COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
FRIENDSWOOD LIBRARY
November 16, 2005


Welcome and Introduction:  John called the meeting to order at 7:06pm.  Those present:  John, Denise, Bill, Randy, Mark, Henry, Kathleen, and Dorothea.  John stated he expecting a visitor from District at tonight's meeting.
Minutes:  No changes noted to the previous minutes.  Kathleen made a motion to accept the minutes as written, Denise seconded.  Committee approved the minutes as written.
Treasury Report:  Denise stated the Troop account as $1869.23.  She noted Halliburton gave the Troop a check for $250.  She said to thank John Y'Barbo for his volunteer hours that prompted this donation.
Fundraiser:  Bill stated he has first aid kits for sale and a date needs scheduled to do this.  Dates open were December 3 and December 10.  Committee decided to set December 3 at Kroger from 9am - 4pm as a date for selling first aid kits.  Bill said he would talk to Wal-Mart about setting a date for selling first aid kits there.
Mark stated 8 cans of caramel popcorn are available for selling.  He asked how much money was made in sales.  Denise said she did not know.  Mark estimated $1000.  Henry noted the Troop receives 30% back from the sales. Discussion ensued as to how the money should be divided into the Troop and Scout accounts.  Henry made a motion to give 25% to the Scouts for their camp accounts and 5% to the Troop account, with the money for the Troop account used to purchase some award for those Scouts that participated (i.e. most sold, participation).  Bill seconded the motion.  Committee approved the motion.
Budget:  Henry presented a tentative outline for the Troop budget.  He gave some preliminary numbers based on previous Troop expenses, fundraising income, donations and registration.  The numbers given were based on a Troop size of 60 Scouts.  Bill stated the fundraising people need to implement a plan to ensure that the recommended monies from fundraising were obtained and the budget people need to work out line item expenses.
District Visitor:  Mr. Randy Peters arrived at the meeting.  He stated Mr. Felts assigned him to talk to the Troop.  He asked if the Troop had a Unit Commissioner who would help get information between the Troop and the District.  Some members thought it was Ron Harris.  Mr. Harris was called to verify this- he stated he was not the Unit Commissioner.  Mr. Peters asked for a list of adults and Scouts in the Troop.  John gave him a list.  He asked if any new Scouts belonged to the Troop that was not on the list.  Committee stated that a couple of boys had joined recently that were not presently on the list.  Mr. Peters wanted to know who was responsible for entering information into TroopMaster.  Committee stated John Y'Barbo entered the information and Karen Frank interfaced with the Scouts.  Mr. Peters requested the District list for Troop 452 be given to John Y'Barbo to validate it.  The list was given to Mark to give to John Y'Barbo.  Committee asked if there was a way to get more adult involvement in the Troop.  Mr. Peters said he would check if any training or videos were available to encourage adults to participate.
Camping:  Kathleen asked if anyone knew about the OA Brotherhood that occurred a couple of weekends ago.  She said she used to get information but has not received any in a while.  OA Fellowship occurring on December 2-4.  Mark asked how he paid his dues- he had received a notice.  It was explained that he go online to the OA website and print out a membership form; fill the form out and send $10 with the form to the address provided on the form to pay his dues.
Kathleen asked if information such as email addresses, alternate numbers, driver's license numbers, and license plate information be included in TroopMaster so she could use it for the Camping registrations.
Fall Camp starts this Friday.  12 Scouts and 5 adults are attending.  They will stop at the Golden Corral for dinner.
Kathleen stated the new Scouts and parents be made aware that they should pay a deposit for camping trips when the trip is announced to reserve a place on the camp roster then pay the rest when it is due.  She said it is hard to collect money, have a check written and send in the form only to have another Scout come up and say he would like to go.  She felt that if a Scout wanted to go that had not paid a deposit before the deadline, he and his parents were responsible for the fee and getting signed up for the camp on their own.
Winter Camp is December 26 - 31.  Two Scouts have signed up so far.
Cavalla trip is in January.  Kathleen states she needs a certificate of insurance showing that the Scouts have insurance.  It was suggested to call District for this.  She said the Scouts needed to sign a waiver- she will make copies to give to the Scouts to sign prior to going on the trip.  She stated the money for the trip would be collected at the time of the trip.  She noted this was an activity not a campout.  The Scouts have to bring their own food in to eat at the park.
Scout Sunday is scheduled for February.  The Ten Commandment hike is February 11.  Dorothea noted a Jr. High Youth Rally is planned for February 4 and she thinks the awards ceremony for AAD and Pope Pius is February 5 in Katy.  Scout Sunday tentatively set up for February 12.  Randy will check with Father Skip.
Lexington scheduled for March 4.  The money for the trip is needed 60 days ahead of that date.  30 individuals need to sign up to go.  The cost is $49/person.  Due date for the money was set for December 12.
Goliad is March 24- 26.
Camporee is in April.
In May the Troop normally goes on a canoe trip.  Village Creek was severely affected by Hurricane Rita.  Kathleen suggested the Troop come up with another place to go.  She suggested the Guadalupe River but the currents can be swift.  She asked if anyone knew of another place to canoe.  She remembers on one of the camping trips a Troop bringing their own canoes.  Mr. Peters said he would check with District to see what was available.  Mark said he would check with another Troop to see where they go.  Denise suggested a place near Dayton.  Dorothea stated she would check some of the Scout camp books to see if they list anything.  Kathleen stated the Troop uses about 16 canoes when they go on a trip.
Buffalo Trails for Summer Camp is set for June.  Kathleen asked Committee members to go to the Buffalo Trails website to look at the programs available so a decision could be made on what programs the Scouts would be allowed to participate in as a Troop.  She has also checked on bus service to Summer Camp.  The estimate is about $6000.  She is checking on the safety of the buses and their drivers.  Mark suggested getting buses that have TVs and bathrooms since it is a twelve-hour bus ride.
Roundtable:  no report
Eagle Project:  Committee is aware of two potential projects.  Still do not have a Life to Eagle Coordinator.
Service Projects:  Two Scouts and one adult helped set up chairs for the Mass at Stevenson Park.  Denise asked when the Troop was doing the pine needle cleanup at the K of C Hall.  John said he would check on that.  Dorothea asked if the Scouts were caroling this year.  John stated that it was cancelled.  Dorothea asked if the Scouts could possibly carol for the Special Friends.  Committee will check into this as well as participation in the Special Friends Christmas parade.
Advancement:  Karen not present, no report.
Training:  Wood Badge scheduled for March
Equipment:  no report
Calendar:  Randy needed to know what days to request from the church for meetings from January thru June.  Committee recommended every Monday excluding those of holidays and no school days.  FISD and CCISD schedules evaluated.  Denise asked if a room separate from where the Troop meets could be reserved in March for registration.  Dorothea stated it was not necessary to reserve a room for the Catholic Scout religious programs during those months.
Other:  Dorothea stated, during several Board of Reviews, Scouts had commented the adult conversations going on during the Troop meetings were disruptive.  She asked if it was possible to have the adults meet elsewhere for discussions or go in the hall to have conversations.  Discussion ensued as to whether to obtain a separate room for adults to converse and what adults need to be in the same room as the Scouts.  Some members said they stayed in the Troop room to hear what the Troop was doing and discussing. It was noted that a separate room had been tried in the past without success.  Randy stated he would check into having a room set aside for the adults.
Adjourn:  The next meeting is scheduled for December 14, 2005 7pm at the UNIPLEX building.  The meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.