Troop 108 has made our own camp t-shirt each of the past few summers that feature something about the camp that we attend on the back. This year our t-shirt design has changed several times based on the camp we were planing to attend – as camps that we signed up for elected not to hold camp due to Covid-19.
Now we have elected to simplify the design without a camp name. We announced our t-shirt ordering on Facebook recently and had quite a response from Troop 108 alumni, scouting families and friends who were not able to order because the ordering process was in a secure part of the troop advancement on Troopmaster. There is no need for current scouts to order in the both places (Troopmaster and here).
To help with this we are setting up this site where shirts can be ordered as well. Once you have selected the number of shirts of sizes that you’d like and place your order, be sure to submit your payment via the button in the order form. Shirts will a moisture wicking material, not just plain cotton.
We will only order shirts that have been pre-paid by 06-01-2020. Orders can be picked up at a future troop meeting on Monday nights. We will contact you when they are available.
Since Camp Ho Non Wah includes a camp t-shirt in their more expensive summer camp fee, the troop leaders elected to make the usual custom troop summer camp shirt an optional purchase for scouts, if they wanted one.
The shirt can be purchased through Troopmaster (see the link in the right column of this site) no later than May 31st and payment can be made online at the time of purchase
We were informed that because of the Covid-19 outbreak and the restrictions that remain in place in NC that Camp Bud Schiele was not going to be able to host summer camp this year after all. Scoutmaster Joey Ware got on the ball and contacted our friends at Camp Ho Non Wah, near Charleston, to see if they had any openings for the same week, and they DID!
So, the last week of June and into July we’ll be back on flat land at the coast with breezes blowing and palm frons and coastal moss blowing in the breeze. Ho Non Wah has a great track record of good facilities, good program, good staff and good food. That is a combination that is hard to beat.
Be sure to check the troop’s Facebook page and the weekly troop newsletters that come out each Sunday morning for the latest and greatest about summer camp.
With South Carolina Governor McMaster’s declaration of a state emergency and the closing of all school systems until the end of March this school year, the troop leadership wanted to remind all members of our “no school/no scouts” policy.
In fact, with the well being of our troop members and their families in mind, the troop leadership had already made this decision prior to the governor’s press conference earlier this afternoon,
Since this emergency halt in meetings backs right up to the Fort Mill School System’s spring break, we will not actually meet again as a troop until April the 13th, the Monday just prior to our Earthday Canoe event at the ASC Greenway and our Troop BBQ, both scheduled for the 18th of April.
We will be posting additional information about how scouts will report or turn in their sales numbers for the BBQ in an upcoming mailing and or post.
Note that this also affects scouting on the district and council level as well. We’ve included the official Covid-19 update from the Palmetto Council, which was just released, below. We have highlighted those items which may directly affect our troop members.
Dear Palmetto Council Scouting Family,
The health and well-being of our Scouts, volunteer leaders,
families, and staff continues to remain our number-one priority. As
COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to have unprecedented impact on our Nation and
community we will strive to maintain regular communication with you to address
concerns within our Scouting community.
Today, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMasters announced a
state-wide closure of public schools through at least March 31 and a
recommendation against large social gatherings. As we often follow the
lead of our public schools in determining event postponement/cancellation,
Palmetto Council will be suspending all in-person meetings between Monday,
March 16 and Monday, April 13. This includes all unit meetings.
This time frame may be extended depending on guidance from local, state, and
national health organizations.
At this time all of the activities listed below should be
considered postponed. Each event committee will determine over the next
few days if an event can be rescheduled and will communicate those
changes.
Council Activities Postponed
NYLT (both weekends 1 & 2; Mar. 20-22 & Apr. 3-5)
TOTAL training (May 2-3; due to the inability to hold staff development weekends)
District Activities Postponed
Daniel Morgan Scout Show (Mar. 20-22)
Daniel Morgan Pinewood Derby (Mar. 21)
York Pinewood Derby (Mar. 21)
York Spring Camporee & ASM/SM Training (Mar. 27-29)
All other Council/District Meetings/Activities
All in-person meetings and activities scheduled through
April 13 will be postponed effective Monday, March 16. Group meetings
that can be conducted by telephone or other digital means are encouraged.
If you have questions about specific meetings or activities, please contact
your District Executive or the Council office.
Unit Meetings
For the safety of all, units are to immediately discontinue
their in-person meetings, activities, and camps. This suspension will remain in
effect until South Carolina reopens schools and permits extracurricular
activities. Units are encouraged to consider using skype, zoom, or other
communication platforms to conduct patrol meetings or merit badge
classes. Many online meeting tools are offering improved free trials
during this time.
Council Office
At this time the Palmetto Council office will continue to
operate during normal business hours. However, for the safety of our
staff our lobby will be closed to visitors from Monday, March 16 until at least
Wednesday, April 1. If you need to make a Scout Store purchase or conduct
other business at our office, please contact 864-585-4391 for
arrangements.
Activity Refund Policy for Cancellations and/or
Postponements Due to COVID-19
If
an activity is officially canceled, you should expect a refund within the
next 2-3 weeks.
If
an activity is rescheduled, your registration will automatically be
transferred to the new date.
If
you cannot make the rescheduled date and/or would like a refund, please
contact Morgan Hawkins (Morgan.Hawkins@Scouting.org;
864-585-4391) and we will honor your refund request.
We appreciate your cooperation and all you do for
Scouting. Thank you for joining Scouting and the rest of our community in
helping to address and mitigate this public health crisis.
Our Pit-masters Have A Proven Track Record Of Producing The Best Tasting BBQ
POSTPONED UNTIL THE
FALL OF 2020
Troop 108 has postponed its annual BBQ and Brunswick Stew Sale until the fall of 2020 at the Unity Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall on Tom Hall Street in Fort Mill. Pick up times for the various products are listed below. Our Butts and Stew are cooked by our talented pit-masters using only the finest ingredients and techniques while adhering strictly to best practices for food preparation. We will have the following items available for purchase online a few weeks before our fall event:
Whole Pork Butts (5 to 6 pound average) are available for $45.00 each.
Shredded Pork BBQ by the pound is available for $9.00 each.
Brunswick Stew in 1 Quart containers is available for $9.00 each.
Those that purchased online should have already received a refund from the troop for your purchase amount. For those that purchased items from a scout and received a paper ticket for your purchase, the scout that you purchased from or the troop will be making arrangements to refund your money.
The past few years the youth members of Troop 108 have sponsored a bicycle for a young boy from the Unity Presbyterian Church Angel Tree.
This year we have been asked if we would again sponsor a bike and helmet for a deserving child, and of course, we accepted. If you would like to participate, please bring any donation to the next couple of meetings and give it to Mr. Weller, Troop Treasurer.
Troop 108 will be celebrating 75 years of existence in the Palmetto Council in 2019 and we are holding a dinner event on November 23, 2019 at Unity Presbyterian Church to celebrate. The evening will start off with a social hour from 5pm to 6pm, followed by a steak dinner with all the trimmings at 6pm and then a celebratory program which will include a short Eagle Court of Honor for several of our scouts. Everyone is invited to remain and socialize for another hour and enjoy some celebratory cake and coffee following the program if they wish.
Scoutmasters from the past have been invited to attend and we hope that many of the thousands of scouts that have graced the doorstep of scouting in Troop 108 over the past 75 years will be able to attend and share food, fun and fellowship.
If you have pictures, video or stories about your time in Troop 108 to share, please visit Troop 108 Memories Facebook group and contribute. We hope to share what we have collected on that site in some way during the 75th anniversary event. Also on display will be some Troop 108 memorabilia from years past. We hope to have a few troop related items up for silent auction as well.
Each Adult Registration will receive a Troop 108 75th Anniversary patch and laser engraved Troop 108 75th Anniversary commemorative token to remember the event by.
As we prepare for the upcoming 75th Anniversary event for Troop 108 in November of this year (more info to follow), we are asking current and former members of the troop and their families to submit photos, videos and memories to our Troop 108 Memories Facebook page
With Dorian’s possible approach to the coast later in the week, the district and council event teams agreed that it would be best to cancel this year’s Beach Sweep event.
Even if Dorian hooks a right turn out to sea (as we hope he does), there is no sense in putting our scouts in the middle of coastal residents trying to get back to their homes following their mandatory evacuation.
We are looking forward to seeing our scouts at an upcoming meeting.
We are very excited to hear that you are interested in being a part of the Skyuka Lodge NOAC 2020 contingent! In attempt to make your job as easy as possible, we have compiled all the information that you need to know into this email so you do not have to search in a million places to find it. As this email contains a lot of useful information, we encourage you to read this email in its entirety.
For quick reference, NOAC can be overly simplified into:
What: National Order of the Arrow Conference
When: August 3-8, 2020
Where: Michigan State University
Why: To fellowship, celebrate, and announce service opportunities as well as grow upon leadership skills and knowledge of the Order of the Arrow, its programs, resources, and opportunities.
For a more in-depth approach, we have laid out some details to follow:
Cost – One of the most frequently asked and important questions. As the NOAC Committee, we try our best to make attending NOAC as affordable as possible so that we can allow as many people to experience it as possible. While we do fundraise, please understand that we are not able to cover every expense and due to the shortening of time between NOACs (from 2006-2018 NOAC was on a three year schedule, as of 2020, NOAC is on a two year schedule so as to not conflict with National or World Jamborees), we are placed with another challenge of less time to fundraise. So far, the NOAC Committee, with the Lodge Executive Committee’s approval, has released four fundraising flaps which were debuted at the 2019 Summer Ordeal and are still available for sell. We do have plans to conduct more fundraisers in the future, however, if you have any ideas of ways we can fundraise, please let us know!
Furthermore, we want to provide you with a better look at the estimated final cost and how it is broken down. The national conference fee, which you are responsible
for regardless of fundraising efforts, is $545.00, a $20.00 increase from NOAC 2018. In addition to the national conference fee, we anticipate and expect some additional fees for our contingent members. These fees will go toward items that will enhance your delegate experience such as custom Skyuka Lodge NOAC 2020 polos, t-shirts, hats, backpacks, and other neat items.
With this information you may be wondering, “What is the NOAC Committee and fundraised money going toward?” The funds produced from our fundraising efforts go toward the transportation to and from Michigan State University, your lodging (if necessary) to and/or from Michigan State University, and your meals (if necessary) to and/or from Michigan State University.
As we understand paying the full amount to attend NOAC
upfront may be a challenge, we have put into place a payment plan/schedule*.
September 15, 2019 – $100 Non-Refundable Deposit Due February 1, 2020 – $250 Payment Due May 15, 2020 – $250 Payment Due July 1, 2020 – Final Payment Due (Based upon Fundraising)
*If you would like to pay your fee in full, we can accept the $600, however, we are not able to definitively state if this will be the final cost.
Should you decide that you would like to attend and pay your $100 deposit but find that you will not be able to attend NOAC, you will forfeit your $100 should a substitute not assume your place in our contingent. Additionally, if you must cancel (unable to attend with no substitute replacement) you may receive a refund in the amount
of $445 if cancelled prior to June 30, 2020. After June 30, 2020, you will forfeit your entire conference fee.
Travel – Another frequent question and concern is when we will leave and arrive. As Michigan State University is further away (11 hours from the Palmetto Council Service Center) compared to Indiana University (location of NOAC 2018, 8 hours from the Palmetto Council Service Center), our travel plans will be different from the last NOAC. At this time, we are still looking into which method of travel is the most cost efficient. Based on the method of travel, we could have to leave earlier than August 3 and arrive home after August 8, 2020.
For the aforementioned reason, we ask that you block your schedule for August 1 through August 10, 2020 to allow for travel to and from Michigan State University.
Attendees – As we mentioned in our meeting at Summer Ordeal, the National OA Committee has promised that there will be no quota on the number of delegates we are allowed to take to NOAC 2020. With this noted, we have recently been informed by the National NOAC Committee that there will be a strictly enforced youth to adult ratio of 1:1; essentially, for each adult delegate from our lodge, there must be an accompanying youth delegate. For the purpose of NOAC, youth is defined as any delegate who has not yet reached the age of 21. As we would like to allow anyone interested in attending the opportunity, we encourage that you please help us recruit youth delegates.
As an attendee, you are required to have a non-expired BSA Annual Health and Medical Review (AHMR); this meaning your AHMR must not expire prior to our return home no later than August 10, 2020. Unlike some previous NOACs, BSA AHMRs will not be collected by national electronically prior to the event, rather your BSA AHMR will be turned into our NOAC Committee prior to our departure.
Additional Information – For additional information regarding NOAC 2020 or what to expect from attending a NOAC, visit one or all of the resources below.
We truly hope that you will be part of our contingent for NOAC 2020 and experience this great event with us!
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us! Troop 108 can contact Doug Chambers, Skyuka Lodge’s OA NOAC Advisor, at dougchambers@comporium.net or by phone at 803-548-1912. Be sure to copy a parent or other leader on any email or have a parent with you when you contact by phone.
