Troop 931 surveyed a local nature trail today located in North Tonawanda, NY along with members from Pack 193. The rain that we have had lately added to the hike a feeling of slight dampness and made for an interesting morning. While walking or rather wading along the trail, scouts picked up trash and located sign markers and trail markers for replacement at a future time. The hike provided the troop with a chance to see what work would be needed to make improvements in the future. In total both units spent about 2 hours on the trail even though much of it was underwater and never a complaint. Where else can boys go and be told to "get wet and muddy?" Only in the Boy Scout opf course

Tonight's meeting went off pretty well. The scouts participated in a round-robin style learning experience concerning woods tools. Three stations covering Saws, Ax and knife use were set up with the members of the Lightning Patrol rotating between them. The scouts learned how to sharpen each of the tools and the safety issues for each as well. They also earned their Totin Chip. I would like to thank our fine assistant Scoutmasters for the great work on this and John for setting it up for us. 
I would also like to mention that this was the first meeting that the scouts conducted using a troop meeting plan that they developed. Overall it went well with only minor adjustments. I don't think they even gave it a thought. We also picked up a new scout, Sammy tonight who officially joined. Welcome Sammy. Sadly this was also our last weekly meeting until September. The Troop will be active over the summer however and I hope we can get in a weekend camp out somehow. 

Over all Troop 931 is starting to move in the right direction and I see good things for the troop moving forward. We will need to focus on recruitment and a little fundraising in the near future. 

Tonight the members of the lightning Patrol met to do a little planning. The focus of the meeting was to get them started in the direction of planning for themselves and being able to assume their positions. The scouts made some key decisions going forward for the troop. First, they discussed and elected to not meet weekly over the summer but rather participate in a few selected activities. They approved working on the trail service project with P193 this month on the 15th. They also agreed to join P193 in the Canal Fest Parade this year. They also planned out their first weekly meeting plan which includes going over woods tools use such as knives, saws and axes.