ATTENTION ALL BOY SCOUTS AND THEIR PARENTS!  Please plan to attend the Fall 2009 Court of Honor Banquet and Ceremony           What:   Potluck Dinner** followed by Court of Honor Award Ceremony           When:   Tuesday, September 29, 2009                       7:00 Banquet, 7:30 Ceremony           Where:  Ministries Hall For those of you who are new to Boy Scouts, the Court of Honor is a very special ceremony in which the scouts are recognized for their achievements and presented with advancements in rank, and Merit Badges.  Scouts and their parents should make every effort to attend, as we only hold this ceremony twice a year.  Siblings and other family members are welcome! **Please bring a potluck dish to share.  The quantity should be sufficient to feed your family members plus 3-4 boys.  Please plan to send a dish even if only your son will attend, to ensure we have enough food for all -- these growing boys are hungary!  We look forward to seeing all scouts and their parents on September 29th.

Update 1300:   Contact has been established!  

Just heard from Mike Spetko.  He called from the direct line of Bissett Base Camp.  Just know all are safe and finally homeward bound. If you hear from anyone, please respond to all and let us know what you have heard. It helps makes us all feel connected.  Cell phones may not be working there so it may be 4-6 hours before you get a personal call. At the time of the call,  Mike was the only one transported due to the fact they wanted to get the group leaders out to start making arrangements to get everyone home. The others are being flown out as soon as the float planes get to the site.. 

The plan at the moment is for the group to stay at a hotel in Winnipeg this evening in order to make a very early flight tomorrow.  No word on additional fees, etc.  Hopefully, these guys will all look so pitiful no one won’t charge them for anything and feed them dinner, too!  

Thanks to Mrs. Stokes, United is aware of the situation and has reserved seats for our entire group on flight 6757 out of Winnipeg at 0651 in the morning connecting to flight 554 out of Chicago arriving in Atlanta at 4:14 tomorrow afternoon.  The flight is due to arrive at gate T13 so the group will not be coming up the escalators. If yesterday was any indication, baggage will come to carousel 5.

 In order to meet the group when they come out, go to the North Terminal as far left as you can to the glass wall in front of the American Airlines ticket counter.  This is where the arriving passengers will come through.  Fortunately, the time from arrival and when they come out is substantially shortened since they don’t have to ride the train and come up the escalators.  Also, track the flight in case it arrives early or there are any gate changes.   

The flight was 20 minutes early yesterday.  Here is a good link to get updates to your phone or blackberry with notifications.  It is more accurate than the United flight notification.  http://www.flighttracker.com/

Mrs. Stokes and I will stay in contact with you all as final arrangements are made.  Please call me if you think of anything else. 

Carol

Due to the inclement weather of the last 3 days, NTier has approximately 65 men/5 Scout Troops to transport from Scout Lake to base camp. They have added an extra float plane to their fleet of two making a total of three aircraft.  Even with that it will take two trips to evacuate all 5 troops. 

 The plan is to have everyone back to base by 2 pm at which time they can clean up and call home to reassure us all they are alive, well, ready for a home cooked meal and real sheets in a real bed. 

 It is a 4 hour driving trip to Winnipeg airport after they are loaded in the 2 rental vans (which will have to be returned).

 According to my airline husband, the flight schedules back to Atlanta most likely will be on a “priority standby” status without much of a rebooking fee, if any. Realistically, looking at the United flight schedule, it may be tomorrow before they all arrive in Atlanta, but we can always hope for something different. Flights to Chicago in order to make Atlanta connections are rare after 5:40 pm.

 Important for us all to remember is the experience and confidence gained by any situation like this. Our boys will be experts on perseverance and patience (hopefully).

  I can’t wait to hear about the perils, bears, mosquitoes, MRE’s and every single experience of the last eleven days growing to Tall Tale equivalence over the journey home.

 We will keep everyone posted on developments as they arise.  Enjoy your day! Don’t hesitate to call my cell anytime 770-330-9708.

 Carol D.