Greetings to All.

1) Well, it was bound to happen eventually. After 8 Projectorees (7 years) with pretty much great weather on Competition Saturday, we're gonna get wet this weekend. The current forecast is beautiful Friday, then increasingly cloudy on Saturday, with sporadic light to moderate showers starting around noon, and light rain extending into Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon will, of course, be sunny and warm (Great!)

Please use your Troop e-net or telephone tree to notify all your attendees (especially your New Scouts) of the expected conditions. Rain-gear and an extra pair of sneakers or preferably boots are definitely needed. Warmer clothes (not our normal gym shorts and a T-Shirt) will also be needed. Be Prepared!

In view of the expected conditions, we will relax the dress code for the weekend, especially Saturday afternoon; HOWEVER, this is not license for the Scouts to wear socially unacceptable clothing or hats. I am mandating the Troop Leaders to enforce "reasonableness" in attire - no gang-bangers, pro-drug statements, or similar foolishness, please.

Troops 624 and 869 - you will need to develop a plan for holding (or if need be, cancelling) religious services under rainy conditions on Saturday evening. Please keep your Priest and Minister informed of what's happening - don't surprise him at the last minute.

At present, conditions appear to favorable enough to allow a campfire on Saturday night - though it might be a little soggy. Plan as if it's happening. I will definitely need assistance building a campfire late Friday or early Saturday. That may require Adult assistance - we appear to be unusually thin on Staff this year.

2) Staffing - As noted, preliminary estimates on Senior Scout Staff don't look particularly favorable. I am not sure why we have seen a steady decline in staffing over the past 5 years, but we're getting to the acute stage now. Even my Troop is hurting for staff this year (a first, and not a good one, either).

Each Unit should have a VERY GOOD HANDLE at the Friday night PLC on which of their Senior Scouts are attending on Saturday, and when. For some reason, a lot of Troops seem to be pretty vague on this most years. As usual, we will divvy people up at the PLC from the "haves" to the "have nots". This is real hard to do if your Troop representatives don't know who's coming or when, or what activity your Troop is doing and whether it's a morning or afternoon event. Please have this info nailed down when you come to the PLC (Friday at 9pm sharp, BTW).

3) Service Project - Dale Gibson, Neil Wood, and Mark Wray have each volunteered to bring a chainsaw down, so we're in good shape there. Thanks to my plea of last night, we have 50 tree seedlings coming (we could have had 500 if we had wanted them). The park will provide most of the tools we need. We should be OK on this. Remember, we need 2 of your larger Scouts to assist the Service Project, and it should start right after the Scoutmaster Chariot Race.

4) Thursday Pickups from Bob's House - I will have the Registrar/Treasurer materials, some of the Rover Materials, the Projectoree signs, and the Scoring and Awards Coordinator materials, all ready to go by 6pm tomorrow (Thursday) night. It will be dark by 8:15 or so, so I suggest you come between 6 and 8 to pick these items up.

I also have the Radioactive Basketballs game, the Egg Toss distance marker sticks, and the Scoutmaster Chariot Race poles, all available for pickup. Note that I cannot transport any of this stuff to the Projectoree - if you need it, you have to come and get it. My van and trailer will be up to the rafters with the Cave Rescue, Obstacle Course, and all my personal and Administrative gear.

5) Positive Attitude - Please have your adults and Senior Scouts keep up a positive approach to the weekend. A little rain should not affect us very much, but a bunch of whining, complaining, and bitching about the conditions will absolutely kill us. We've all been plenty wet before, many times, and survived just fine. Your attitude will guide your Scouts' attitudes; pick a good one.

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I will be leaving my house at 6am Friday morning to head down to Camp Wilson. Any phone calls or email messages after 5:30am Friday morning will be received by me around 3pm on Sunday afternoon. I do not own a cell phone. Plan accordingly.

See you all soon....

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10 May 2002