Sam Houston Area Council B.S.A. Troop 505
Chartered to St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church
Houston, Texas

Here are several samples of e-mail announcements that should be sent out each program year:

KofC Lenten Fish Fry -- send out to entire troop a week or two prior to Ash Wednesday (after, of course, verifying with the Grand Knight of SVDP KofC Council 10390 that the Knights still want to have the Boy Scouts participate as we have in the past); make sure there is at least one adult and 2 Scouts to help out each week for the full 6 weeks (there is no Fish Fry on Good Friday), keep track of actual attendance, and at the end of the 6 weeks, send a summary e-mail to the key troop leaders (scoutmaster, committee chairman, advancement chairman, and chartered organization representative) specifying who participated when and for how long. sample text: KofC Lenten Fish Fry Wednesday <mm> <dd> is Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season. Please let me know if you are available to help with the Knights of Columbus Fish Fry (these are held each Friday of Lent, in the school cafeteria, before/during/after Stations of the Cross... in years past they've run from 5:30 PM to 8:15 PM or so). Ideally we should have one adult and 2-3 Scouts each week, though one or two more is not a problem. Or, maybe you can only help for (say) an hour and a half instead of the full 2.5 to 3 hours... that's OK, too (e.g. you might only be available form 5:30 to 7:00, but someone else may not be available *until* 7:00)! For the last several years, Troop 505 Scouts have helped serve drinks, bus tables, etc. It's a great opportunity to provide visible service to our parish community (particularly for those who need service hours for Second Class, Star, and Life; and for those who need to demonstrate "A Scout is Helpful" for their next rank... which of course would be everybody) and to "give back" to our chartering organization. As an added bonus, the Knights will feed for free all uniformed Scouts and Scouters who help out! Please let me know which date(s) you're available so I can make sure we're "covered" for each of the next 6 weeks. Available dates are as follows: <mm> <dd> <mm> <dd> <mm> <dd> <mm> <dd> <mm> <dd> <mm> <dd> Easter Vigil Fire -- send out to past AAD/PPXII recipients and current AAD candidates a week or two after Ash Wednesday; check with Maria Gibbs in the Church office after Palm Sunday, to find out where the celebrant wants the fire located (in years past, it was between the outside back wall of the Church and the Divine Mercy statue). sample text: Easter Vigil Since at least 2001 it has been a tradition in the troop that the Religious Emblems recipients (Ad Altare Dei and/or Pope Pius XII) build the fire for the SVDP Easter Vigil Mass (sometime during the day on Holy Saturday, which this year will be on Saturday <mm> <dd>); and be on hand, in uniform, for its lighting 10-15 minutes prior to the start of Mass (this year at <hh> PM). This is another way we provide service to our chartering organization; for this reason, I am extending this invitation to include this year's T505 Ad Altare Dei candidates. Of course, we will also need at least one adult to be on hand to supervise the fire building (especially since hand axes and/or saws will be involved) and the fire lighting! So, please let me know if: a) you will be in town this year on Holy Saturday, and b) you are available to help build the fire, and/or c) you can be on-hand in uniform for at least the start of the Vigil Mass (i.e. you are certainly welcome to stay for the entire Mass, the most elaborate and important Mass of the entire year, particularly if you are an AAD candidate this year and have not already attended/participated in a Catholic Baptism for Chapter 2).