Since my last post. I meant to write, but always got side tracked.

First, our Crew camp out at Big Mac was fantastic. Among all the cool things that happened, Judi and & finished our TC qualifications. So our paperwork should be going through the NRA mill as I write this. Soon we’ll be full training councilors! You can see photos of the camp out over at the crew web site. We ran 4 new crew members through pistol class.

Second, the BB Gun RSO course went off without a hitch. Okay, one minor one. We did not have copies of the shooting sports guide and the cards arrived late, but other than that it was great. We’ll just need to make sure we schedule the full 4 hours next time; we’d like to spend more time on the actual range set up and practice. But for a first run of the material there were only a few comments - and most of them came from me as I noticed things that could be added or clarified.

Heading out to Service weekend in a few days. Phil’s prom is this weekend, graduation next weekend. Hard to believe he’ll be graduating soon. Seems like only last week he was a freshman. He’s turned out to be a pretty responsible young man, and I’m very proud of him.

More soon!

I’m not much for writing for writing’s sake. I think of it like talking to hear myself talk - not that I talk to myself :)  But in keeping with my previous post about getting back into a good habit I will ramble for a bit…

I’ve been prepping for the camp out (is it campout or camp out?) this weekend, and came to the realization that there is a LOT of gear needed to run an NRA pistol course. Of course there are the firearms and ammo, but also the instructor’s course guide, dummy rounds, student packs, eyes, ears, cleaning kit, air pistol for the first shots lesson, pellet catcher, pellet backstop, range flag, etc. etc. Then there is my camping gear - okay, so that’s only one backpack for me and a duffel for Phil. But still. I’ve spend most of the evenings this week getting everything prepped.

What else has been going on? I get to run the first NCAC BB Gun RSO course in a week. That in and of itself is not a big deal. The big deal is that I wrote the course. While I’ve been teaching BSA courses for a while, this is the first one I wrote. I started with a version from another council, modified it a fair amount based on the NRA Rifle Instructor materials and my own experiences running BB ranges for Cub Scouts. Its been reviewed by other instructors on the Shooting Sports Committee, with only small changes. We’ll see how well its received next week.

On the OA front, the new officers are gelling together pretty well. They have a pretty good handle on communicating with each other. Still working on getting a officer training weekend set up. Next up is Service weekend. After that its a day of Goshen bus loading and then a break pretty much till Fall Ordeal. Which reminds me I need to check on dates!

More later!

Seems I was not as diligent in writing as I’d hoped. For some reason, I’ve had the same problem writing in my camping journal lately. (Note to self: remember to add the ordeal campout info.) Not sure if its because I’ve been very busy on the campouts, or if its because it was easier to write while lying on my stomach in a tent. Its just a bit odd writing in a hammock. I’ve done it, just don’t like it. I’ll have to force myself more I guess - its a habit I don’t want to get out of…

So, what’s been up since March? Well, I quit my first campout ever. District Camporee. Was about to get into a big argument with some other adults when I realized we were in front of the whole camp (campfire was about to start). So, I left. Came back Sunday to pick up my son. Things are better now though. OA officer elections were held, and we just finished Spring Ordeal. I think we’re in good shape with the new guys.

Prepping for a Crew campout this weekend. If all goes well Judi and I should complete our TC’s this weekend. Oh, and, I’ve been suckered into joining the NCAC Shooting Sports Committee. Okay, like anyone really had to twist my arm on this one This looks to be a good group of adults, and I think we’ll be able to do a lot of good things for the shooting sports and BSA together.

More soon - so I hope

Okay, so I have not written anything for about 4 months. Well, written here anyway. Its been busy though - Crew celebrated its first birthday! My daughter totaled my pickup truck :(  I got my gaming forum running again. Still trying to get the Crew to set up a shooting team. Don’t know why that one’s so hard… We had my son’s Eagle Court of Honor. Tonight we go to the Eagle Banquet - he really likes his mentor. He’s also finally getting a handle on plans for life after high school. Exciting and nervous all at the same time. Alex is firmly into play season, so I’ll be spending more time at her school helping them get ready. Looks like I’m tuck as OA Chapter Advisor for another year. My replacement got stuck in his current position another year, so it all rolls downhill… If you’re interested in taking over, drop me a line. I really want to focus the bulk of my Scouting energy towards the Crew.

And thats it in a nutshell… Check back soon; I’ll try to be more diligent writing.

Well, its been a long journey for both my son and myself. We joined Scouting when he was a Tiger. We’ve been with it ever since - even when he took some time off after crossing over to Boy Scouts he would tag along with me as I did District stuff.

Last night my son passed his Eagle Board of Review!