In attendance Kapala, Dave B,Shetler, bleich, roop, wray, maher, linda brooks, paffi, hayden, green, cooper

Ted Hayden volunteered to be compass bearer for next year, thank you Ted!

Fall campout will have other AG groups in attendance (possibly 50-100 people?)  each group will be responsible for different activities. (Oct 28th at Ohiyesa).

Jenny discussed new findings for guides that we can implement like walking sticks for new members.  Discussed y fund balance and funding for campout activities.  Discussed strong kids and how guides can donate to the strong kids fund either as  a one off or on a recurring basis.  Council and elders to take the charity discussion offline and discuss at spring campout.

Yearbook pages are due Saturday May 25th, please get paper originals or high quality color scans to Nathan Wray that Saturday by noon.  Will again do free yearbooks for each family that has paid the adventure fee and extras $5.

Recruiting – have been getting come contacts from the website etc.  Tony thinks we should have addtl spring recruiting.  Nathan would like to focus recruiting on specific schools (pierce, bemis, pembroke, wass).

Tony asking for pinewood derby pictures.  bowling was good, thanks Craig. discussed moving back to later on sunday, not sure it would help attendance.

Fun nighter conflicted with a soccer tournament and was not well attended.  had 12 ppl and 4 pizzas.

Discussed doing induction at Spring campout, alternate items instead of popcorn to throw in fire.  Ted briefed us on activities planned.  Decided on 6 activities, with everyone to have either high ropes or climbing tower with horseback being an additional charge ($10).  Per Fritz, Bearhawks to do torches for spring.

End of season party at Beachwood.  Need to contact Beachwood to confirm date with BW (June 3rd).

Discussed needing trophy for most points.

Discussed needing to get Winter campout in schedule.  Targeting Jan 25th.

Council thanked Tony for his service at the last council meeting.

Meeting adjourned 9:10pm.

Don’t worry, if you have already registered this year then you already paid these fees! This post is just to provide some detail on what the fees are used for.

In Attendance Kapala, Roop, Bleich, Shetler Green, Cooper, Paul, Maher, Burdick, Klingler, Paffi, Ortell, Hayden, Jann

Arriving late Wray

Introductions

Discussed campout etiquette.  Reminder that alcohol is never allowed at YMCA camps – campouts are “dry”.  No one should ever be seen in possession of or consuming alcohol on YMCA property.  One circle said they had a new member who was not aware of camp rules and brought alcohol and left it in a snow bank where it was seen by Storer staff.   Circle leadership apologized.  The expedition sent an email to Storer apologizing for the incident and promising better enforcement at future campouts.

Discussed noise control at campouts.  Going forward, campout rule is no excessive noise after 10pm.  Anyone should feel comfortable asking for quiet after 10pm. This goes for any kids who may be awake as well as any dads who may be playing cards or listening to music.  Providing a quiet sleeping environment is a basic courtesy.

Pinewood multi-year champion will be Tony and Walter Jann.

Recruiting – Fritz mentioned new families being placed.

Sledding – sledding was fantastic weather.  Had a good turnout (maybe 40 kids).  Hot chocolate was served (Matoaka). with doughnuts on top of the sledding hill.

Daddy daughter dance – a good time was had by all.  $149 was spent on top of receipts.

Chili cookoff

Reviewed the Pinecar checklist (Wray).  John G bringing laptop, Nathan and John to set up software next week.  Tony to bring printer.  YMCA supplying projector and screen.  Dean to bring PA system.  Pete to get us the medals from last year so we can count and see if we need more.  Kevin will ask Scott Wicowski about pinewood boxes (Scouts).  Registration is covered.  Track setup is Sac Sisters and Sequioa (9:30am).  Bearhawks will run concessions.  Tony will bring cups and chips for judging.  Jenny will help with judging.

Overall design judging is 12:45 on race day.

Sac Sisters will host Spring Campout.  Bearhawks will do torches.

Palominos will do bowling this year.  Craig to confirm date.

Nathan to drop recruiting foamcore off at YMCA before Sunday for display at Chili Cookoff.  Jenny says we have enough pinecars left.

Meeting adjoured at 9pm.

Arriving late Wray

Called to order 7:35

Discussed needing pictures from events this season for the Yearbook.

Talked about fun nighter. Earlier time worked out well. Ate 8 pizzas and 5 2-liters

Discussed letter from Storer. Future campouts will need to be chaperoned by Y staff. Need to discuss whether to continue at Storer in the future.

Discussed sledding. Nathan to send email telling everyone to use judgement on sledding.

Discussed daddy daughter dance. Palominos to sponsor. need to determine budget and cost based on last year’s minutes. I believe it was $100 budget plus $5 person/ $10 max per family which covered the DJ. we have the same DJ as two years ago.

Discussed Pinecar derby. Jenny to order 100 cars ASAP. cost to be $5. discussed how to register cars. will discuss more at march meeting.

circles gave status. palominos played laser tag in madison heights. marshmallow shooters were made by bearhawks at Brune’s house and the dog ate too many marshmallows. nacomas had a meeting where they made craft decorated coffee mugs. Wild mustangs went bowling.

Jenny gave updates. Hats are not yet available. Spring campout, we’re set and she will create a flier for that. minimum is set to a reasonable number. Campout is at Mystic Lake in Claire. Big Als Place recommended for pre-campout meeting point. Need to determine sponsor by next meeting.

Jenny says excess funds can be deposited into our Y account. Pete is trying to determine why we are showing an extra $200 in our YMCA account. will close the account once we determine what the facts are.

Craig reported on honor points. Chippewa and Sequioa are tied at 250 honor points.

Nathan named Volunteer of the Year for the Birmingham YMCA. Go Nathan.

Meeting Adjourned 8:33.

Called to order 7:20

Discussed winter campout. Kevin Cooper and circle to select list of 5 activities and request square dancing, movie night and 3 sections horseback riding. Discussed alternatives to Ice Bowling. Nathan to bring double-size torch oil and speakers. Kevin to secure projector and screen from YMCA (Jenny Paffi to verify availability).

Nathan to send modified snow snake rules to Tony. Tony to send email to expedition with snow snake rules, campout reminder email. Campout price (early registration) 130/65 until 2/15. Snow snakes will be run before dinner. Council decided snow snakes from previous years can be run again.

Sledding has been moved to Sunday Feb 12th. Feb fun night added to calendar for Feb 4th.

Request put out for pictures of hike bald mountain and fall campout. If you have pictures please send them to Lance Harrison or Deve Bedford respectively (or post to group facebook page)

Ice Skating – all details arranged for 4pm skating downtown.

Daddy Daughter Dance – Craig Shetler / Palominos to confirm DJ and confirm date. Theme undecided.

Pinewood Derby. Jenny P to order as many cars as we actually used last year, and see about returning last years cars if possible. Probably have enough medals (Pete B to confirm). Nathan to train Walter Jann and expedition leaders (John, Tony) on track hardware/software.

Circles reported statuses.

Fall 2012 – may do Ohiyesa. In future may rotate between Ohiyesa and Copneconic. Ohiyesa and Nissocone are Detroit YMCA camps so we should try to use them when possible, this benefits our local YMCA.

Council agreed to move meetings back to 7:30pm – 8:30pm of the first Tuesday of the month.

Kevin Maher reports that we have many extra patches. If any circles wish to distribute patches for circle events they should contact Kevin for availability.

Nathan to get old yearbooks to Jenny Paffi for recruiting purposes.

Pete reports that the bank account is not yet closed but we are moving in that direction. Need to determine which member of Chippewa received check and did not cash it.

Council recommends contacting Chris Wilker re: hockey game event for this year.

Council meeting closed 8:20pm.

Arrived Late Awwad

Meeting called to order 7:13 with each member stating their name and circle(s).

Identify multi-year champions – Rockets, Pinewood Derby

Walter Jann volunteered for Rockets.

Need two volunteers for pinewood derby. Walter Jann volunteered to assist with Derby, looking for an additional volunteer to train on the software.

Discussed new breakoff circle from Sacajewa (sac2).

Recruiting seems to have paid off this year.

Discussed event pages for Bike the Creek, Fall Campout, Hike Bald Mountain.

Nacoma requested pictures for hike bald mountain. Please send to Lance Harrison. The GPS event didn’t pan out, if we try again next year will need more preparation.

Fun Nighter – had a good turnout. 10 Pizzas were eaten. No yearbook page will be created due to lack of pictures. Everyone had fun. Recommend everyone try a funnighter if they have not, kids had a great time. Per Jenny many towels were left in the locker room(s) to clean up.

Reminder new TShirts are in, adult small are in short supply.

Bell Ringing (by circle)

Skating – Sponsored by Palominos. Skating will be Compuware employee price $4 for entrance and skates. Free parking in Compuware employee ramp. Skating begins 4pm. Recommend dinner at the Coney Islands (Lafayette and American) after skating. Need patches.

Winter Campout 20th. Chippewa volunteered to sponsor the campout. Need to confirm the camp has a projector, screen, DVD player. Need to send Nancy’s email address to Kevin Cooper and John Green. Need to research how to best do the snow snakes.

Daddy Daughter Dance – Date TBD. Need to identify DJ and nail down date, get YMCA Gym reserved. Need to pick a theme.

Circle statuses. Circles reported meetings. Several circles are doing bell ringing or have recently done bell ringing.

Winter – Early registration ends Jan 15th. Nathan has a 128oz bottle of torch oil.

Spring – Mystic Lake near Claire May 18th. Host circle needed.

Jenny to write letter clarifying family swim for Guides on Sunday. Jenny asked that we remind everyone how important it is for people to sign up for the program to help fund the Y.

Tony to add another YMCA Fun nighter in Feb, possibly 18th or 25th.

Yearbooks – have 38 left (out of 100). Nathan has 40 dollars from yearbooks and 43 dollars from rockets (sold to Harlan at cost). Will provide cash to YMCA for deposit into account.

Discussed setting an event at the YMCA fun night. In the past we had magicians etc.

Jenny reported that the Y does a camp over the holidays (day or week). 7:30 to 6pm (camp is 9-4). Jenny to provide details for website and will send email.

Meeting adjourned 8:25.

Selected Mystic Lake for Spring Campout.

Meeting called to order 7:11

Tony says Facebook is working for his family. We should recommend people “Like” the page to add notifications to their news feed. Trying to keep current events up to date on site.

Mohawks hosting Bike the Creek. Palominos to sponsor Daddy Daughter Dance. Nacoma to sponsor Hike Bald Mountain (Nov 6th). November fun nighter (Nov 19th, was December last year) needs sponsor. Jenny to reserve YMCA and pool.

Fall Campout – we’ve discussed having two sets of activities. Discussed 10 and over group and under 10 group. Rockets to be scheduled at 4pm or immediately before dinner. Council decided 4 activities plus rockets (5 total). Camp has 12 to 14 bikes. Could recommend dads who can should bring a bike.

Friday night – night hike

10 and over:
Biking
Giant Swing (+)
Treetops (High Rope) (++)
Disk Golf or Kyaking (if Treetops is not 2 hour)

Under 10:
GPS Ranger / Geocaching
Creek Freak
Candle Making
Bridging the Gap

On further consideration we may need a 5th event, John G. remembers doing 5 or 6 activities last year along with rocket launch.

Jenny thinks Copneconic price (140) does not include activities, so actual cost could be $155. Need to determine options about going to another camp and getting out of our deposit, find out how firm they are on cost. May need to avoid Copneconic in the future. Council thinks the 140 was negotiated to include all activities as discussed with Todd and Hayley last year. Nathan to forward Todd’s contact info to Jenny. [NOTE - "Todd" should have been Tom Correll. Email from last Fall detailing that future prices must include activities was forwarded to council - HC]

Discussed adding a geocaching element to hike at bald mountain.

Discussed Spring campout. Mystic Lake had a historic issue with guides. Fritz believes issue with camp was on our end. Jenny to check availability for our date Friday May 18th @ Mystic Lake, Sherman Lake and Timbers.

Fritz arrived late to discuss recruiting. He believes we have 3 new circles as well as many new members in existing circles. Nimble blackbears and Mohawks may join forces. Tony to send list of all circles to Fritz to coordinate placement of new members.

Nathan to clean up existing mailing lists and create new lists. Need circle names and email addresses.

New members meeting went excellent, 13 families in attendance. Scott Mayotte representing one new circle. Need to discuss new members with Fritz. May have another new circle.

Painted trees went well considering the weather, great turnout.

Discussed Bike the Creek, Tony sent group email tonight.

Pete reported finances. Pete needs to create a yearbook page for the event. Tony reports that he created an event page for Painted Trees.

Navigators reported on meetings.

Jenny reported Halloween at the Y October 28th 5-7pm. Will have inflatable obstacle course, haunted house, candy alley.

Jenny to order hats (100) in kakhi. Rockets ordered. Jenny reports that the Y is trying to create a unified look for YMCA groups. New logo will be the “Y” logo with an illustration of a compass and a tree. Jenny to get a sample shirt from vendor that follows guidelines, to order 150 shirts 50% in adult XL.

Fritz recommends a winter fun nighter at the end of January.

Nathan to move ice skating up to 4pm.

Meeting adjourned 8:13pm

In attendance: Wilker, Paffi, Awwad, Shetler, Kapala, Bleich, Bedford, Ortel, Klingler (arriving late Harrison, Green)

Discussed Eric Ostdiek, donating to their trust if they establish one, how we can help family. Strong Kids may be able to fund kids going to camp-outs this year.

Discussed expedition name change to historic name “Three Fires Expedition”

Discussed Facebook Page, recommend people “Like” the page to keep current on events.

Fritz discussed recruiting. Unsure if Birmingham sent out recruiting email. Fritz to follow up with them. We haven’t gotten any calls from them, and last year we got 15 or more. We got permission from Troy schools to distribute fliers. Jenny broke fliers into packets, we will attempt to distribute them tomorrow (Thursday) morning.

Discussed new member night the 20th. Fritz and Tony will organize.

Discussed Painted Trees. Sequioa to sponsor painted trees – need to bring cider, doughnuts, torches. Also need to locate fire pit. Fritz to ask Steve Meram about using fire pit again this year. Recommend 6 gallons cider and 12 dozen doughnuts. Jenny to lead in 10-15 minutes of songs following ceremony. Discussed new members being at circles and organizing people into new circles.

Mohawks to sponsor bike the creek.

Calypso to sponsor Fall Campout. Need to decide how to handle pumpkins. Nathan to order rockets (100).

Went around circle and Navigators reported to the council how their circles are doing.

Council members reported. Pete says our account is down to $4. Jenny recommends, when possible, that we have the Y order things directly rather than doing a reimbursement. Discussed getting new member gear. Need hats, patches, shirts, books.

Discussed being able to sign up for campouts online. Jenny to look into online signup.

Agreed to end collection of adventure fund and instead gather funds by tacking $5 onto campouts as needed.

Discussed having the expedition donate to the strong kids campaign. Will follow up later.

Dean made the statement that he is very encouraged by the efforts of the past couple of years.

Tony stated that he’d like a new girls circle to sponsor the dance.

Meeting ended 8:36.

Meeting started 7:15

Fritz asked if the Y staff could make and deliver recruiting packets – splitting up recruiting fliers, poster etc and deliver to the various elementary schools. Approximately 8 hours work. Jenny said staff would be available. Fritz has a list of schools to hit (13?) along with names of principals. Need approximately 40 fliers 11×17′s. Nathan to follow up with printer.

Request to have Jenny talk directly to principals about the program, Fritz to get list of talking points to Jenny.

Nathan has 6000 fliers for Jenny to take to the Y (1000 color 5000 b&w). Nathan to look at Facebook API and Twitter API for posting events.

Fliers at the Library
Presentations at schools
Filers hung up at the Y
Get fliers to homeschool kids – Tony to follow up
Attend curriculum night – ask for volunteers to cover specific schools?
(Nathan to create trifold display for presentation)
Additional swim clubs BAC and BHAC
Troy Gymnastics – hang flier?
Nathan to get soft copy of fliers to Jenny, Tony
Have volunteers shadow new members at painted trees
Volunteers to support new circles? How to better organize this? Need a policy of having an elder join for new circle meetings.

Joined by Plymouth / Livonia Guides at 8pm. John (), Craig, Shakeeb.

Discussed challenges at Livonia Y, Plymouth has limited facilities. Discussed recruiting strategies. Discussed networking strategies, building via friends VS cold contacts. Discussed what our circles and expeditions do (events etc).

They do a work campout for Earthday (3rd weekend in April) – $25 a family or free.

They do Spring campout at a non-Y campground and tent camp. Walnut Hills in Duran, Michigan. Up 23 west of Fenton. 1st/2nd weekend of June before school gets out.

Council voted to change the expedition name to Three Fires Expedition.

Discussed creating a regional council to discuss recruiting etc. Will follow up with Plymouth/Livonia.

Discussed strong kids fund and fundraising. Talked about “penny wars”, Jenny to send details.

Meeting adjourned 9:16