Tim Osborne and company completed his eagle project!! The weather was perfect for planting trees; all had a great time. July was a month for fun, games and service. What a great way to beat the summer heat. Troop bowling night at Fun Plex was excellent. Pins were flying everywhere (despite some premature alley resets)! We did have a nice turnout for the Donut Sunday adventure. Those that participated really did an excellent job. Laser Quest turned out to be quite an adventure in itself. Travis Metcalf ended up with high score. Way to go Travis! There was also some great work done toward advancements at the regular troop meetings.

August will bring our annual calendar planning as well as troop elections. The actual planning will take place on the 17^th. We will also have a preliminary planning on the 6^th. Elections will be held on the 13^th for troop positions and the 20^th for patrol positions. Remember, scouts, this is your troop! Your rewards will be determined by what you put into it. Elections should not be taken lightly. Vote for the person that is willing to spend the additional time that is required to do the job properly. It is not a popularity contest.

Our court of honor is to be held on September 3rd. I still have some applications for JLTC to be held December 26^th thru the 31^st. Talk to me as soon as possible, if you are interested in attending. It is an incredible opportunity. For Order of Arrow members, you have Fall Pow Wow coming up in October. This should prove to be one of the best in many years!! Now is the time to commit to winter camp. We will be returning to Lost Pines.

The Chinese have a saying, "The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. " There's a lesson for us in that saying.

I'm thinking of advancement. If you come to troop meetings without ever looking in your Official Boy Scout Handbook all week long and if you never ask how to pass a test or who to see about a merit badge, you'll never advance very far in Scouting. In Scouting, and in life, the rewards don't come to those who sit back and wait for something to be handed to them on a silver platter.

I would like to see every one of you set the Eagle Scout badge as your goal in scouting. As a step toward that goal, I hope that most of you will receive some award at our court of honor at the end of this month.