Flying Eagle Vet Medicine Merit Badge Day

The Scouts in the Flying Eagle Patrol took the day to work on their Veterinary Medicine merit badge. We worked with Dr. Van Treese and learned a lot about being a veterinarian. We were able to tour the clinic.

Some of us decided that we definitely did not want to become vets.

Thanks to Dr. Van Treese for taking the time to teach us about his job.

Here are some pictures.

(Written by John Michael Reyes - Troop 448 Historian)

Valentine's Day Bake Sale

Today, our troop participated in a bake sale to build up our troop funds. Again, many of our newest scouts came to support the troop. Almost all of our baked goods were sold, and those that were not were donated to a fire station. Thanks to all scouts and families who donated baked goods to support the troop. A special thanks to Mrs. Gonzalez for setting up this fundraiser for the troop.

The photos from this event can be seen here.

(Written by John Michael ~ Troop 448 Historian)

Report to State Parade

This past Saturday our troop attended the Capital Area Council's 60th annual Report to State Parade. Many of our troop's boys, including some of the newest additions to our troop, came to celebrate scouting as it enters its 99th year. 9 of our troop's future and current scouts performed during the parade as part of our troop's band. We had a great time as we marched and played down Congress Avenue. The band had the privilege of performing under the direction of Austin Chief of Police Acevedo before the parade started.

Many thanks to Mr. Faulkner for allowing us to use his truck to drive the band down Congress Ave. Thanks also to Mrs. Wilder and Mr. Read for their support of the parade band as we practiced for this event.

We are already looking forward to next year.

Check out these exciting photos.

(Written by John Michael ~ Troop 448 Historian)

Welcome to Clay G. from Pack 82

Wow, what a great setting for a Cross Over ceremony. Troop 448 members attended Pack 82's cross over at the Texas Disposal System's Exotic Game Ranch. On the drive into the game ranch, we were treated to a great display of exotic animals. Once inside the building, we saw a lot of game mounts from all over the world.

Troop 448 gained one scout from Pack 82. Clay followed his brother's footsteps into our troop. We look forward to having him in our troop. He will fit right in with the other scouts in the troop.

Check out all the great pictures from this event.

(Written by Michael Reyes)

T448 Attends the Thunderbird District Banquet

On January 31, several T448 Scout families attended the Thunderbird District Banquet. The highlight of the banquet was the honoring of our Eagle Scouts, Josh G. and Zach Z. Both participated in the opening and closing flag ceremonies.

Also honored were the 2008 Arrow of Light recipients from the troop who attended the banquet. Those honored were Grayson B., Kyle B., Raphe J., Matt M., John Michael R., and Levi S.

Troop 448 earned the following awards at the banquet:

"Go the Distance Award" for attending all 4 Thunderbird District Events in 2008.

"Go for the Brass Ring Award" for advancing at least one Scout to Eagle Scout.

"National Camping Award" for 30 nights of camping.

We qualified for the "Training Award" for sending adult leaders to training. However, we did not receive the award due to an administrative error.

Way to go Troop 448!

Take a look at the photos from the banquet here.

(Written by Michael Reyes)

Pack 395 Cross Over

Welcome to our new Troop 448 members from Pack 395. We attended the Pack 395 crossover and received six new scouts into Troop 448.

This was a very nice ceremony by the Order of the Arrow members. During their ceremony, the Pack 395 Webelos crossed the bridge into Troop 448.

The troop would like to welcome these scouts to the Troop:

Mikey B., Michael G., J.B. H., Arthur P., Angel R. and John W.

You guys are in for a great ride. Enjoy it.

The Cross Over photos can be seen here.

(Written by Michael Reyes)

Winter Camp LPSR 2008

Dec 26 – 30 Lost Pines Scout Reservation Winter Camp
Seven boys and three adults from Troop 448 attended LPSR Winter Camp the day after Christmas till the following Tuesday, December 30th. They joined Troop 505, 555 and 101 as a combined Troop and stayed as a separate patrol The boys elected Brian McDonald as the Patrol Leader and Matthew Mohondro as his assistant. The patrol was the Flying Penguins and they had a great patrol flag. Our host troop was Troop 505 and Mr. John Weathers acted as the Scoutmaster for this trip. There was a total of 24 boys and six to seven adults in attendance during much of the camp. The boys from our troop attending winter camp were: Grayson Berdofe, Curtis Falkner, Pablo Manceaux, Brian McDonald, Matthew Mohondro, Levi Svrcek, and Matthew Vanhoorsbeek. The adults were Mr. Manceaux, Mr. McDonald, and Mr. Mohondro.
We set up our camp in the Gaskin site at Lost Pines Scout Reservation and participated in a service project for the camp by cutting down the non-native shrubs in the campsite. After an hour of that we made some camp devices using lashings and toured the camp. It was a pleasant day and the night was warm and humid temperatures in the mid 60s. Camp really started on Saturday morning where the boys had two classes in the morning and two in the afternoon and for some another held at 7:30 PM till 9. It threatened rain most of the weekend ending is some very minor showers, but the North wind did finally arrive Sunday giving us some mighty fine temps. Sunday night it dropped to 24.6 at night – Polar Bears did not even stay around. Our water for hot chocolate took a little longer to boil since it was frozen. Monday over night it dropped to 30.1 a little warmer but still cold. We had several guest visit Monday night for our campfire and OA induction. On Tuesday we packed up and headed home and a feeling of both relief and satisfaction. All the boys accomplished a whole lot and many were able to finish their badges while the others are very close to being done. A successful camp and one all should think about for next year.