Time

Going Forward

John was “checking-in” with each den’s leaders in terms of getting trained, being “Two-deep”, their stability, and their productivity.  Committee members discussed getting leaders to ask parents to help out when needed as well as meeting with leaders who previously had dens of their levels to give helpful input (as we did at Mary-Ann’s last summer.)  Also, Cathy discussed with the trainer from the last session on 2/27 the idea of a trainer coming to the pack.

As people gathered, leaders took advantage of this opportunity to display and/or share supplies from their den.

• Connie showed the Rattlesnake flag (have cheer & excited about Klondike Derby on Feb 13^th — we wish them luck!)
• Mary-Ann showed coup-sticks and explained how she used them when she was a Webelos den leader.  She then passed 2 on to Connie and Laurie.
• Mary-Ann brought rope for Darren and Laurie to work on knots with their dens.
• Connie gave Cathy supplies she had previously used to make car slides.
• Debbie brought extra craft supplies to pass on to Catherine/Laurie for the B&G.

     Recap of PWD – what worked, what didn’t:

·        Winners will go on to race at the District PWD during the Anniversary celebration weekend (April 16-18, probably Sat. morning)

The following scouts will be going on to represent Pack 188:

     Tiger – Daniel O’Keefe

     Wolf – Ryan Wasserman

     Bear – Pierce Gomez

     Webelos I – Evan Battaglia

     Webelos II – JP Edralin

·        We need pictures of scouts who were not at PWD (Michael Awad, Gaurav Sahgal, Justin and Joshua Yee) to be used as B&G favors — each den leader will tell parent to take a digital picture of their scout in uniform with a solid background (green or blue would be ideal). Please e-mail the .jpg file to Mary-Ann by Feb 15^th

·        We would like to thank you Mr. Puzon for taking pictures of all the scouts.  Perhaps he could be asked to be the pack photographer so we have more pictures to post on web site? (Connie will ask him)

·        Future PWD backgrounds- on NASCAR website, Mary-Ann saw one that looked like a postcard with 2 pictures (1^st-scout 2^nd-his car). Perhaps that is now an option since the cars’ pictures could be taken when they are handed in

·        Committee felt handing in the cars before the Pack meeting allowed the pack meeting to go much smoother and felt the voting was an excellent gathering activity.  We hope to avoid a holiday weekend next year for the drop-off dates (Since Defino’s theater week is now scheduled for March 11^th, we will hopefully be back to having the PWD the last week of Jan. and the hand-in the weekend before.)

·        Laurie apologized for not anticipating the problem of cars being repaired during races and not being re-weighed. None of us realized the possibility that duct tape, glue etc. could possibly add weight.   She promises the scale will be at the PWD to re-weigh any altered car.

·        Laurie thanked all for being patient with her with the new rules  (wheels touching, height, bottom clearance*, etc).  She thanked Mary-Ann for the box that checks length & width and has a picture of what she’d like constructed to help check the other requirements easier so if there is a person with carpentry skills, please contact her if you can help.  She would really appreciate it. (lauriebg@aol.com) 

·        Mr. Haase who had been bringing his track every year while there was still a Landi in Pack 188 actually mentioned being willing to come back if Joe Landi came too.  If that happens the Pack should show their appreciation with a gift—maybe $50 gift card.

·        The pack got in trouble for messiness that the cub scouts left after the PWD despite the fact that ALL leaders felt that we left it cleaner than it was when we got there.  The janitor also got angry that we didn’t separate recyclables from garbage. We joked that we should take before & after pictures.  Next time we need to ask for or bring our own extra garbage bags.

Recap of change in Lock-in date

·        New Date: Friday, March 5^th

·        If anyone cannot make it email Catherine asap so she can get refunds.

·        If anyone is now interested in going who couldn’t previously, again contact Catherine asap to get on the waiting list.

Recap of Scout Sunday

·        Thanks go out to all who attended; Scouts very well behaved and kids really enjoyed the service.

·         Pastor Marv was happy with the nice showing to celebrate 10 years of sponsorship.  He was given a framed 5x7 picture of the pack and “Reverent” patch and printed note of thanks, but we should do more in the future.

Review of plans for B&G                                 

·        New “2010” rank badges will be given for scouts earning their rank

·        Also, Centennial Rings, Quality Unit and “A Year of Celebration” Awards* will be distributed to all scouts remaining in Pack 188 (*These are for ribbons that scouts and leaders can earn.) as well as to the leaders. 

·        Den leaders should be reviewing and making sure EVERYONE is on Track for receiving Rank at B&G.  New scouts who earned Bobcat will receive it.

Discussion of all Dens and Leaders to make sure all is going as necessary

·        Cub Scout Leader Specific Training – Feb 27^th

·        According to council, the pack needs to have a person whose job is to keep track of everyone’s training (& when exp.) – Pack Trainer

·        Need to put out a sign-up list for parents at the B&G so parents know we need them to be involved.

Review from December meeting: Harry Cross was very surprised and upset to hear the ongoings back in December, which could cause us to loose our sponsorship since he is our liaison to the church.  We are part of BSA and need to follow its guidelines.

·        Leaders need to be trained, but many people who volunteered this year have not gotten the training.  Current Tiger leaders should be registering for Cub Scout leader training (which is good for Wolf & Bear).  Current Bear leaders should sign up for Webelos specific and Webelos outdoor training.  There is training for committee chairs and other positions too.  Also, youth protection, which can be done on-line expires every two years so must be re-done.

·        Leaders need to be in uniform.  Of the four tiger leaders, only one wears a uniform!  Also, there is a bear leader and two webelos II leaders who also don’t wear a uniform.

·        At the tiger level, the parent to scout ratio must be 1:1.  However, there have been parents who bring their scout and additional scouts.  Each tiger parents should also be planning at least one of the den meetings and an outing.

·        There needs to be 2-deep leadership.  The wolf den only has one.

  Discussion of transfer of Committee Chair responsibilities going forward

·        Cathy Navarro and Debbie Giordano have stepped up to share the responsibilities of Pack 188’s Committee chair -- THANK YOU!!!!

• Cathy will be running the committee meetings, coordinating, and scheduling pack meetings beginning with rescheduling March’s Pack meeting (original date is in conflict with a Defino school function) and then confirm all remaining Pack meeting dates with the school.  She also will be having discussions of all Dens and Leaders to make sure all is going as necessary.

·        Debbie will be handling the monthly recognition and award items -- THANK YOU!!!!

·        Together they will work on new scout recruit nights, rechartering, major Pack events, etc.

Pack Picnic is confirmed for June 6^th at Quail Hill

·  Laurie will be organizing the BB/Achery/Raingutter regatta schedule (Although we only had scheduled times for the BB& Archery, the regatta never had scheduled times before.  But this is something we might want to try to make it easier for John and avoid conflicts with adults leading more than one den.)

·  John will be running the Raingutter regatta

·  We need volunteers to chair this event — preferably NOT den leaders.

Summertime events

·        Already scheduled:

1.                   June 6^th – Pack Picnic

2.                 June 12^th-13^th – Council Family Camp

3.                 July 2^nd  – Trenton Thunder game

4.                 Aug 30^th – Blueclaws game

5.                 Any of the Quail Hill summer camp programs (Day Camp or Resident Camp)

·        Mary-Ann believes Terry is still interested in running a Rocket Launch (verified by Connie) and Catherine is still interested in coordinating the Keansburg water park (she is trying a date after school ends and camps begin)

·        The purpose of the Pack Summertime Award is to be awarded for attending Pack scheduled events.  Other events that are Cub Scout related do not necessarily qualify unless they had been agreed upon and posted for all.  All pack events must be approved by the committee in advance, have a person willing to chair it, and be presented to the pack before the summer begins.

Looking ahead

• Lisa and Mary-Ann need to view budget but it looks like we are in okay shape
• We need to keep up with making the pack fun & involving kids with skits, songs, and games. We need to keep parents involved as well, not only as volunteers but they should be included in gathering activities, games, etc.
• At the March committee meeting, we will plan summer activities (We need time to pass out fliers at April Pack Meeting and have time to collect them at the May Meeting.)
• Debbie passed out the scouting for food bags to leaders.  Den leaders are asked to distribute these at a den meeting of their choice but with enough time to tell the boys that all donations should be delivered to the March Pack meeting. (date TBD)

·                    Low attendance at meeting: John, Adam, Connie, Catherine, Laurie, Debbie & Marlene

·                    Marlene asked if we could circulate a scout directory with names/phone numbers of leaders & scouts in case we need to contact each other as had been done in prior years.

·                    Connie said Terry would like a list of scouts since he is still waiting for some to hand in the popcorn forms and pick prizes.

·                    John was able to buy the cheer book he was looking for. However, it was not helpful so he wants to work with Adam to have games to use when we need fillers.  Laurie said she would make a list for them.  She will also adjust the charade game we didn’t use last month to it the hero theme and would help run games when needed.

Pack 188’s Budget:

·                    Due to the low sales of popcorn, we discussed either adding $10/scout to the lock-in or $10/family at the June picnic.  Laurie said that we should collect for the lock-in and keep our options open to collect again in June in case we need to buy a new PWD track.*  Catherine added that other packs in Freehold have had scouts pay fully so asking for a partial amount should be fine.  Everyone agreed.  Debbie even suggested $15 rather than the $10 Mary-Ann mentioned prior.  (*The track we currently use is borrowed from a friend of the Landi’s and was promised through Jan. 2010.  Back in Sept., we had mentioned using popcorn sales to buy a new track but the sales were low.  Marlene asked about buying the track that we currently borrow.)

·                    This lead to a discussion of how to keep our expenses down.  Connie talked about future B&Gs being “pot-luck” at firehouses.  Marlene explained that was what the pack used to have.  Debbie said it could be organized by den (One den would do different pasta dishes while another den could do desserts, etc.)  Likewise, the June picnic could also be pot-luck as a trial run.  Marlene said each family could bring their own beverage.

Pack 188’s PWD:

·                    Although many attendees liked the idea of a Sat. pwd, we ran into several difficulties.  Due to finances, we don’t have the money to rent Defino on a Sat.  The REC would have the same problem in addition to availability issues.  There was also a concern for scouts’ conflicts due to Chinese school, basketball, etc.

·                    Since Mary-Ann had already secured Defino for the traditional Fri. night after the Thurs. pack meeting, we decided the pwd will be at Defino on Jan. 22^nd

·                    At the Jan. Pack meeting, cars will be weighed in by Laurie.  The same rules we used last year for qualifying to race will apply. 

·                    To make the long meeting interesting, Connie has reserved a guest speaker and Laurie offered to create games for John and Adam to do with the scouts.

·                    It was suggested that Laurie have the official scale at her house this year due to her availability this and future years.  Catherine also asked if Laurie would consider keeping cars until the PWD for those scouts who wanted to drop them off early and she agreed.

Pack 188’s lock-in:

·                     Since there is a limit of 80 spaces, Catherine will be keeping track of the order people paid.  You can drop it off to her before the pack meeting or at the pack meeting*.  (*She will be at the back of the cafeteria when you walk in to collect forms & payment.  Currently, do not include payment for the scouts.)

·                    If we run out of spots, we can then try to secure more.  Otherwise, we will suggest younger scouts to attend with only one adult and/or having one adult bring multiple older scouts.

Nov Pack Meeting (11/19): theme “Cub Scout Salute”

·                    Debbie will be outside collecting the scouting for food.

·                    Bear den 14 (Darren) will have door duty.  (Reminder: If you arrive late, you will need to go around to the back and knock on the door.)

·                     Gathering: hero word search* (*John and Adam got this at the round table.  Connie was a little apprehensive about it since it seemed challenging but Catherine and Laurie thought it was good since the younger scouts have the bobcat ceremony.)

·                    Opening flag: Wolf den 11 (Connie) – nontraditional

·                     Bobcat ceremony (John & Adam) (John is abbreviating last year’s since we have more scouts.)

·                     Recognition/awards* (*Any recognition items need to be emailed to Mary-Ann by the den leader on or before 11/13)

·                     CSI demo that Marlene arranged.

Dec Pack Meeting (FRIDAY 12/18):

·                    Opening flag: Eagles                  door: Wolf den 11

·                    PWD cars will be distributed along with rules.

·                    Scouts “pie-ing” leaders (Two scouts earned this honor, but John will not be present since it is a Fri.)

B&G:

·                    Catherine has already secured the hall, DJ, the arrow of light presenters and many raffle items, including tickets to Medieval Times, Garden State Museum, show in Red Bank, etc.

·                    She also has assigned parents of her den to help in the areas that she felt would suit them best.  (Laurie=crafts, Connors=blow-ups, Mary-Ann=scout gift boxes).

·                    Debbie & Marlene suggested looking at Kohl’s for the boxes.

Misc:

·                    Mary-Ann suggested that the popcorn distribution/prizes wait until December’s pack meeting.  However, Laurie pointed out that all the monies are due before that.  Connie said Terry might be able to start filling the orders as early as next Sat. afternoon so people should call him.

·                    Mary-Ann is still working on making a volunteer list to distribute at the den level.

·                    Mary-Ann is still working on placing the t-shirt orders.