2012 MB Advancement Report
Camp Grimes 2012 - Daily Log
Friday 7/13
Last Day. Been great week !!!
Good news/Bad news... good news is it is not crazy hot up here, bad news, the non-stop rain has continued to plague us. It has rained on and off since late Tues. Boys are still doing good, but think adults are about ready for the sun come out and get dry. We had some issues with boys feet getting raw due to wet shoes/socks so we have been harping on keeping them dry and getting powder on them.
Thank you to Kurt Pearon and Tom C for coming up to camp last night and covering the boys while the the SM's had the chance to attend the Thursday night Scoutmaster steak dinner. After that Billy H, Danial G, and Teddy Biggers completed thier OA brotherhood cermony. Congrats to them all!!
There was a movie night that many boys attended in the Dining Hall. UP was the movie.
Scoutmaster Jesse E joined us at camp last night, great to see him up at Camp Grimes this year again!!! Also, committee member Jim White and scoutmaster Chris Johnson joined us on Wed. Big thanks to Jim W who has conducted 3 board of reviews for boys to complete their next ranks!!
Big thank you to Chris Snyder for stepping up and teaching the Plumbing Merit Badge class this week and Thank You to Mark L for stepping up and teaching the Auto Maintenance. Camp was short some councilors so big thank you to both of them for their help!!!
The last group completed the Polar Bear plunge today. I got to supervise this mornings trip down to the lake to give SM Billy a break. It is a very impressive thing to watch boys getting up at 6:05AM!, in the cool weather, and the heavy rain and hike down to the lake and jump in... It is a very impressive display of perserverance and mind overmatter to complete the Polar Bear challenge. On the flip side, there were some boys that started but abandoned their efforts to complete during the week due to the challenging conditions. Be sure to ask your son which group they were in!!! Seriously, it is very impressive to watch these boys undertake this challenge!!!
Again, it was a great (albeit WET) week at camp. The boys did really great and completed may accomplisments!!!! Once again, disipline issues were VERY minor this year. You would all feel great about your scouts and very proud of what they have done at camp this week...
Get ready for the laudry!!! UGH!
Hope to see some of the parents tonight for Family Night.
The current plan is to return to the scouthut bewtwen 11-12. See you all then....
Thurs 7/12
Hello!! Things at camp continue to click along. The weather has been a bit challenging, on and off rain all of Wed and Today. Today the rain showers, which come and go are continuing. Boys are not letting it slow them down at all thou!!!
Yesterday was OA Ice Cream night. Also, the troop got the materials to make Ice Cream at our site. We have MANY boys with 3 hand crank churns making Ice Cream last night.... I will tell you, it was REALLY good, better than the manufactured stuff the OA served. You will see pictures of the boys working on that project.
We have some news to share, when we left on Sunday we held an election for our next Sr. Patrol Leader, I am pleased to announce after a tight race, Jason Lux has been elected Troop 65's next SPL. Congrats to Jason and big thanks to Danial Gallimore our current SPL for his fine service.
Several boys have completed SM conferences for rank. Additional, Jim White joined us at camp yesterday and was able to conduct two Board of Reviews, congratulations to Conner McGee and Jack Gilmore on thier rank advancement at camp!!
Overall things continue to run very well, we had some tired boys last night and some slight homesickness, after getting them to bed and getting some rest, this morning brought fresh smiles and bright attitudes!! We continue to have almost NO dispiline issues. Also (knock on wood), there have been NO visits to medical officer!!!! That compares to last year where by at this point we had been the medical about 15 times. Great attitudes and behaviors by all so far....
Needless to say, everything is wet and muddy!! When it is not raining, nothing dries as it is so damp. Everyone is making out fine, but expect some VERY RANK laundry when the scouts return...
Tonight is Movie night, they are showing UP. Also, the OA is having a brotherhood ceremony and 3 of our own are going forward to brotherhood.
Putting up more pictures now!!
Wed 7/11
So the rain finally arrived last night. It started around dark and continued thru the night. It stopped this morning in time for bfast (Yea!) and just started again around noon today. The good news, is the rain has only been on and off and it has brought MUCH cooler temps, it is really comfortable now, so fair trade, ran for cooler temps.
Reminder to parents, Friday is parent night and closing campfire. If you would like to come up to camp and see your scout in action, dinner will be served at 6pm. You can purchase food here or bring your own (suggested Friday eve meal has been historically not great) Boys finish their last classes at 4pm so anytime after that is fine for your arrival.
ASM Mark L and Ben Fannon participated in the camp Turkey Shoot last night. This is where they shoot shotgun, rifle, archery against the other troops. We do not have results yet, but word is we did very well and may well be in top three. Ben shot 5 of 5 in shotgun and Mark L shot 4 of 5 (oops!!). Will update when we have final results.
We had "Lake a Palooza" at the water front last night. This is camp wide open swim and competitions that boys can participate in. Our own Nathan Sharrett won the "climb the iceburg" competition. Iceberg is a huge blow up float that boys climb. Nathan had the fatest time in camp at 24 seconds. Congrats Nathan!!!
Tonight is OA Ice Cream nite, should be fun!!!
Lunch Time!!!
Tuesday 7/10
Hello Troop 65 parents!!! We are now in full swing Day 2 of camp. To start out, I meant to do this yesterday as I was speaking of how well check in went. A big thank you to several people that made our arrival at camp such a sucess. The following people played key admin roles in getting us to camp this year and making our checkin so smooth. Melissa Merrell Medical Forms and Permission slips, Tara O'Brian-Pifer Financials, Kathy Hawkins and Bill Johnson Medicine Planning and Management, Tom French Quartermaster. Thank you to these folks (and many more) that make camp with 49 boys possible.
Ok, things at camp continue to go very well. We made it thru day one of classes with no incidents. All of the boys seemed to have enjoyed themselves and are now settled into the routine.
The weather continued it's HOT and HUMID ways yesterday. It is quite sticky up here. We continue to not have any heat related issues, so compliments to the boys for staying with the water. Today is a bit cooler, but still sticky. We are expecting some break from the heat as we head into tomrrow. We got some light rain at noon today, but that is the only rain today. They have been forecasting rain, but so far it has avoided us... crossing our fingers...
Once again, we had a group sleeping outside under the "STARS" (that is another word for the rain we got around 1am) that was a learning experience for many who were awakened by the large rain storm that drove boys scrambling back to thier tents and under the shelter at around 1:30.
We have had a guest, a bird spent all of yesterday building his new home in Mr. Billy's tent!!! (see pictures) Much to his surprise he now has house guest in his Taj Ma Billy tent...
Many boys after classes yesterday, attended Sessoin 7 which included Archery, Rifle, and others. Other boys teamed up and worked with the older boys to complete Rank Requirements, Tot'en Chips, and we completed several Scoutmaster Conferences!!!
Food continues to be "good" and plentiful, ham for dinner yesterday, French Toast Sticks and sausage this morning and Hot Dogs for lunch... Everyone seems to be getting plenty to eat.
A group of our boys taking Citz in Commty had a field trip to the local post office in Marion today. SM Billy and ASM Mark L drove the group. I heard the trip was a big hit.
Other than minor cuts and skinned knees, we have not had any medical issues (knock on wood), lets hope the trend continues!! The boys have REALLY been good, we have had only very minor issues to deal with. The boys have been really good so far... Again, I continue to be impressed by our group and am thankful for the chance to take these boys to camp and see them grow in themselves and in scouting... You would all be very pleased to see them in this envronment!!!!
Monday 7/9/2012 - Day 1/2
We had a very successful trip up to camp. Departed scout hut at just before 11am. Stopped in Shelby for lunch. Boys spread themselves across Dairy Queen, Arby', Wendy's and Burger King. We pulled into Camp Grimes at 1:55 for a 2pm checkin, now that is planning!!!
Because we arrived so close to 2pm, we were in front of the line for check in. Our Guide moved us thru the process very quickly. We moved 47 boys through Medical Check in in about 40min, that is amazing!!! The folks running medical check in commented that was the most efficeint check in of a troop our size they had ever seen!!! We moved through the Troop pictures, dinning hall instructions and waterfront safety talk very quickly. We were at our site and unpaking by around 4pm, not bad!!!
Yesterday was VERY VERY HOT and sticky... The boys did great with it, but think the adult leaders (I can include myself) were about done by time dinner arrived. We stressed to boys the importance of drinking WATER and lots of it. So far no issues due to heat. It is again hot today, although not as bad as yesterday and today we have a breeze!!! Wait to see what this afternoon is like.
Everyone is settled in to their tents and unpacked. The boys all have completed 4 of the 6 session today and off to session 5 as I write. So far everyone has f0und thier classes and are getting settled in very well!!
In what is an emerging tradition, we had our sleep under the star contingent last night, I think about 16 boys moved thier cots out of the tents and slept under the stars!!! It was a little buggy, so not sure how many bits they are all dealing with today.
We have 20 boys rise early for Polar Bear today!!! That is a record number for Toop 65!! For those that dont know, Polar Bear is a event where for 4 of the 5 days here, boys rise 20 min early (6:30 am!!!!), hike down to the waterfront and jump in the lake... They get a patch at the end of the week if they complete. I will get names and post who is taking part as week goes on.
Scoutmaster Billy and AMark hands on special certification for “safe swim defense” and “safety afloat”
Food has been good so far, chicken strips last night, eggs and steak biscket this morning and sloopy joes for lunch. Not 5 star, but overall not bad... Don't think anyone is going hungry.
The boys are all doing very well, almost NO homesickness other than a minor amount of moaning and groaning yesterday, mostly due to heat and waiting around to check in. It is a great group of boys, you should all very proud of the young men you have sent to camp!!!!
Friday 7/6/2012 - We are 2 days from departure for Camp Grimes!!! Hopfully everyone is ready for a great week at camp. Weather is looking "interesting" hot early in the week with temp dropping as week goes on. Chance of rain most days, but as we know this time of year, that is normal.
If you have any last min quesitons, please be sure to ask [email protected] or 704-516-0483. We look forward to seeing the boys at 9am Sunday Morning at the Scout Hut.
Look for updates and pictures here as the week progresses!!!
Last Day. Been great week !!!
Good news/Bad news... good news is it is not crazy hot up here, bad news, the non-stop rain has continued to plague us. It has rained on and off since late Tues. Boys are still doing good, but think adults are about ready for the sun come out and get dry. We had some issues with boys feet getting raw due to wet shoes/socks so we have been harping on keeping them dry and getting powder on them.
Thank you to Kurt Pearon and Tom C for coming up to camp last night and covering the boys while the the SM's had the chance to attend the Thursday night Scoutmaster steak dinner. After that Billy H, Danial G, and Teddy Biggers completed thier OA brotherhood cermony. Congrats to them all!!
There was a movie night that many boys attended in the Dining Hall. UP was the movie.
Scoutmaster Jesse E joined us at camp last night, great to see him up at Camp Grimes this year again!!! Also, committee member Jim White and scoutmaster Chris Johnson joined us on Wed. Big thanks to Jim W who has conducted 3 board of reviews for boys to complete their next ranks!!
Big thank you to Chris Snyder for stepping up and teaching the Plumbing Merit Badge class this week and Thank You to Mark L for stepping up and teaching the Auto Maintenance. Camp was short some councilors so big thank you to both of them for their help!!!
The last group completed the Polar Bear plunge today. I got to supervise this mornings trip down to the lake to give SM Billy a break. It is a very impressive thing to watch boys getting up at 6:05AM!, in the cool weather, and the heavy rain and hike down to the lake and jump in... It is a very impressive display of perserverance and mind overmatter to complete the Polar Bear challenge. On the flip side, there were some boys that started but abandoned their efforts to complete during the week due to the challenging conditions. Be sure to ask your son which group they were in!!! Seriously, it is very impressive to watch these boys undertake this challenge!!!
Again, it was a great (albeit WET) week at camp. The boys did really great and completed may accomplisments!!!! Once again, disipline issues were VERY minor this year. You would all feel great about your scouts and very proud of what they have done at camp this week...
Get ready for the laudry!!! UGH!
Hope to see some of the parents tonight for Family Night.
The current plan is to return to the scouthut bewtwen 11-12. See you all then....
Thurs 7/12
Hello!! Things at camp continue to click along. The weather has been a bit challenging, on and off rain all of Wed and Today. Today the rain showers, which come and go are continuing. Boys are not letting it slow them down at all thou!!!
Yesterday was OA Ice Cream night. Also, the troop got the materials to make Ice Cream at our site. We have MANY boys with 3 hand crank churns making Ice Cream last night.... I will tell you, it was REALLY good, better than the manufactured stuff the OA served. You will see pictures of the boys working on that project.
We have some news to share, when we left on Sunday we held an election for our next Sr. Patrol Leader, I am pleased to announce after a tight race, Jason Lux has been elected Troop 65's next SPL. Congrats to Jason and big thanks to Danial Gallimore our current SPL for his fine service.
Several boys have completed SM conferences for rank. Additional, Jim White joined us at camp yesterday and was able to conduct two Board of Reviews, congratulations to Conner McGee and Jack Gilmore on thier rank advancement at camp!!
Overall things continue to run very well, we had some tired boys last night and some slight homesickness, after getting them to bed and getting some rest, this morning brought fresh smiles and bright attitudes!! We continue to have almost NO dispiline issues. Also (knock on wood), there have been NO visits to medical officer!!!! That compares to last year where by at this point we had been the medical about 15 times. Great attitudes and behaviors by all so far....
Needless to say, everything is wet and muddy!! When it is not raining, nothing dries as it is so damp. Everyone is making out fine, but expect some VERY RANK laundry when the scouts return...
Tonight is Movie night, they are showing UP. Also, the OA is having a brotherhood ceremony and 3 of our own are going forward to brotherhood.
Putting up more pictures now!!
Wed 7/11
So the rain finally arrived last night. It started around dark and continued thru the night. It stopped this morning in time for bfast (Yea!) and just started again around noon today. The good news, is the rain has only been on and off and it has brought MUCH cooler temps, it is really comfortable now, so fair trade, ran for cooler temps.
Reminder to parents, Friday is parent night and closing campfire. If you would like to come up to camp and see your scout in action, dinner will be served at 6pm. You can purchase food here or bring your own (suggested Friday eve meal has been historically not great) Boys finish their last classes at 4pm so anytime after that is fine for your arrival.
ASM Mark L and Ben Fannon participated in the camp Turkey Shoot last night. This is where they shoot shotgun, rifle, archery against the other troops. We do not have results yet, but word is we did very well and may well be in top three. Ben shot 5 of 5 in shotgun and Mark L shot 4 of 5 (oops!!). Will update when we have final results.
We had "Lake a Palooza" at the water front last night. This is camp wide open swim and competitions that boys can participate in. Our own Nathan Sharrett won the "climb the iceburg" competition. Iceberg is a huge blow up float that boys climb. Nathan had the fatest time in camp at 24 seconds. Congrats Nathan!!!
Tonight is OA Ice Cream nite, should be fun!!!
Lunch Time!!!
Tuesday 7/10
Hello Troop 65 parents!!! We are now in full swing Day 2 of camp. To start out, I meant to do this yesterday as I was speaking of how well check in went. A big thank you to several people that made our arrival at camp such a sucess. The following people played key admin roles in getting us to camp this year and making our checkin so smooth. Melissa Merrell Medical Forms and Permission slips, Tara O'Brian-Pifer Financials, Kathy Hawkins and Bill Johnson Medicine Planning and Management, Tom French Quartermaster. Thank you to these folks (and many more) that make camp with 49 boys possible.
Ok, things at camp continue to go very well. We made it thru day one of classes with no incidents. All of the boys seemed to have enjoyed themselves and are now settled into the routine.
The weather continued it's HOT and HUMID ways yesterday. It is quite sticky up here. We continue to not have any heat related issues, so compliments to the boys for staying with the water. Today is a bit cooler, but still sticky. We are expecting some break from the heat as we head into tomrrow. We got some light rain at noon today, but that is the only rain today. They have been forecasting rain, but so far it has avoided us... crossing our fingers...
Once again, we had a group sleeping outside under the "STARS" (that is another word for the rain we got around 1am) that was a learning experience for many who were awakened by the large rain storm that drove boys scrambling back to thier tents and under the shelter at around 1:30.
We have had a guest, a bird spent all of yesterday building his new home in Mr. Billy's tent!!! (see pictures) Much to his surprise he now has house guest in his Taj Ma Billy tent...
Many boys after classes yesterday, attended Sessoin 7 which included Archery, Rifle, and others. Other boys teamed up and worked with the older boys to complete Rank Requirements, Tot'en Chips, and we completed several Scoutmaster Conferences!!!
Food continues to be "good" and plentiful, ham for dinner yesterday, French Toast Sticks and sausage this morning and Hot Dogs for lunch... Everyone seems to be getting plenty to eat.
A group of our boys taking Citz in Commty had a field trip to the local post office in Marion today. SM Billy and ASM Mark L drove the group. I heard the trip was a big hit.
Other than minor cuts and skinned knees, we have not had any medical issues (knock on wood), lets hope the trend continues!! The boys have REALLY been good, we have had only very minor issues to deal with. The boys have been really good so far... Again, I continue to be impressed by our group and am thankful for the chance to take these boys to camp and see them grow in themselves and in scouting... You would all be very pleased to see them in this envronment!!!!
Monday 7/9/2012 - Day 1/2
We had a very successful trip up to camp. Departed scout hut at just before 11am. Stopped in Shelby for lunch. Boys spread themselves across Dairy Queen, Arby', Wendy's and Burger King. We pulled into Camp Grimes at 1:55 for a 2pm checkin, now that is planning!!!
Because we arrived so close to 2pm, we were in front of the line for check in. Our Guide moved us thru the process very quickly. We moved 47 boys through Medical Check in in about 40min, that is amazing!!! The folks running medical check in commented that was the most efficeint check in of a troop our size they had ever seen!!! We moved through the Troop pictures, dinning hall instructions and waterfront safety talk very quickly. We were at our site and unpaking by around 4pm, not bad!!!
Yesterday was VERY VERY HOT and sticky... The boys did great with it, but think the adult leaders (I can include myself) were about done by time dinner arrived. We stressed to boys the importance of drinking WATER and lots of it. So far no issues due to heat. It is again hot today, although not as bad as yesterday and today we have a breeze!!! Wait to see what this afternoon is like.
Everyone is settled in to their tents and unpacked. The boys all have completed 4 of the 6 session today and off to session 5 as I write. So far everyone has f0und thier classes and are getting settled in very well!!
In what is an emerging tradition, we had our sleep under the star contingent last night, I think about 16 boys moved thier cots out of the tents and slept under the stars!!! It was a little buggy, so not sure how many bits they are all dealing with today.
We have 20 boys rise early for Polar Bear today!!! That is a record number for Toop 65!! For those that dont know, Polar Bear is a event where for 4 of the 5 days here, boys rise 20 min early (6:30 am!!!!), hike down to the waterfront and jump in the lake... They get a patch at the end of the week if they complete. I will get names and post who is taking part as week goes on.
Scoutmaster Billy and AMark hands on special certification for “safe swim defense” and “safety afloat”
Food has been good so far, chicken strips last night, eggs and steak biscket this morning and sloopy joes for lunch. Not 5 star, but overall not bad... Don't think anyone is going hungry.
The boys are all doing very well, almost NO homesickness other than a minor amount of moaning and groaning yesterday, mostly due to heat and waiting around to check in. It is a great group of boys, you should all very proud of the young men you have sent to camp!!!!
Friday 7/6/2012 - We are 2 days from departure for Camp Grimes!!! Hopfully everyone is ready for a great week at camp. Weather is looking "interesting" hot early in the week with temp dropping as week goes on. Chance of rain most days, but as we know this time of year, that is normal.
If you have any last min quesitons, please be sure to ask [email protected] or 704-516-0483. We look forward to seeing the boys at 9am Sunday Morning at the Scout Hut.
Look for updates and pictures here as the week progresses!!!
Camp Grimes 2012
