Boy Scouts is for boys ages 11-17. Boys 10 years old may join if they have completed the 5th grade or have earned the Arrow of Light award. For more information about Scouting see Be A Scout.
About Troop 1107
Troop 1107 is chartered by St. John's Lutheran Church. The Troop membership includes about 50 Scouts. Ours is a boy-lead Troop which means that the Troop elected Scouts provide overall leadership for Scout activities and Troop adult leaders serve advisory, safety net and logistics roles in the background. The Troop is lead by the Senior Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader, both elected by the Scouts. We have three Patrols, each lead by a Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader. Troop leaders are elected for 6 month terms in March and September.
Troop 1107 meets Monday evenings year-round at 7:00pm at St. John's Lutheran Church. The first Monday of each month is the Senior Patrol Leader meeting where upcoming activities are discussed by the Scout leaders. Quarterly, the Troop holds its Court of Honor ceremony to celebrate Scout achievements over the past quarter and to highlight the Troop's activities.
Our Troop activities include weekend camping trips, high adventure camps, annual summer camp, merit badge opportunities, and community service projects.
Troop 1107 OrganizationCommittee
Our Troop Committee is made up of parents who volunteer to help and who have registered with the BSA. The Committee's job is to ensure that our Troop has the resources we need to support our activities. Committee members receive training from the Colonial District in troop leadership and in youth protection. Among its duties, the Committee manages the money for our program, supports our awards and advancement ceremonies, handles the paperwork between the troop and the BSA Council and doing whatever they can to help the Scoutmaster do his job. The list of committee members and adult troop leaders is available on our secure website.
The Scoutmaster
To our growing roster of the troop's hard-working parts, we now add the key link in the chain - the Scoutmaster. The Scoutmaster is the person who quietly but effectively pulls it all together to get the results we are after: helping boys grow into fine young men with knowledge of duty to self, community, and God. He does this by guiding boys toward understanding. Understanding what - camping skills? No - understanding themselves. He works by training his boy leaders to run the troop, and by managing, training, and supporting his Assistant Scoutmasters in their roles. The Scoutmaster is the one - and only - troop leader who relates closely to each of the other links in the chain of troop operations: The scouts, the junior leaders and the Patrol Leaders' council, the Assistant Scoutmasters, the Troop Committee, and through the committee the chartered organization representative and the chartered organization. The Scoutmaster position is described as follows:
* Train and guide boy leaders to run their troop.
* Work with and through responsible adults to bring Scouting to boys.
* Help boy to grow by encouraging them to learn for themselves.
* Guide boys in planning the troop program.
* Help the troop committee recruit Assistant Scoutmasters.
* Conduct Scoutmaster conferences.
The Assistant Scoutmasters
Assistant Scoutmasters also play a strategic part, for they support the Scoutmaster and share his challenge.
The Patrols
Every Boy Scout Troop is made up of patrols, groupings of 10 to 14 boys who work together as a team. Each patrol elects its own leader. The patrol leaders, with an elected senior patrol leader as their head, form the Patrol Leaders' Council. It is this council's job to plan and run the troop program. Each patrol leader represents his patrol on the council, and interprets to his patrol the plans and decisions the council makes. Patrols also have their own meetings, elect their own officers, and plan and carry out their own patrol activities. This is called the "PATROL METHOD". It is the most important part of the Boy Scout Program.
Senior Patrol Leader
The senior patrol leader (SPL) is the top boy leader in the troop and provides overall Scout leadership in the troop. He leads the Patrol Leaders' Council and, in consultation with the Scoutmaster, appoints other junior leaders and assigns specific responsibilities as needed. He supervises troop meetings. The SPL supervises conduct of the troop meetings assisted by the members of the PLC. The SPL is responsible for supervising PLC preparations for troop meetings. This includes discussions with the members of the PLC several days prior to the meeting to verify planning and preparations will be completed on time. The SPL leads the troop in its activities. He attends and actively participates in troop meetings, camping trips, and so on. He supervises the Assistant Senior Patrol Leaders (ASPLs), and assists with enforcement of discipline at troop activities.
Assistant Senior Patrol Leader
The assistant senior patrol leader (ASPL) fills in for the SPL in his absence. He is also responsible for training and giving direction to the quartermaster, scribe, historian, librarian and instructors.
The patrol leaders (PL) are responsible for giving leadership to the members of their patrols. They are their representation on the patrol leaders' council. The PL is also responsible for holding monthly patrol meetings outside of the regular troop meetings.
Assistant patrol leaders help the PL run the patrol and fill in for him in his absence.