2011 Fall Scoutmaster Minute

Now that we are settling in to the new school year and the Southeastern Virginia temperatures are swinging from Summer to Winter, the fires in the Troop 200 fire pit are getting bigger, the younger Patrols are getting louder, the Elections and the Fall Court of Honor is behind us….it must be Fall at St Luke’s again!

The summer was more than Hot! Camp Powhatan was an incredible experience for all who made the trek to the Blue Ridge Mountain Scout Reservation, in just a few words: rifles, root beer floats, the blob, Alapocus, 57 Scouts, owl hike, Hobart dishwasher, rattlesnakes, Brownsea Island and FUN! Who could forget the Sports campout at Kiptopeke, one of the most challenging campouts in Troop 200 history , offering motor boating, fishing, wakeboarding, tubing and bird studies. The Washington DC History campout was great “chill” campout, camping on the lake in Quantico, spending the day in DC from the Capital to Arlington National Cemetery and Troop 200 hit all points in between! YEE HAW! The Marriot Ranch campout was off the hoof! There were trail rides, homemade fried doughnuts, 10 gallon hats and saddle sores to boot.

Wow !! That was fun just reliving the great memories!

Stay tuned! The cooler temperatures will take us back to Pipsico for The Thanksgiving in the Woods campout to put the feed bag on! Turkey, ham, Troop 200 BBQ, with all the trimmings. The Golden Corral PLC, Whoo Who, the chocolate fountain is going to overload!! The Holiday party gift exchange(get out and rake some leaves so you can get your favorite ASM a great present) is going to be off the chain! We are moving in to the Webelos open houses season and I remember the first time that we visited Troop 200, just 3 short years ago….

We pulled in to the parking lot to carnival type atmosphere, a massive amount of Scouts and Adults traversing the parking lot to get the job done! I put the truck in “Park” and coming from a small Cub Scout Pack, I said to myself “man this place is crazy, I'm not too sure about all the these people, meeting outside in the cold and Boy Led-no way ” but, the folks we met that night were some of the nicest people we have ever met. Committed to leadership, fun and building bridges that will stand the test of time, it is hard to believe that a large group could be so tight knit, that is what Troop 200 built it’s foundation on.  Every time I pull into the St Luke’s parking lot, I always think back to that special night in 2008, I think about campfire smoke and Dutch oven dump cake in the air and how that first impression made us feel welcomed and at home.  

Troop 200 is a special place and I am glad that we are here!
Yours in Scouting,
Eric Horton
Scoutmaster
The Troop 200