Based on the events of this week I’d almost think it was “advancement week” if there was such a thing. I had Scoutmaster conferences with four Cub Scouts who will be earning their Arrow of Light at their Blue & Gold next weekend. 5 Scouts total will be crossing to our Troop and will be the 2nd patrol of Troop 83.
We also had another Scout, who had moved away after Cub Scouts, come back to our Troop after moving back to the area. That combined with the coming crossovers means our troop will literally be doubling in size. Not that numbers mean everything. Just last weekend the “core 4″ of our troop participated in the Klondike Derby. Despite being the smallest patrol to participate and being one of the most inexperienced patrols, they still placed 11th (out of 27 patrols) and were a mere 10 points away from first place.
I was also notified that I have an interview this week to serve as one of the Scoutmasters for our Councils representation at to 2013 National Jamboree at Bechtel Summit. Keep your fingers crossed.
To top off the week, and what was definitely the highlight for me, I found out that I’ve been advanced to the 3rd of 4 phases for the selection process to become a ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) Field Operative. In August I will be returning to Texas for a 5-day “physically an mentally exhausting” evaluation of my skills as a Response Team member. If I pass this phase the next step will be the final training (9 days) in the UK in early December. From what I’ve heard these will be the hottest and coldest seasons respectively for each environment. I’m looking forward to the challenge.
