TROOP 2000
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
American Legion Walter Johnson Post 721
Coralville, Iowa
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this handbook is to convey to the Scouts and parents of Troop 2000, as well as prospective members, information about the Troop's activities, policies, and structure. It is intended as a supplement, not as a replacement, for the Boy Scout Handbook. The Troop observes, and fully supports, the policies and regulations of the Boy Scouts of America as documented in that book and other BSA publications.Benefits of Boy Scouts
There are many benefits but two of the biggest are long-term values and our outdoor program. Scout leaders are positive role models and we help the boys learn leadership and develop self-confidence. Using the Scout Oath and Scout Law, we promote honesty, respect for others, and Duty to God & Country. We support the environment and provide service to others.
Our strong outdoor program is second to none. We will help your son turn off the electronics and get outside. We offer thrilling activities such as camping, canoeing, whitewater rafting, hiking, mountain biking, skiing, zip-lining, fishing, rock climbing, and much more.
About Troop 2000
Founded in 2004, most members of Troop 2000 live in the Wickham, Grant, Penn, Garner and Van Allen neighborhoods. Boys are free to join any Troop regardless of which school they attend. A boy may join once he finishes 5th grade, or turns 11, or earns the Arrow of Light Award in Cub Scouts. Upon turning 18, boys are done as a youth member but may stay in as an adult leader.
ACTIVITIES
Meetings
Weekly Meetings: Most meetings are held at First Christian Church (900 Lincolnshire Place in Coralville) on Sunday nights from 7:00 to about 8:15. Please enter only from the lower level door on the east side of the church. We occasionally take a field trip or meet at different locations. During the summer we often meet at alternate locations. Please check your email and our website calendar for updates to times and locations. There usually is no Troop meeting during the holidays and on the Sundays following a weekend outing. We try to notify each family via the Troop website, email, and facebook, and by announcements at the previous meeting or weekend activity if we will vary from this policy.
Patrol Leader Council (PLC) Meetings: About every other month, we hold a planning meeting for our youth leaders. This takes the place of a full troop meeting and only those Scouts who hold a leadership position need to attend. These positions include Senior Patrol Leader (SPL), Assistant Senior patrol Leader (ASPL), Patrol Leaders, Quartermaster, Scribe, Librarian, Bugler, Order of the Arrow Rep, Den Chief, and several others. For more information about leadership positions, please read the appropriate section in the Scout Handbook.
Court of Honor: About three times a year we hold a Court of Honor (COH) in place of a regular meeting. This is an award ceremony where Scouts receive their rank advancements and other awards. It is customary for families to attend the COH and many bring a snack or drink to share. Once a Scout reaches the rank of Eagle Scout, we hold a special Eagle Court of Honor (ECOH) for him. Both the COH and ECOH are formal events. Scouts will wear their Class A uniform shirt, neckerchief, Scout pants or other dress pants, and dress shoes.
Board of Reviews: As a scout completes requirements and is ready to earn the next rank, they must go through a scoutmaster conference as well as a Board of Review. The Board of Review is made up of three leaders and/or parents who ask the scout about his activities in scouting. The scout is expected to know the Scout Law, Oath, Motto, and Outdoor Code. These are usually done during or after our regular meetings or occasionally at a time and date agreed upon by the board and the scout.
Patrols: Shortly after joining, boys will be assigned to a smaller group called a patrol. A Patrol typically has 6 to 10 members. Each Patrol will elect its own leader and select a Patrol name. Patrols will sometimes compete in a variety of games, contests, challenges, etc. For more information, please read the section in the Scout Handbook that discusses Patrols.
Troop Committee: Every two to three month, we hold a Troop Committee meeting which is made up of leaders, troop committee and any parents who would like to attend. We strongly encourage at least one parent from each family to attend. The more involved this group is, the better our troop will be.
Outings and Outdoor Activities:
Our youth and adult leaders plan our campouts and other outings. We strive to offer a variety of activities throughout the year and Scouts are free to attend as many of our outings as they wish. Many advancement requirements are completed on our campouts.
We generally offer one campout or major outing per month. These include ski trips and winter campouts; biking, hiking, canoeing, rafting, rock climbing, fishing, and visits to museums, state parks, and other attractions. Most of our outings are on weekends and no-school days. In the summer, we go to summer camp for a week plus take an additional “high excitement” trip that lasts approximately one week. It is also possible for small groups to plan a “patrol” campout or outing.
Typical Outdoor Program:
− District Fall Camporee in September or October
− Alternating Winter (February) and Spring (April) District Camporees
− A ski trip to Sundown Ski Resort on MLK Day
-- A weekend ski trip to Minnesota or Wisconsin in January or February
-- A Spring urban trip to places like Omaha, St. Louis, Chicago
− A week at Scout Camp in June
-- A week long high adventure trip during the summer.
-- A few other campouts thrown in throughout the year
Annual BSA Swim Test
For any water activity (swimming, canoeing, rafting, etc.) we must follow the national safety guidelines and administer the BSA swim test. Scouts must take the swim test every year. The results of the swim test will determine if a scout is able to use the deep end of a pool or is required to stay in the shallow end. Only those who fully pass the test and are classified as “swimmers” may participate in canoeing, rafting, SCUBA, etc. Some of our activities may be limited only to swimmers per BSA guidelines. The BSA has a strong position that all scouts should learn to become swimmers. If your son cannot swim, please do him a favor and start him in lessons. It may save his life someday or he may save someone else's life someday.
Swimmer: Jump feet first into water over the head, level off, and begin swimming. Swim 75 yards in a strong manner using one or more of the following strokes: side, breast, trudgen, or crawl. Swim 25 yards using an easy, resting backstroke. The 100 yards must be completed without stops and must include at least one sharp turn. Rest by floating…Long enough to demonstrate ability to rest when exhausted.
Swimmer: Jump feet first into water over the head, level off, and begin swimming. Swim 75 yards in a strong manner using one or more of the following strokes: side, breast, trudgen, or crawl. Swim 25 yards using an easy, resting backstroke. The 100 yards must be completed without stops and must include at least one sharp turn. Rest by floating…Long enough to demonstrate ability to rest when exhausted.
Beginner: Jump feet first into water over the head, level off, and begin swimming. Swim 25 feet on the surface. Stop, turn, and resume swimming back to the starting place.
Non-Swimmer: Did not take the swim test or did not complete either of the swimming tests.
Order of the Arrow:
Scouts are elected to this honor camping society based on their demonstrated camping skills and Scout Spirit (minimum requirements to be considered include 1st Class rank and at least 15 nights camping in the previous 24 months). We support and encourage those Scouts who are elected by their peers to the Order of the Arrow. The OA has a variety of meetings, campouts, and other activities during the year.
MEDICAL FORMS
All Scouts must have a medical form on file and it must be updated annually. Parts A & B are filled out by a parent and are required for all scouts. Part C must be filled out by a doctor and is required for summer camp and any trip over 72 hours. The same form and polices apply to adult leaders and parents attending our trips. The medical form can be downloaded here.
FUND RAISING
Like any other organized program, Boy Scouting requires some money to function. Troop dues and fund-raising activities produce funds for the ongoing expenses incurred by the Troop; this includes purchase and maintenance of camping equipment and other supplies, awards and merit badges, etc. In order to keep those dues down to a reasonable level and to help our Scouts pay their own way, the Troop schedules several fund-raising events each year:
Events that allow Scouts to earn money for themselves:
1. The Troop participates in the Hawkeye Area Council popcorn sale each fall. Each participating Scout has a per item commission credited to his account to use for scouting activities.
2. Parade of Homes in Coralville gives Scouts another opportunity to earn money for their Scouting activities.
3. Wreath sales in the Fall
4. Scouts can put up and take down flags at the North Liberty Avenue of Flags at each of five flag displaying holidays from Memorial Day to Veterans Day.
Scouts and parents are expected to actively participate in fund raising events.
TROOP COMMUNICATIONS
Email:
Troop communication is done mostly electronically. We are doing our best to be paperless. This requires scouts and parents to keep a current email address up to date with the troop. You may want to designate one particular email for scouts as there can occasionally be a large volume of emails at times. It is important that you "whitelist" many of the leaders' email addresses to keep important emails from going directly to your spam box. Without a current email, you may miss important information about upcoming events.
Troop Web Site:
The current website has been developed to assist in communicating our upcoming activities. All information about any upcoming activity that has been planned should be available on the website. Registering for all of our activities is done via google forms. The site is maintained by our leaders and scout webmasters.
Facebook:
The Troop maintains a Facebook group page. We sometimes duplicate some of our announcements there. We do use it for a photo album, so if you would like to see many of the pictures from our events, please request to join the group.
POLICIES
Advancement:
We encourage all Scouts to advance as far as they can in the BSA ranks, and the Troop provides education and support to assist them in doing so. The Troop maintains an active education program for Scouts who have not yet achieved the First Class rank, including training in Scout skills and special emphasis toward advancement at weekend campouts. Boy Scout Summer Camp is also a great opportunity to learn and practice new skills and we encourage every Scout to attend. We firmly believe that success in a Scout's first year is critical to his continuing success and enthusiasm in Scouting.
We follow the policy stated in the Scout Handbook that a Scout's achievement of the Star, Life, and Eagle ranks include the responsibility for planning his own progress through the requirements for those ranks. The maturity necessary to make those plans and set goals, to determine what is needed to carry out their plans and achieve their goals, and to implement those plans (with assistance from the adult leaders when needed) is one of the personality traits and life skills the upper ranks are intended to develop. We assist them, we encourage them, but we do not do it for them.
It is important for Scouts and parents to understand that Boy Scouting differs from Cub Scouting in that only registered adult leaders can pass the Scout on advancement requirements. To advance in rank a Scout must have a conference with the Scoutmaster after completing all of the requirements and then appear before a Board of Review.
Merit Badges:
As a part of the above philosophy, the adult leaders do not normally schedule “merit badge classes” at Troop meetings. A patrol may schedule sessions to work on a particular badge during the patrol meeting portion of a Troop meeting, and we often schedule troop or patrol activities to accomplish particular merit badge requirements which are more effectively done as a group. In those cases, however, there are usually other requirements which each Scout must finish individually. In general, planning and working on badges is the responsibility of each Scout. Our Troop program is geared towards stimulating interest in various merit badge subjects.
NOTE: It is the policy of the Boy Scouts of America and Troop 2000 that Scouts never meet one-on-one with a merit badge counselor. There must always be, at least, one other person (adult leader, parent, another Scout, etc.) present during these meetings.
Service Requirements:
All Scout ranks include a service project requirement. To earn the Star and Life ranks, a Scout must perform at least six hours of service (not benefiting his own Troop) on a project which has been approved by the Scoutmaster. The Eagle Scout requirements include the planning and supervision of a service project. The project must be of substantial benefit to a public or community concern other than Scouting. The project must be of sufficient scope to meet that need, and to measure the Scout's capacity to plan and lead. The planning and leadership requirements distinguish an Eagle project from the just doing-it requirements of lower ranks. Before starting the project, the Eagle candidate must obtain approval for his project from the Scoutmaster, the Troop Committee, and from the District Advancement Chairperson. More details are contained the Life to Eagle link on this website.Leadership:
All Scout ranks above First Class include a leadership requirement. This is probably the most misunderstood requirement, and the most difficult to measure. Simply stated, the Scout must serve actively and satisfactorily in one of the positions listed in the Scout Handbook. Just having spent time in a leadership position does not automatically fulfill this requirement. The Scout must satisfy the Board of Review that he has served actively and well. Every Scout Troop has a number of leadership needs that are important to the success of the troop. A Scout's willingness to meet these needs is just as important as his ability to lead, his Scout Spirit, and his active participation in the activities of the troop. A Scout's leadership is also measured by the example he sets. A Scout who does not wear his uniform to meetings, who disrupts meetings and troop activities, or who cannot be depended upon to do what he says he will do, is not fulfilling the leadership requirement. Some leadership positions are elected by the Troop. Others are appointed by the Senior Patrol Leader and Scoutmaster to assure that all Scouts have the opportunity to obtain leadership experience.STUFF YOU NEED
Uniform: We have two types of uniforms.
“Class A” is the official BSA uniform shirt, worn at our normal weekly meetings and many special events. For normal meetings only the shirt is required. For formal events, we add the neckerchief, pants, etc. Please wear this to all scout meeting during the regular school year.
“Class B” is our Troop T-shirt. We wear these at our summer meetings, PLC meetings, and on some outings. We try to avoid wearing athletic shorts or sweatpants with either uniform. Please wear jeans or cargo shorts unless it is a formal event that requires dress pants.
Boy Scout Handbook: Each boy needs to have a Handbook and write his name inside the front cover. Parents need to read and remove the section dealing preventing abuse. It is important that boys (and parents) read the appropriate sections of the Handbook as they progress through Scouting. Make sure you read the section that deals with the rank you are currently working towards. Also read (and occasionally re-read) the sections dealing with camping, first aid, merit badges, leadership positions, Patrols, etc.
Where to Buy: As a new member you will need to buy a Class A shirt, a few patches, and Boy Scout Handbook. In Iowa City, Fin & Feather has a limited selection of uniforms and scouting equipment. In Cedar Rapids, The Scout Shop located in the BSA Hawkeye Area Council Offices has a good supply of uniforms. The BSA catalog obviously has a complete selection of all scouting equipment, but you do have to pay shipping. Other than shipping, the price is the same from any source. Sometimes the Troop has “experienced” uniforms that have been donated by former Scouts or current Scouts who have outgrown them. You might check this resource before buying something new. We always welcome donated uniforms and equipment. You will also need to buy a “2000” patch and at some point a Troop t-shirt. We sell these items ourselves in our “Troop Store”.
Camping Supplies: We have a list of recommended camping supplies. Please just ask for a copy if we forget to send it to you. Fin & Feather and Scheels will give you a 10% discount on your sleeping bags, backpacks, tents, and other camping equipment if you ask for the Boy Scout discount.
DUES AND FEES
Money Matters
Dues: Our annual dues are $93 ($105 with Boys Life magazine) payable to Troop 2000 which includes the national BSA dues. For scouts who join in the middle of the year, we prorate this. Dues for the following year and any scoutbucks negative balances are due by December 1st in order to recharter with the Troop.
There are additional fees for most of our campouts and other outings. You may pay for outings one at a time as they occur, or you may prefer to deposit a larger amount to cover several future outings.
Deadlines: Once a deadline has passed for an event, there are no refunds unless a scout takes the place of the scout who has cancelled. This applies to adults as well.
Scoutbucks: One of the values we teach is that Scouts should help pay their own way. We offer a variety of fundraisers that give Scouts the opportunity to earn Scoutbucks. Fundraisers also provide the troop with the funds it needs to operate each year and we encourage all Scouts to participate. We track and hold the funds and boys are free to use them for any of our outings or activities. Scouts may also contribute funds (from lawn mowing, jobs, etc.) to their account.Scoutbuck Accounts and Negative Balances
a.Each member (or same family members) of Troop 2000 shall be assigned an individual custodial Scoutbucks Account.b.All payments received by the Troop from a member are applied to that member’s Scoutbucks Account.
c.Funds earned in Unit-Money Earning Projects will be paid to the Troop account for the activity and appropriate payments will be made to participating members’ Scoutbucks Accounts in a manner determined by the Troop Committee.
d.Funds may not be transferred between Scout Accounts without approval of the Troop Committee.
e.If a payment to be made from a Scoutbucks Account to a Troop account (Registration, outings, MBUs, campouts, Summer Camp, etc…) would result in a negative balance in the Scoutbucks Account, that payment will not be made.
f.Concerning Troop Activities - Only Members that have had a sufficient payment, as determined by the Troop Committee, made from their Scout Account to the corresponding Troop account for the activity will be permitted to participate in that activity.
g.Concerning Troop Membership – Only Members that have had a sufficient payment, as determined by the Troop Committee, made from their Scout Account to the Troop Registration account by December 1st of the current year will have their Membership in Troop 2000 renewed.
h.Concerning Troop Subsidy to Members – The Troop Committee may determine to subsidize the payment required in part or in full for a Member unable to make the appropriate payment from their Scout Account with no terms of repayment.
i.Any account for a member that leaves the Troop and carries a negative balance will be paid in full by the Troop to bring the account to zero, and will be noted by the Troop Treasurer to be paid in full at any future point that the member would seek to rejoin the Troop.
j. Any member that has a positive balance that leaves the Troop or ages out will forfeit the positive balance to the Troop unless another family member is in the Troop or they stay on as an adult leader. If another family member is in the troop, they will get the remaining balance in their account. The exception to this is if there were enough cash deposits (outside of fund raising). Then the remaining balance can be refunded (up to the amount of previous cash deposits).
Travel Expense Reimbursement:
Mileage will be paid to all drivers who provide transportation to Scouting events when the drive is more than 100 miles each way. Mileage is to be paid only to those drivers who are needed to transport Scouts.Food Expense Reimbursement:
Food costs for campouts are shared by participants. A scout designated by his patrol during planning for the outing will purchase the food for his patrol (usually 5-8 scouts). A receipt should then be submitted to the Troop Treasurer for reimbursement. We have found the food costs average $5.00 per meal. Please help your scout stay within this limit by assisting him with the shopping duties.WHAT WE ASK OF PARENTS
As a parent of a Scout, you need to monitor your son’s progress and encourage his participation. Make sure your son attends meetings on a regular basis and attends the outings that make sense. You will be given an account to access Scoutbook. Please pay attention to your son's progress and review him. Remind your son to read his Scout Handbook and work on his merit badge and rank requirements. Participation in our service projects and fundraisers is essential.We recognize that conflicts with other activities are common and we hope you will give Scouting equal priority. We ask that you refrain from taking away a Scouting activity as punishment for poor grades or behavior elsewhere. For us to work with your son and achieve the goals of Scouting, he needs to be present.
Scouting is family friendly and parents are welcome to attend all meetings and outings. It is customary for families to attend our Court of Honors and Eagle Court of Honors. Siblings may attend some of our campouts so long as a parent also attends. We encourage parents to be involved on the Troop committee and assist in the operation of the troop in any way they can. We frequently need adult drivers for our outings. We can always use additional Assistant Scoutmasters and we welcome the participation of parents who have skills or expertise they can share. Please note that smoking and alcohol are not allowed at any Scouting activity.
Adult Leadership:
Troop 2000 strongly supports the BSA position that the success of a Troop is largely dependent on the involvement of the parents of Scouts on the Troop Committee, as Scoutmasters and as Merit Badge Counselors. The Troop Committee is our executive board. They provide guidance to the Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmasters, help determine the direction of the Troop, serve as leaders and assistants on various subcommittees and activities and provide essential administrative support to the Troop. ANY AND ALL PARENTS ARE WELCOME TO SERVE ON OUR TROOP COMMITTEE, as well as adult former Scouts and other interested adult volunteers. We also encourage parents to attend our committee meetings whenever they like. The Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmasters are the men and women appointed to deliver the Scouting program directly to the Scouts.Merit Badge Counselors are adults who can actually teach Scouts the skills and knowledge required for the wide variety of merit badges available. These range from Computers to Veterinary Science and Agribusiness to Woodcarving. Scouting isn't only knots and first aid. Any adult can help the Troop in this capacity. Counseling for a merit badge only requires a special skill or base of knowledge in a specific topic that might have been developed from one's own training, education, occupation or hobby. Please let the Scoutmaster, Chairperson or Advancement Chairperson know if you are interested in being a Merit Badge Counselor.
