On May 21, Troop 256 had their Spring Court of Honor. It was very well done and Nolan, Mr. Wickham and Mr. Shobe did a tremendous job at getting it ready and going through the ceremony. Many of the boys advanced in rank and there were over 40 merit badges earned. Included in some of the highlights of the evening were Micah and Tim Holck earning eight merit badges each. Also, the four original Wolverine Patrol members were recognized as having obtained the rank of First Class. They now pass into their second phase in pursuit of their Eagle Scout rank.

Author: Nick Wickham

This year at family camp we went to cathedral Gorge. We hiked and squeezed through tiny holes to get to moon caves. We used a rope to rock climb up about 22 feet up to get deeper into the caves. We participated in a world wide activity called Geo Caching, which was very fun.

We are well into a new year, and as is always true at the beginning of a new year, your Scout dues are now due. If you have not yet paid them, please do so to Mrs. Baker as soon as you can. If you or your family are having financial difficulties, please see Mrs. Baker about making payment arrangements.

Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Jarvis, Mr. Wickham, Josh and Nick, we now have an official inventory of all the equipment the Troop owns, and there's a ton of it! If you have been passing up on camping trips because you lack the equipment and/or funds to buy it, wait no more and see Mr. Jarvis about borrowing some of it for the next event. A complete list is on-line to give you an idea of what is available for borrowing.

Troop 256 needs your help. Troop 256 has a deficit of people helping with the tasks that need to be done in order to make this a successful Troop. Currently, only a small percentage of the parents are shouldering the responsibilities for everyone. We are all volunteers in this Troop, with the common goal of wanting to get our boys around positive role models, and to help all the boys develop a good character, with a strong moral fiber and leadership skills. However, we all have lives to lead outside of Scouting and cannot individually devote the time needed to run the Troop.

There are still 12 positions open for Scouts to attend Camp Geronimo. If you are interested in going and have not told anyone, now is the time to do so. The Troop committee has decided to offer the extra openings to other Troops to fill up the spaces, so don't delay any longer.

Due to a shortage of volunteers to help with the details of organizing the campouts, the committee has decided to make a couple of changes in the Troop's upcoming scheduled camping events.

• The date for the fishing event has been moved from May 26th to June 30th.
• Due to the date change, the location for the fishing event has been moved from Eagle Valley to Duck Creek, where it should be cooler.
• The June 23rd cave exploring event at Cave Valley has been canceled.

After Youth Protection Training and Fast Start, all adult leaders are encouraged to take New Leader Essentials. It is an approximately 90 minute class that is usually taught by a district representative in a class room or auditorium type setting and is usually taught along with the Leader Specific Training courses (covered next time). It teaches the fundamental basics of what Scouting is all about.