Present at the meeting:  Caren Howes, Kent Guinn, Bob Jones, Bob Rosevear, Mike Dulle, Jim Unruh, John Terwilliger, Jim Forson, Dennis Nichols, Ed Buckner & Brad Brown-via conference call.

1)  It is a very busy time for the troop in the next month!.  We have hunter’s safety at the next Monday meeting, April 21^st.  This is MANDATORY for all Scouts and Adults who plan to attend the shotgun campout and shoot.  And on Monday the 28^th (which will be at the Wornall campus) we will have hunter’s safety during the Eagle COH practice.  If you absolutely cannot attend you must contact Jim Forson personally to set up a time to complete the training with him.

2)  May 5^th will be Youth Protection training.  This is a mandatory meeting for scouts and parents.  We will start at 7:00 PM due to the length of the training.  A police officer is also coming to further the discussion on cyber crimes and keeping our kids safe online.

3)  Canoe Campout – We are keeping a close eye on the weather.  It looks like we will be good to go but if there is a lot of rain next Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday it may jeopardize the campout.  A local back-up campout will be planned.

4)  Court of Honor – We had low attendance at the April 14^th COH and not much advancement.

5)  New Scouts - We may have 3 or 4 boys crossing over from Webelos this year.

6)  Eagle Court of Honor – We really need to get the boys in the Troop to attend.  COH are mandatory but we need to encourage them to see what a truly special event it is.  One tradition is to invite all the old scoutmasters of the Troop.  It looks like all but one has been invited.  Jim Forson is following up.

Ideas:

a)  Add a ‘lug’ to payments if they are not made by a certain date.  Bob Jones shared that in the past as treasurer he found that if a $10 or 15 dollar amount was added it helped get payments in on time.

b)  Possible need for flyers to go home with scouts so parents get the information about when money is due.

c)  Possible phone calls made to parents.

The committee discussed the outstanding amounts and decided to table the discussion until Dennis can attend.  Dennis made it clear upon taking the position of treasurer that he was not a bill collector.  The committee would like to problem solve and come up with some ways to prevent lack of payment in the future and to help collect outstanding debt.

Canoe Campout – Caren Howes   Currently there are 15 boys signed up and 6 adults.  The plan is to canoe the Niangua River and to stay at the Corkery campground.  Scouts are to meet at the church on Friday April 25^th at 5:30.  If there is too much rain the campout may need to be cancelled, if so a local campout will take place.  We may go to the Observatory in Louisburg if it is available.  A call has been placed to Rick Henderson and he is checking on availability.

Summer Camp – Jim Forson

Mike Ratterman will be the summer camp Scoutmaster for Troop 459.  He is also a Scoutmaster for a troop in Kentucky.  His KY troop is trying to do a fundraiser to enable them to come up and camp with Troop 459 during the 2009 season.  They have a very poor summer camp in KY and no honor camping.  They would have adult coverage.  Mr. Forson is checking to see if any boys are planning to join us for camp this summer from other troops due to camp schedules.

Parent Meeting - The meeting was well attended.  Almost all positions in the troop were filled and many adults signed up to be merit badge counselors.  The positions are listed on the troop website.

Shotgun Campout - Jim Forson  May 9^th, 10^th, & 11^th.  Due to the wet weather be prepared for muddy conditions.  Vehicles will have limited access.  Pack lightly and be prepared to haul in all supplies.  Have extra shoes and clothes.  Sunday the plan is to leave early with no breakfast.  (McDonalds in Richmond)  The Scoutmaster has a plane to catch on Sunday!

Order of the Arrow - Mike Dulle   Josh will be calling the Scouts who were elected for the tap out.  There is a ceremony through RTH on Saturday the 19^th.  Then the campout is in early May at Camp Naish.  Josh will update all scouts that are involved.

High Adventure – Caren Howes & Brad Brown

A cut off date to sign up for high adventure is fast approaching.  Intent to attend must be given to Brad Brown or Caren or Craig Howes in the next two weeks.  There are currently 5 boys and 6 adults signed up to attend.

Geranium Sales - John Terwilliger   Plant sales must be turned in to John on Monday the 22^nd with the money collected.  Flowers will be picked up from John on May 3 & 4^th.  Plans are for any of the flowers not pre-sold to be sold at tables at both church locations etc.

Carports – Darrel Gibson will share information with the church on the cost of the carports.  With what they have been paying for rent for one month they could easily purchase carports of their own.

The committee did not recommend that the church use the troops carports each month for several reasons.  One being it may interfere with camping and that we could not reliably commit to helping open and close the carports on those weekends.

Mowing - There are huge concerns about the poison ivy on the hill at the Wornall location that the troop mows.  The Troop feels we cannot commit boys to mowing the hill until the poison ivy has been eradicated.  Darrel Gibson will also address this with the church.  There are dads from 459 that can help with chemical application if needed.

Next committee meeting is on May 15^th.  This will be the Mic-O-Say vote.  Please plan to attend.