishables to donate.

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FRIENDS OF SCOUTING CAMPAIGN @ THE COURT OF HONOR

At the Court of Honor, we'll also be kicking off our annual Friends of Scouting campaign.

As you may already know, the dues we pay for our sons to participate in Troop 14 do not cover the cost of the scouting program. To help make up the difference, our local council runs a Friends of Scouting (FOS) campaign each spring.

You can learn more about why we do this in our attachment, Seven Questions You May Have About Friends of Scouting.

Please consider donating on this Wednesday, April 14th at the Court of Honor whatever you can. Even if you can't pay now, you can make a pledge and the Council will bill you later in the summer.

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SIGNUPS for UPCOMING EVENTS

While at the Court of Honor, be sure to sign up for upcoming events.

Information about these events is included in this email (see below):

* First Annual Spring Hike - April 17th @ 9:30am
* Earth Day Clean-up - April 17th @ 4pm
* BSA Outdoor Adventure Show - May 8th

Information about these events will be coming soon:
* Spring OA Conclave: Order of the Arrowmen: Sign-up for Spring Conclave. Event held at Camp Gerber, May 14-16, cost $15.

*Veteran Flag Placing - Saturday, May 15th @ 9am, @ Spring Lake Cemetery Show respect for our servicemen by placing flags on the graves of veterans.

*Indy Trip - May 29-30th - The Court of Honor is the last time to
guarantee your spot for the Indy Trip. It will be opened up to other
troops after Court of Honor.

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FIRST ANNUAL SPRING HIKE - APRIL 17TH @ 9:30AM

Try out your new hiking equipment on the North Ottawa Dunes trails for our First Annual Spring Hike! Trailhead will be at Coast Guard Park and we'll hike the 10 mile trail leading to Hoffmaster and back. This is a great preliminary event for May Hike (but, please note, it's not required!).

Siblings 11 and older are welcome to attend if accompanied by a parent.

You can view a map of the trails here:
http://www.co.ottawa.mi.us/ParksVI/Parks/pdf/NOD_Trail_Map.pdf

If you're willing to help coordinate lunch at Hoffmaster, please contact Shelly Brower 566-6659 or browerm@monashores.net.

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EARTH DAY FAIR AT CENTRAL PARK: POST-FAIR CLEANUP

The Earth Day Fair is looking for a few good scouts to help cleanup after the event on Saturday, April 17th @ 4pm. Volunteering scouts will meet at Central Park in Grand Haven.

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SCOUTS NEEDED FOR OUTDOOR ADVENTURE SHOW ON MAY 8TH

BSA Outdoor Adventure Show will be held at at the DeVos Place on May 8th. Troop 14 will have a High Adventure Booth there, so we need scouts to help set up the booth, help out around it and tear it down at the end of the day.

Setup is still being determined (probably May 7th or early May 8th). To
help at the booth, you need to have high adventure experience. Scouts
who help out will receive free tickets and lunch.

This event will include exhibits, climbing walls, shooting galleries,
fishing ponds, etc. It will be a great experience!! Tickets are $6 each
($2 of which goes into your designated scout account).

Talk to Curt Brower (email csbrower@yahoo.com) for more information.

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PATROL LEADER COUNCIL MEETING: TUESDAY, APRIL 13TH

Patrol Leader Council is meeting to plan rest of year through end of
May. Please plan on joining us Tuesday, April 13th @ 7pm @Holmes
Elementary.

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IMPORTANT: INTRODUCTION TO OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SKILLS WEEKEND ' APRIL 16TH-18TH

If you haven't done so yet, sign up for the Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Skills weekend offered by the Council, April 16th-18th.

!!!This is the last training offered until the fall!!!

The troop cannot have a camp out without at least one leader that has Outdoor Leader Training.  ALL our present leaders have attended this
training. It is a one and done.

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NEW TROOP ROSTER

Shelly Brower is in the process of updating the Troop Roster and we need
your help!

New Scout Parents: Please send names/addresses/phone numbers of parents
and/or Guardian/Mentor.

Existing Scout Parents: If anyone has moved or changed phone numbers
since last year, please let us know.

If all parents could also confirm that they're getting this newsletter
as well, I'd appreciate it. Send all information to Shelly Brower at
browerm@monashores.net.

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PARENTS HELPING OUT: PLEASE TAKE YOUTH PROTECTION TRAINING

Scouts' Youth Protection is required training for all parents helping
out with the Troop. Fortunately, you can register online and it only takes a few minutes. All you need to do is:

1. Go to http://olc.scouting.org.

2. Finish the training.

3. Print off two copies of the certificate: one that you need to give to

Rick Kurdziel and another for your own records.

Council requires everyone involved with the Troop to have this training.

It is for the safety of the kids as well as your own safety. 

NOTE: Even if you've helped out in the past, this is not a one and done.

Council requires this training every year and we take this very seriously. Not only is the safety of the kids, but we could lose our council insurance if something happens at an event without properly trained leaders.

Talk to Rick Kurdziel for more information.

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UPCOMING PARENTS COMMITTEE MEETING TOPICS

The agenda for the next Parents Committee meeting is in the works. Some of the topics that will be discussed (so far) are: 

Old Business
Women on Camp-outs
New Business
Kayak Raffle
Web Site Update
   
If anyone has any issues, please talk to Rick Kurdziel for more information.

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UPDATES AND REMINDERS 

If you have news or an update that you want to share with the scouts,
parent committee or leadership council, please send an individual email
to priork8@yahoo.com. Please send all announcements to me by 6 PM,
Sunday.

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If you know of someone who is part of Troop 14 but didn't receive this newsletter, please forward this email to them and tell them to reply to
this message. They will be added to the email list.