Webelos weekend was held on the weekend of the 13th-15th of September. Friday the 13th, the scouts and webelos arrived at Firestone and setup camp. Then they met with their assigned patrol leaders to have dinner which was provided by the adults. I went to webelos weekend and was assigned to be a patrol leader but instead I got to work at a station called fire building. Saturday after breakfast the webelos made a patrol flag, had to think of a patrol yell and a patrol name before they set off to do activities. The scouts who weren’t patrol leaders went to prepare for the upcoming classes being held in the afternoon. When the webelos came to their class we taught them the importance of sharp tools and fire. But the fire class was separate from the sharp tools class because it can be dangerous when taught at the same time. The webelos were well behaved during class. Later after dinner, we had some free time and played a game of football. During the football game one of the boy scouts saw a tarantula and he told the other scouts and webelos to come and see. We didn’t want to hurt the spider but we had to move the tarantula away from the camp so it wouldn’t get stepped on. The scouts and webelos then continued the game and had a good time. After the game we had the campfire. Everyone from webelos, to scouts and adults sang songs and performed skits and all were fantastic. Sunday morning after breakfast all boy scouts took down all the tents and in the mean time the webelos went to a final activity that was about first aid. After the activity the webelos went on a small hike, up a small mountain and some of the boy scouts stayed behind to take down the kitchen and put other equipment back inside the trailer. As the webelos got back from their hike we made a small snack for the end of their hike and then we went home.
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Shooting Sports Program – The Third Annual Mother/Son shoot was a HUGE success!
The Young Guns just wanted to start the week by with this:
The Third Annual Mother/Son shoot was a HUGE success!
We had such a great time teaching our scouts and moms the basics of rifle and shotgun shooting and safety.
When the scouts left the range for lunch, the adults had quality time with Turner’s instructor and competitive shooters from the Chino store.
Turners really has been reaching out to support our troop!
In the past year, they sold us ammo for the crawfish boil and the Mother/Son shoot at heavily discounted prices, easily saving us at least a thousand dollars in ammo costs.
For this past weekend’s event, they came out and spent the entire day with us, giving the moms and scouts shooting pointers on the range, hosting the safety and pistol training portion with the moms, and showing us some competitive shooting skills.
They also gave us discounts for our troop and provided gift certificates to be awarded for the top shooters at this event.
We all agreed over our spaghetti dinner that this event went a long way in building our relationship with Turners…as they got to see first hand the size of our group of moms and sons that came out to participate.
They saw the keen interest in the moms and scouts to learn more, how T-54 was driving a safety-conscious range and how this was a standing event where moms could learn to shoot a variety of firearms…many of those they recognized were purchased from Turners.
They also learned we have scouts that are involved in a competitive shoots sporting program and saw the high-end rifles that our scouts used for those events.
I can’t tell you how much it meant to T54 to have such a strong turn-out, positively engaged moms and scouts eagerly learning to either shoot for the first time, or improve on their existing shooting skill set….as Turners looked on….
We are gearing up to host our 2nd Annual Crawfish Boil (ok ok … AND taco bar). The shooting sports program will be heavily utilized during this event and the strengthened relationship with an overly impressed Turners will serve us well. I expect they will have a larger role this year than last….
As I reflect on T54s shooting sports progression, I am proud of how quickly it has grown. Consider this:
– 3 years ago, we had no shooting sports program, then our progression:
– Yr 1: – T54 began supporting rifle/shotgun merit badges
– Hosted 1st annual Mother/Son spaghetti western shoot and had a small, respectable turnout
– Yr 2: – Hosted 2nd annual Mother/Son shoot and had 12 pairs turn out
– T54 shooting sports establishes a goal of building a new shooting complex at Firestone.
– Hosted 1st annual crawfish boil and raised over $8K, in part due to hosting a shooting event during the boil
– For this event, we established a relationship with Turners who provided us with reduced ammo pricing at a time when there was hardly any ammo available nationwide.
– Yr 3: – Hosted the 3rd annual Mother/Son shoot – roughly 25 pairs of moms/scouts and Turners kicks in reduced ammo, gift cards for top shooting prizes and supports the event with training and experienced shooters/instructors
– We will be hosting our 2nd Annual crawfish boil and will establish a seriously high fund-raising goal through this event to support our goal of building a new shooting sports range (more on this later)
– We reached out to Kim Rhode (Olympics only female 5 time olympic champion who has gold and sliver medals in sports shooting – Whittier native) and invited her to the crawfish boil (fingers crossed)
With your help, I would like to add one more accomplishment in Yr 3, one that Turners asked us to consider after they saw the level of participation across the parents and scouts in T54s shooting sports program.
Turner’s asked us to consider joining the National Rifle Association. They complimented us for the 3 years we have been developing our program and the active support we have been blessed with from the moms and dads. They saw this as a way of formalizing that commitment at a deeper level…and I get that.
Turners went to bat for us once again on cost reductions and is able to offer Troop 54 parents and scouts a $15 annual membership vs the standard $35 membership. For the cost of a great sports-shooting enthusiast magazine subscription, you can become a member and reap the benefits of membership.
Please consider this as a way to show Turners our appreciation for all that they have done for us, and our own commitment towards a growing relationship between Turners and T54….
I will be at the meeting on Monday night if anyone wants to sign up. Please consider as I would like to make a statement of appreciation for their support by handing them a stack of applications.
I invite all of you to join me on a trip to Turner’s Corporate office to take another T54 autographed photo from the Mom/Son shoot as a way of saying thanks…and would love to hand them an envelop of membership registrations that they can process. It’s our way of showing our commitment to T54s shooting sports program.
I promise you…Turners will be impressed and our mutual relationship will continue to grow.
Thanks for considering.
See you Monday night!
Kenny
P.S. Ink Saturday, May 17th, 2014..one weekend after Mother’s Day for the 2nd Annual Crawfish Boil (ok ok.. and taco bar) and Sports Shooting-Helicopter Riding-Laissez le bon temps rouler – Dejar que los buenos tiempos – Tshirt wearing with a new logo – event ever hosted by T54. Spread the word: Eat/Shoot Saturday, Sleep Sunday
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Catapult water balloon fun
On August 26, at our weekly meeting, Troop 54 had an awesome time catapulting water balloons from a far distance. Some scouts sneaked up to the other groups and threw water balloons at them. Even though it was for fun, Mr. Masters put a stop to it for safety and because it was best and more fun to catapult water balloons. All in all the scouts had a fun time, and only a few got hit by water balloons. With the weather being so hot, this water activity sure felt great!