The construction is under way for the new Blue Elk Lodge named after J. D. Hammontree, Recording Medicine Man Blue Elk, the founding Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 282 sponsored by Trinity Episcopal Church in Independence, Missouri. The new building is funded by tribal members contributing monetary donations to the building fund. Everyone’s monetary help is needed and no donation is too small.  As a tribesman and an Eagle Scout of Troop 282, I am challenging all current and past Troop 282 tribal members to dig deep into your pockets to make a monetary contribution to the building fund for the new Blue Elk Lodge. This will show your dedication to our founding Scoutmaster, a true legend in the Tribe Mic-O-Say and in the Boy Scouting program.

For those who did not have the opportunity to know this man, I would like to share his legacy. J. D. walked with a cane, spoke very softly and was the organist for Trinity Episcopal Church.  He was the Scoutmaster of Troop 282 from 1948 until 1969 when he passed away. He walked the hills of Osceola from 1939 to 1969 as an integral part of H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation. It is impossible to know how many lives he touched, influenced and changed during his scouting career. J.D. was a very good listener and anyone could stop him on the trail to talk and he would take the time to sit down and listen. He also had a very good memory and once he met you and knew your name he would never forget it. If you passed him on the trail a year or two later, he would call you by name. He was respected by all the scouts and leaders. As I previously said, he spoke very softly in all settings, only stated his thoughts once and expected his audience to be attentive to the conversation. J.D. Hammontree, Medicine Man Blue, should be remembered by all and I cannot think of a better way to honor him than having the new Blue Elk Lodge named after him.

I am challenging all current and past Troop 282 tribal members to please dig deep into your pockets and make a monetary contribution to the building fund for the new Blue Elk Lodge. If you are a scout and can only afford to contribute a dollar or two, do not feel that your contribution is too small because many small contributions add up to equal a combined large contribution.

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What a great Eagle Project helping UPLIFT. Uplift is a program that helps the homeless. On the evening of May 31, 2018 Eagle Candidate Justin Lee had his Eagle Project at the uplift warehouse. The 13 people that went and took part worked on re-stocking shelfs, cleaning and assisting with preparing care packages for the homeless. It was a great evening and a rewarding evening. Uplift assist approximately 450 homeless people three times a week by going out in the community with four trucks that provide a hot meal, clothing and conversation with the homeless. There was a story told while we were there about uplift being able to put a fourth truck out in the community to help the homeless and how excited many were to be able to do this. But then they all thought about adding a fourth truck and recognized that this meant that the homeless population was growing in Kansas City and this is not a positive aspect.

What a great weekend for the Tribal Celebration June 1, 2 and 3. Those that went had a great time and enjoyed talking about old times and the upcoming summer camp. When we returned from late night at Lone Bear, we did find out about a new ride in camp. It is called the exciting cot ride. Yes one of our attendees decided to ride this new ride and fell out of their tent on their cot. They side it was very exciting but wouldn’t recommend the ride. After this excitement calmed down everyone went to sleep.

We arose on Saturday morning to the song birds of the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation and made our way to breakfast at the Dining Hall where we had a great breakfast then we were off to the daily events. Some of the events were the auction at the Great Hall, the garage sale at the Mic-O-Say Lodge, learning about the history of the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation, the history of the Tribe of Mic-O-Say, taking part in the Chieftains Challenge or just talking to old friends. It was a great day. We had some great BBQ for dinner then it was off to the Chieftain Ceremony. David Charles Chinnery was called by the Council of Chieftains to become the 89th Presiding Chieftain of the Tribe of Mic-O-Say.

It was a great weekend.

My attendance at National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) was extremely educational and fun. We were placed with a patrol of strangers and then sped through forming, storming, norming and performing process (stages of team forming). We showed more enthusiasm and were louder than camp Naish staff and Course B at all meals. We were so loud they put a time limit on when we could do our chants at meals. We also learned different forms of communication and the stages that a team goes through. We learned how to communicate and work together as a team. I would highly recommend this course for anyone eligible. It is not educational it is an experience you will remember for the rest of your life, and not to mention all the new people and friends you’ll make.