BSA Troop 69 Information, Facts, Myths, and Other Stuff You May Want to Know A Primer for Scouts and Parents Compiled March 2002 revised 10/2003, 1/2004 1 of 45 Boy Scout Troop 69 Information for New Scouts and Parents The information on these pages is intended to help new and “old” Scouts and parents learn about our Troop and the Boy Scout program in general. If you have a question and do not find the answer here, please let us know by using one of the comment links. You can email me at [email protected] The most basic information is in our Troop Handbook. This is intended for both Scouts and parents and should answer many questions. A puzzling thing to new members is always the Scouting lingo or acronyms. You will have to forgive us... it becomes second nature after a while and we forget we are even using it. Here is a general glossary of Scouting terms to help you figure out what we mean. We have a few other local ones in our own troop glossary. People always are anxious about purchasing equipment. Our troop gear guide will help you to figure out what you need, and when. I would like to thank Troop 70, 61, and 575 for their useful information and web sites as sources of some this information. 2 of 45 Table of Contents BOY SCOUT TROOP 69 ................................................................................................ 2 INFORMATION FOR NEW SCOUTS AND PARENTS ............................................ 2 BOY SCOUT TROOP 69 ABOUT OUR TROOP & TROOP PHILOSOPHY.............. 5 WELCOME TO TROOP 69........................................................................................... 7 WHAT ARE THE BOY SCOUTS?................................................................................ 7 TROOP ORGANIZATION ............................................................................................ 9 PARENT INVOLVEMENT................................................................................................... 9 TROOP MEETINGS ......................................................................................................... 11 TROOP COMMUNICATION.............................................................................................. 11 WEBSITES ..................................................................................................................... 11 NEWSLETTERS .............................................................................................................. 11 EMAIL........................................................................................................................... 11 UNIFORM...................................................................................................................... 13 TROOP RULES (CODE OF CONDUCT)................................................................... 14 ACTIVITIES .................................................................................................................. 14 TROOP CALENDAR.................................................................................................... 14 TROOP FINANCES...................................................................................................... 15 TROOP CAMPING....................................................................................................... 15 TROOP & SCOUT EQUIPMENT ....................................................................................... 16 For every outdoor activity, in a daypack or waistpack:........................................... 16 Camping Equipment................................................................................................. 17 A GOOD IDEA IS TO LABEL EVERYTHING WITH YOUR NAME....................... 17 Backpacking............................................................................................................. 17 ADVANCEMENT.......................................................................................................... 18 ADVANCEMENT THROUGH FIRST CLASS ....................................................................... 19 ADVANCEMENT FROM FIRST CLASS TO EAGLE.............................................................. 19 SCOUTMASTER CONFERENCE ........................................................................................ 20 BOARD OF REVIEW........................................................................................................ 20 PRESENTATION OF BADGES ........................................................................................... 20 REVISION HISTORY .................................................................................................. 21 APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY........................................................................................ 22 LOCAL SCOUTING TERMS...................................................................................... 22 3 of 45 APPENDIX B: TROOP CALENDAR (THIS WILL BE CHANGED- NEW CALENDAR).................................................................................................................. 23 TROOP 69 EVENTS SCHEDULE 2003-2004..................................................................... 23 APPENDIX C: TROOP & PATROL JOB DESCRIPTIONS................................... 24 TROOP 69 JR. LEADER OFFICE DESCRIPTIONS ............................................................... 24 APPENDIX D: PLANNING A CAMPING TRIP FOR TROOP 69: ....................... 34 Guide to planning a successful Boy Scout Camping trip ......................................... 34 APPENDIX E: SCOUTING INTERNET SOURCES ............................................... 36 BOY SCOUT TROOP 69 - SCOUTING WEB SITES .............................................. 36 BOY SCOUT TROOP 69 .................................................................................................. 36 SCOUTING RESOURCES ON THE INTERNET ..................................................... 36 EMAIL LISTS ................................................................................................................. 36 SCOUTS-L ............................................................................................................... 36 BOWLINE.ORG ....................................................................................................... 37 Other Lists................................................................................................................ 37 WORLD WIDE WEB....................................................................................................... 38 APPENDIX F: TROOP PERMISSION FORM......................................................... 40 TROOP 69 PERMISSION FORM........................................................................................ 40 [Enter event name here.].......................................................................................... 40 APPENDIX G: CAMPING GEAR LISTS.................................................................. 41 APPENDIX H: CAMP OUT / ACTIVITY SUMMARY & CHECKLIST ............... 43 APPENDIX I: MISSION STATEMENT REVISION MARCH 2003 ....................... 44 APPENDIX J: TROOP PHILOSOPY #2…………………………………………….44 4 of 45 Boy Scout Troop 69 About our Troop & Troop Philosophy Boy Scout Troop 69 has a standard of excellence and commitment to community service. Currently, a troop of 25 scouts, we are chartered to Tri-City Elks in Louisville, Colorado. Active in the Boulder County area since the 1940's (chartered in 1942), many of Louisville's citizens have been members at one time or another. We have won numerous awards over the years such as Freez-o-ree, Klondike, Scout Show, & Arapahoe Rendezvous. Recent Awards Year Winners-Scout Cooking contest, Red Ribbon Campsite Award (Oct Arapahoe Rendezvous 2003) Boy Scout Honor Unit 2002-2003 Quality Unit Award 1990-2003 Camp Cedars, NEB Troop Spirit Award (June 2003) 60 Teams started, 6 finished- troop 69 had 2 of the finishing teams. Klondike Pirate Patrol won 3rd Place in their division (March 2003) Arapahoe Rendezvous Top Troop Overall Award (Oct 2002) Scout Show Best Slide Show 2001, 2003 NCAR Greenie Award Finalist 2002,2003 Wm P Hornaday Medal Nominations and award applications for troop and scouts (2003) Standard of Excellence From 1994 to 2003, we will have had about 150 young men join Troop 69 and produced 20 Eagle Scouts. This means that about 12-15% of our troop membership reach Eagle rank, well above the 3% national average and considerably higher than the Eagle attainment rate of Scout groups in South Boulder County. At present, the troop has scouts that range in age from ten to sixteen. Currently, we have 3 Eagle, 4 Life, 2 Star, 7 First Class, 5 Second Class , 2 Tenderfoot and 3 Scout ranks. We are a Scout-run troop; Scouts plan our yearly calendar and most troop activities. We also have a high participation level of adults & parents in our troop with 8 trained leaders, 3 climbing instructors, 2 high adventure coordinators, and many dedicated moms & dads that come along to "relive 2nd childhoods"! Spirit of Adventure Possessing an active outdoor program, we camp outdoors on a year-round basis. Yes, even in the winter with 4-6 nights over the course of a typical cold season. We completed 25 nights of camping in 2002, did 30 in 2003, and have about 35 planned in 2004. In addition, we do several day activities during the course of the year. We participate in the Arapahoe District Rendezvous and Klondike, many of the Cub Day Camps, summer camp and went rafting on the Colorado River. We have been to 5 out of state camps in the last 5 years, attended