1. Acting Troop Committee Chairman, Lauri Cale called the meeting to order and introduced Mr. Jim Hill, our new web master as well as Tim Davis, our new senior patrol leader.

2. The minutes from the February 8 meeting were reviewed. Scott Montague stated that there were six Eureka tents versus three Eureka tents stated in item #3. The balance of the minutes were approved as presented.

3. Mr. Hill suggested that we post the newsletter and other scout information on the web site. Lauri stated that she is in the process of learning to do this. If anyone has questions for Mr. Hill, his e-mail address is jimjhill@shinbiro.com

4. Mr. Ted Moore was asked about Karl’s progress toward his Eagle rank. Mr. Wyatt asked if we could obtain a list from Ron Anderson, Advancement Chairman to monitor Karl’s progress. Mike Gregory said that he had experience with the Family Life merit badge if Karl needed help.

5. Jimmy Odom asked about the current status of the new merit badge books that Troop Librarian, Jonathan Odom had requested that the troop obtain. Mike Gregory said that he has the list but the troop needs to decide whether to purchase them. A decision was not made at this time.

6. Treasurer, Craig Sommers reported that the current checkbook balance is $1,676.90 which does not include about $120 in cash which was turned in at the meeting. He also mentioned that only four boys have turned in their bowl-a-thon money. He encouraged us to encourage the boys to do this as it is their camp fund money.

7. Dues payment was discussed again. It was decided to encourage the boys to pay their $1.00 monthly dues on the first Wednesday of each month. The parents of only two boys in the troop paid annual dues for them. The committee wishes to discourage this practice and Lauri will put an article in the newsletter asking parents to encourage their scouts to earn and submit the money. It will also be announced at the March 17 Court of Honor to the parents.

8. Bob Davis provided an updated roster and registration report. There is one new boy, Greg Block who has not officially registered or transferred in to the troop. He will try get the boy’s information and contact his parents. He also needs to work with Advancements to update the ranks listed on the troop roster. In addition, Dave Wyatt is re-working the troop positions and will get that information to Bob when it is updated.

9. In response to an item on last month’s agenda, Charles Mocilac is working the Merit Badge Counselor list and updates very pro-actively. It was mentioned that the Court of Honor would be an excellent time to solicit the parents for nominations and volunteers. Charles will not return from his mid-tour until March 22.

10. Dave Wyatt discussed the organization of troop meetings and mentioned that it is going better. Pete Viera has ordered the troop an advancement chart to be placed on the wall in the Scout Hut so that individual scouts can monitor their progress. Dave wants to have a campout prior to the spring camporee in order to focus on troop advancements. It was decided that the best date to do this would be 26-28 March here at Osan. Jimmy Odom mentioned that when these camp outs focus primarily on the younger scout advancement, many of the more experienced scouts are left out. He suggested that the committee pick at least one merit badge that many of the older boys do not have so that they will have something to look forward to. This was approved by the committee

11. Tim Davis was welcomed as a member of the committee. Lauri asked how their patrol leaders council was working. They are having after action meetings after each troop meeting and doing some planning for the next meeting.

12. Lauri took the opportunity to point out Section II of the by-laws which discusses the responsibilities of junior leaders. All leaders were asked to review the by-laws which are presently in a preliminary state. Phil Hollingsworth of the VFW stated that the charter organization paragraph needs to be re-worked. Lauri asked Phil to re-work it with approval of the VFW. The by-laws were sent to each member with an e-mail address as an attachment along with the agenda and last month’s committee meeting minutes. Members are encouraged to review and make changes. Lauri asked if the committee thought that the by-laws should be included in the next committee meeting agenda. The committee agreed that the by-law discussion would be best set up as a separate meeting.

13. Phil was asked if he has the dates for the Loyalty Day parade which is traditionally in May. He said he will check with the VFW and let us know.

14. Mike Gregory discussed the Friends of Scouting drive. He offered to discuss this with any organization wishing to encourage the membership to support the drive. He mentioned that Pete has been very supportive of us and that any FOS money would at least partially go to support the hire of a part-time scout store employee. Dave suggested that we are coming in to the season for car washes. This was met with lukewarm response. Mike suggested that the scouts sponsor a jamboree-like festival in Turtle Park. The problem discussed with this option was getting a volunteer willing to take on this project.

15. Mike also has the packet for the annual adult recognition picnic. Nominations are due to the district by March 26. The picnic will be held on Saturday, April 3 at noon in Yongsan. Attendees will be charged $5.00 per adult and $2.50 for youth over age 12. This will cover hamburgers/hot dogs and drinks. Also, each individual is asked to provide a pot luck selection of salad, dessert, or chips. The district needs the numbers of those attending by March 26. Mike Gregory also mentioned that he had received a request from the Family Support Center for funding to provide their Volunteer of the Quarter/Volunteer of the Year recognition. The troop committee elected not to contribut to this cause. In discussing recognition, the committee decided to pursue recognition for local scout leaders on a local troop committee basis.

16. Scoutmaster Fundamental training will be offered at the District Office on Saturday, April 10 from 0900-1700 hours. Assistant Scoutmasters who need this course should contact Lauri Cale so we can get a head count to the district.

17. The district is also sponsoring a Spring Camporee to be held at Camp Humphreys on Friday and Saturday, May 7^th and 8^th. May 8^th is optional due to the Mother’s Day holiday. District Round Table will be held during this event. The district is seeking volunteers to help organize this event. The theme selected is "First Aid." Lauri will publicize the need for volunteers in the newsletter.

18. Scout camp is still set for 25 Jun - 3 Jul. It looks like this event will be held at Camp Humphreys as well. The cost per scout is estimated at $120 for the event. This is the same price as last year. Pete Viera will be the camp director.

19. Lauri brought up that we need to coordinate with the cub scout pack in their planning for next year and ask them to get us an estimated number of den chief positions that will be available. The committee decided that all den chiefs should be recommended by the Scoutmaster once we find out about available vacancies. Once the candidates are recommended, we need to appropriately train them, probably once per quarter. Mike Gregory will check with Pete to determine what training resources are available and report back to the committee. Mike will also interface with the cub pack to determine need.

20. As stated above, the next district meeting will be Saturday, April 3 from 0900-1030 with our next committee meeting on Tuesday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m. For the committee’s information, Steve Cale, committee chairman is still TDY until approximately April 10. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.