Expectations

As members of the troop - both scouts and parents - we have certain expectations for each other. These expectations have to do with information, scout participation, and parent participation.

No. 1. Keep Yourself Informed

For the scouts and parents, we expect you to keep yourself informed about troop meetings, activities, signup deadlines, and other matters. For this purpose, we use:

1. Our great website with calendars, announcements, and so much more
2. Weekly postings as announcements to the website with a reminder by email
3. Emails sent to the entire troop using themountaintroop@googlegroups.com
4. Announcements during Circle at the end of every troop meeting
5. The Phone Tree for reminders and emergencies
6. Patrol Leaders Council (PLC) for top down dissemination of information using the patrol structure
7. Our facebook page with subscriptions

Please take just 10 minutes every week - Sunday evening works best for most - to inform yourself about what is happening in our troop. Parents, come in at the end of meetings to join in Circle. There is no acceptable reason to not know what is going on.

No. 2. Scouts need to participate

Youth today have so many demands on your time. It is hard to fit it all in, isn't it? While school and family always comes first, you have to make hard choices about other priorities. With that said, Scouting requires a certain level of commitment in order for you to have a meaningful scout experience and to advance in rank. Here are our expectations:

1. 6 troop camping trips/outings each year
2. 1 summer camp every year
3. 80% of all troop meetings
4. 1 local Merit Badge College each year
5. Half of all community service projects (including Eagle Projects)
6. One of either Philmont Scout Ranch, Sea Base, or Boundary Waters sometime during your scouting career

No. 3. Parent Participation

With a scout in the troop, it is not unreasonable to ask one or both parents to participate in the troop. It is the parents, after all, that keep this troop running. We are all busy, but we make time for what is important in our lives. There are many many many ways to volunteer your time and energies, some are critical positions that we need have filled, such as:

• Scoutmaster
• Assistant Scoutmasters, we always need more
• Committee Member
• HALO (Head Adult Leader Organizer) for an activity

and other ways are as drivers (if your scout goes, offer to drive) or attending a Committee Meeting or the annual planning meeting, run one of the troop elections, and the list goes on. Just ask your Committee Chairman.

This is not the Scoutmaster's Troop. It is not the Committee's Troop. It is YOUR troop. Please don't just show up. Get involved. Get trained. Take an active role. Your scout will be better off, you will be better off, and our troop will continue to be great. Thank you.

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life,

that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.

Ralph Waldo Emerson