The past: The groundhog saw his shadow, Presidents day is over, valentines day has passed us by, the Troop court of honor is finished, Troop elections were held and two young men from our Troop have changed from Boy Scouts into Scouters. So ends the month of February 2004.

The present: Tonight we hold our patrol elections and determine who will lead our patrols for the next six months. Also tonight we will try to finish up the criminology merit badge being taught by ASM’s, Robert Rodgers and Dominick Adamo. Be on the look out for the date of the field trip to the West Side police station. We finish the month of March with the Tatanka District Camporee on March 26, 27, and 28. Our troop is the host Troop for this event; myself and several other adult leaders will be serving as staff members. ASM Joe Sellers will be acting Scoutmaster for our Troop. Let’s all clear our calendars and plan on attending the camporee, showing our support for Tatanka District and showing Tatanka District what an outstanding group of scouts and scouters Troop 1113 is made of.

The future: April is a wonderful month. The speckled seatrout spawn is in full swing, black bass are nesting in the shallow lake grasses and brush, and my favorite, the southern flounder, is returning to the bays and coves from their winter homes in the Gulf of Mexico. Our Troop will be migrating to the Reliant Center for Scout Fair April 24. At the end of the month we will move inland to Enchanted Rock State Park for our annual family camping trip.

SM Minute: I could spend a lot of time discussing fishing equipment, fishing techniques, cooking fish, but it would not be fishing. Fishing is being at the lake, river, bay or ocean with a pole in your hand and a line in the water. That’s how you catch fish! The same is true of scouting. If you are not attending troop meetings, going on camping trips, working on service projects and merit badges, you are not scouting. You can’t catch a fish sitting in front of a video game and you can’t advance in scouting very far that way either.

See you at the fishing hole.

>>--<<doug

Doug Bohn

Scoutmaster Troop 1113