Category: Announcements

Good morning everyone,

Let me start things off by extending my gratitude and congratulations, on behalf of the Troop, to all the moms. You’re the heart and soul of every household and it shows in how much your kids think of you every time we go off on a trip. Happy Mother’s Day to you all.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to wrap up our annual election process and (time permitting) we will either have a PLC meeting or go over a lesson on blue cards and requirements.

As we’re nearing the end of the school year, lets look ahead at what else we have coming up:

1. The Cannonballers event is this upcoming Friday. I am sure we will have a great time watching a game and camping into Saturday. I will send out my pre-event email on Wednesday (Hint: PACK LIGHT).
2. This upcoming Saturday, I am asking for leaders and Scouts to swing by for a spring cleaning effort to see if we can make a day out of getting some serious organization and camping equipment assessment done. I am thinking 8:30am to 2:30pm, we will happily provide lunch. Some of the things that come to mind are:
a. We have tons of bags of flags that need to be sorted and prepared for a flag retirement events.
b. Our tents have gone thru some heavy usages over the past few months and we need to assemble them all to evaluate their condition and see where repairs are needed.
c. Since having our Brunswick Stew event, we have a number of items in the shed that need to be sorted in order to make room for gear.
3. June 10th is our 2nd roadside cleanup of the year. Sign up sheet is up at the Scout Hut.
4. Take advantage of the online and local merit badge events I have shared with you all. These spots will fill up soon.
5. Summer camp is 6 weeks away. Please continue to bring me those medical forms. I will do an assessment of who I need in the upcoming days and send you an email later on.

As always, please reach out to Mr. Otto with any questions at [email protected] or (917) 856-1720. Moms, have a wonderful Mother’s Days. I will see you all tomorrow.

Good evening everyone,

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather we’re having this weekend just like our Scouts and leaders that went on the Angler fishing trip. From hearing the feedback from the Scouts and leaders, it sounds like they had a well organized event with a great instructor. I am glad to see Scouts taking advantage of these opportunities.

Tomorrow we’re looking to wrap up our ILST training and (time permitting) we will kick off our election which will likely trickle onto the following week. By now all Scouts should have an idea of what position they are looking to fulfill. Note that you have to be present for your nomination and vote to count.

Lets look ahead at what else we have coming up:

1. The Cannonballers registration is now close. As a reminder, the event is from May 19th thru the 20th. I will send out an email next week.
2. After looking at our calendar of events, I think May 20th might be the best suited day to do a cleanup at the Scout Hut. So if you’re going to Cannonballers, you can stick around and help after the game, but if you’re not going to the game, then you can swing by and help at the Scout Hut.
3. June 10th is our 2nd roadside cleanup of the year. Sign up sheet is up at the Scout Hut.
4. Please refer to my previous emails about online and local merit badge events that you can take advantage of right now. Summer break is coming and I know many of you are looking for activities for your Scout.
5. Summer camp is 7 weeks away. Please continue to bring me those medical forms.

As always, please reach out to Mr. Otto with any questions at [email protected] or (917) 856-1720. I will see you all tomorrow.

Good morning everyone,

Now I know that some of you might find my weekly emails (dare I say) exciting to read, but if there’s anything more exciting than my emails it is the ever so productive weekend that we just had.

1. We had our 2023 SEALS scouts completing their training at Glendale, SC.
2. We had several leaders taking some required training at York, SC.
3. We celebrated the achievements of Nolan Reid and Drew Reinert at their Eagle ceremony.

Tomorrow Drew Reinert will be doing a presentation on substance abuse risk. This is will help about 53% of our Scouts who need (or will eventually need) requirement 7c for their 2nd Class rank. I need to emphasize that in today’s time, this is a hard requirement to fulfill because our local schools no longer do the DARE presentation that many of us have been familiar with since it started back in 1983. I highly encourage everyone (even if you have fulfill the requirement) to be in attendance.

Lets look ahead at what else we have coming up:
1. TOMORROW is the last day for me to take payments for the Cannonballers baseball game. As a reminder, the cost is $20 for the game only and $30 for game and camping. Family is welcome to attend the game, but cannot camp with us. Scouts coming ONLY to the game, will need a family member to drive them back home.
2. Next weekend we have about 8 Scouts from our Troop who will be embarking on the Complete Angler Weekend event in which they will work towards earning the Fishing, Fly Fishing and Fish and Wildlife Management merit badges. If you have not received the email from the event director, I will forward it over to you after this.
3. May 19th thru the 20th is the Cannonballers Scout Night baseball game. Payment is due TOMORROW.
4. I am considering setting up either May 20th or May 27th as a Scout Hut spring clean up day as we could use some help with organizing and inspecting our equipment. More details to come.
5. June 10th is our 2nd roadside cleanup of the year. Sign up sheet will be up tomorrow.
6. As I shared with you all last week, the Cape Fear Council just launched their online merit badge program. If interested, please visit this site: https://scoutingevent.com/425-vmbc
7. The Charlotte Philatelic Society (CPS) just announced that they will once again welcome all Scouts for the Stamp Collecting merit badge event on July 29, 2023. I have been promoting this for nearly 4 years now and it is on of the most unique and rarest merit badges that you can take locally. Parents you will need to transport your Scout and provide lunch, if interested, please register your Scout here: https://www.mccscouting.org/StampCollecting0723
8. Lets not forget those medical forms for summer camp, please keep bringing those in.

As always, please reach out to Mr. Otto with any questions at [email protected] or (917) 856-1720. I will see you all tomorrow.

Good evening everyone,

Nature has a funny way of fooling us, but it’s trickery did not stop Joshua Bernal from completing his Eagle project at Indian Land High School today. On behalf of Joshua, I wanted to extend my gratitude to everyone that showed up and supported him today. I also wanted to extend my congratulations to Joshua for driving such a successful event.

Tomorrow is part 2 of the critical presentation that will lead us into elections known as Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops (ILST). As a reminder all Scouts need to be present so that they are aware of the different roles within the Troop so that come election day (May 8th) they know what to sign up for and what they’re voting on.

Also, remember that I am still collecting medical forms for summer camp AND I am also collecting payments for the baseball game. The deadline for the baseball game payment is May 1st.

Lets look at ahead at future events:

1. Next Saturday we have a dual Eagle ceremony for Drew Reinert and Nolan Reid at Andrew Jackson State Park. Sign up sheet has been up for a while; the headcount for that needs to be locked in TOMORROW. The ceremony is at 11:30am. I ask everyone to arrive at least 15 minutes early so that we can start in a timely manner. If you have a part to play at the ceremony I ask to arrive 30 minutes early.
2. Next Monday we will have Drew Reinert do a presentation to help ALL Scouts on the topic of the dangers of using drugs, alcohol, and tobacco and other practices that could be harmful to your health. This is to help everyone fulfill a 2nd class ranking requirement. Even if you have this done, I still encourage everyone to be in attendance.
3. As a reminder to those of you that signed up for the Complete Angler Fishing Weekend, that event is from May 5th to the 7th. I will send a separate email to all the attendees as we get closer to the date.
4. May 19th thru the 20th is the Cannonballers Scout Night baseball game. As stated above, you have 1 week left to submit your payment.
5. June 10th is our 2nd roadside cleanup of the year. Sign up sheet will be up soon.
6. As we’re getting closer to the end of the school year, we’re starting to see online merit opportunities popping up. Regardless of whether you’re going to summer camp or not, this is a great way to advance in the program. Than being said, check out the latest opportunity provided to you by the Cape Fear Council. Note that each class is $20 and are about 3 hours long. As always, once the class if finished you will get an electronic blue card which you need to provide to me as proof that you took the class. Please visit this site: https://scoutingevent.com/425-vmbc
7. Lets not forget those medical forms for summer camp, please keep bringing those in.

As always, please reach out to Mr. Otto with any questions at [email protected] or (917) 856-1720. See you all tomorrow.

Good morning everyone,

Hope you are all having a great weekend, but as good as weekend as you have had so far, I am know that our Scouts have had a much better one at Spring Camporee specially after learning that they got 1st place in the Spring Camporee games. Can’t wait to hear their stories.

Tomorrow we have our annual Order of the Arrow (OA) election and a brief kick off to our Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops (ILST) presentation which will carry us thru the next few weeks in preparation for our Troop election on May 8th. I ask any active OA members to please wear your OA sash for tomorrow’s event.

As stated in previous emails, we have a baseball/camping event coming up and we are starting to collect payment for this tomorrow as well. As a reminder, this is a family event, the cost is $20 per family member. Scouts that want to stay behind and camp with us will pay $30 instead of $20. Only Scouts can camp overnight. The reason why the camping piece of it is a big deal is because we will be allow to camp on the baseball field from which we will also watch a movie overnight. This should be a lot of fun. The deadline is 5/1, but I rather collect everything sooner than later in order to secure our tickets as quickly as possible.

Lets look at ahead at future events:

1. Joshua Bernal’s Eagle project is schedule for next weekend at Indian Land High School. Our meeting time is 8:30am at the high school parking lot. Sign up sheet needs to be finalize TOMORROW in order to give Josh a proper headcount.
2. April 29th we have a dual Eagle ceremony for Drew and Nolan at Andrew Jackson State Park. Details to come as we get closer to the date. Sign up sheet is up as well.
3. Monday, May 1st we will have one of our Eagle Scouts do a presentation to help ALL Scouts fulfill a 2nd class ranking requirement on the topic of the dangers of using drugs, alcohol, and tobacco and other practices that could be harmful to your health. I encourage everyone to be in attendance.
4. As a reminder to those of you that signed up for the Complete Angler Fishing Weekend, that event is from May 5th to the 7th. I will send a separate email to all the attendees as we get closer to the date.
5. May 19th thru the 20th is the Cannonballers Scout Night baseball game. As stated above, please start brining in your payment.
6. June 10th is our 2nd roadside cleanup of the year. Sign up sheet will be up soon.
7. Lets not forget those medical forms for summer camp, please keep bringing those in.

As always, please reach out to Mr. Otto with any questions at [email protected] or (917) 856-1720. I will see you all tomorrow.

Good morning everyone and Happy Easter,

Did you know that the reason why we celebrate Easter with eggs is because eggs have long symbolized rebirth and renewal, making them perfect to commemorate the story of resurrection as well as the arrival of spring? In that same manner, this past weekend our Scouts and leaders came together to resurrect the spirit of unity as everyone pulled together to drive yet another successful fundraiser. I know that nature did not make things easy, but it was only because of our strength in numbers and the creativity that went into how everything was executed right down to the last minute, that we were able to succeed. For that reason, I thank every person who was in attendance this weekend and everyone that was working behind the scenes in the weeks leading to this event.

Tomorrow we will go over preparations for our upcoming Spring Camporee event. We also need to do some cleaning up since the rain did not allow for us to do that after yesterday’s event. Also, if you have any unclaimed pork butts, please pick them up tomorrow.

Lets look ahead at what is coming up:

1. Spring Camporee is NEXT WEEKEND. The event will be at Camp Conley Clarke in Gaffney, SC. Pre-event email will be send this Wednesday, but given the recent cool temperatures you can expect the usual communication as in past weekend campouts.
2. Clemson Merit Badge day is also next Saturday. Please refer to last week’s email for the liability form that you will need to be checked in. PLEASE WRITE BACK TO ME TO CONFIRM IF YOU’RE GOING TO CLEMSON.
3. Order of the Arrow elections is schedule for April 17th. Please make sure you’re in attendance so that you can place your vote.
4. Joshua Bernal’s Eagle project is schedule for April 22nd to the 23rd at Indian Land High School. Sign up sheet is up.
5. April 29th we have a dual Eagle ceremony for Drew and Nolan at Andrew Jackson State Park. Details to come as we get closer to the date. Sign up sheet is up as well.
6. As stated in my 3/29 email, we have 2 exciting events coming up with the Kannapolis Cannonballers night and the Patriot’s Point Trip. Sign up sheets for both events are up. Payment for the baseball game will be due on 5/1.

As always, please reach out to Mr. Otto with any questions at [email protected] or (917) 856-1720. I will see you all tomorrow.

Good morning everyone,

I hope everyone is enjoying their spring break. Whether you’re going somewhere or just staying locally, please be safe and respectful in what you do. Now for those of you that are available to come to tomorrow’s meeting, we’re having a Scout game night. Please bring any card games or board games of your choice and lets have ourselves a night of fun. For those of you that play UNO, UNO has confirmed this week that +4 and +2 cards CANNOT be stacked; so keep that in mind the next time you play.

Also, for any of you that have additional pork butt tickets, tomorrow is the LAST DAY to submit them along with the payment. We just placed our order for the pork butts this past Friday, but can still make some last minute adjustments to the numbers if any tickets are submitted. So please bring that over TOMORROW.

As we look at ahead at the next couple of months, we have some administrative items that need to be address so that we can be ready for several of our upcoming events. The top 3 items that come to mind are:

1. Medical forms for Scouts and Leaders. As stated in past emails, parts A, B1, and B2 are essential for weekend trips. Part C is needed for Summer Camp. Without an updated form, neither Scout or Leader will be admitted, even if you have paid your registration. I will send a follow up email on this.
2. Clemson Liability form. Also stated in past emails, the Clemson Merit Badge University event is in 2 weeks. You will not be checked in if you do not have your liability form ready. You don’t need to provide it to me, just have it handy when you arrive. I will still like to know who has register for this event.
3. Summer Camp dietary and allergy form. So far only 1 Scout has provided me with this form. This form is for the summer camp staff so that they know what meals to prepare for your Scout and alert their medical staff of any conditions that need to be on standby for.

Finally, let me take this moment to congratulate Tony, Finn, and Stephen for completing their National Youth Leadership Training program (NYLT). This was a 2 weekend event in our GOLS facility over by Glendale, SC. I am very proud of their accomplishments and I look forward to hearing their feedback.

Lets look ahead at what is coming up:

1. As stated above, remaining pork butt tickets and payments need to be submitted TOMORROW.
2. Our next fundraiser is Pork Butts which will be next weekend from Friday into Saturday. I will send the pre-event email later in the week.
3. Spring Camporee will be at Camp Conley Clarke in Gaffney, SC from April 14th to the 16th. Registration is now close. Pre-event email will be send next week, but (as a heads up) you can expect the usual communication as in past weekend campouts.
4. Clemson Merit Badge day is happening on April 15th. Please note that you need to bring with you the attached liability form to be checked in and you need to make sure you have done any merit badge prerequisites BEFORE showing up. If you don’t know if you have any prerequisites to work on, please see me.
5. Order of the Arrow elections are schedule for April 17th. Please make sure you’re in attendance so that you can place your vote.
6. Joshua Bernal has his Eagle project schedule for April 22nd to the 23rd at Indian Land High School. Sign up sheet is up for anyone that wants to help out.
7. April 29th we have a dual Eagle ceremony for Drew and Nolan at Andrew Jackson State Park. Details to come as we get closer to the date. Sign up sheet is up as well.
8. As stated in my 3/29 email, we have 2 exciting events coming up with the Kannapolis Cannonballers night and the Patriot’s Point Trip. Sign up sheets for both events will be up. Payment for the baseball game will be due on 5/1.
9. If any Scout is ready to go up in rank, please come ready tomorrow for a Scoutmaster Conference. We will determine tomorrow if the next committee meeting will be this week or next week, given the spring break.

Again, I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break. Enjoy yourselves and come ready to help us out next weekend at our pork butt fundraising event. As always, please reach out to Mr. Otto with any questions at [email protected] or (917) 856-1720. I will see you all tomorrow.