Adult Leadership

We welcome and encourage active parent participation to ensure that we can deliver a wide range of activities and experiences. Leading a troop is a group effort and your involvement will greatly enhance the experience for our scouts. Please contact our Troop Committee chair to learn about areas where we could use your help.

All adult leadership roles require that the adult be registered with Scouting America, which involves:

• filling out an adult application & background check authorization,
• taking online Safeguarding Youth training,
• submitting fingerprints via Live Scan,
• passing the background check, and
• paying the registration fee.

Adult leadership roles include the following:

1. Lead Outings

Two registerd adult leaders are required for all outings and activities. For any activity that includes girls, a registered female adult must be present. The adult leaders aren't actually the leaders on the outing (the scouts are), but the adults make the logistical arrangements before the outing, and during the outing they provide support to the scouts and make sure the outing is conducted safely. The adult leaders collect an activity consent form from each person attending the outing. Adult leaders also take Scouting America online training in topics appropriate for the outing, such as Hazardous Weather.

2. Be a Merit Badge Counselor

Merit badge counselors work with scouts on merit badges. Take a look at the 135+ merit badges and their requirements (see scouting.org or usscouts.org) and select the merit badges you'd like to be a counselor for. You don't need to be the world's leading authority in the subject, just be sufficiently knowledgeable. The more counselors the troop has, the easier it is for our scouts to earn merit badges. To become a merit badge counselor, turn in your Merit Badge Counselor Application to the troop's merit badge coordinator and take thethe online Merit Badge Counselor training.

3. Serve as Scoutmaster or Assistant Scoutmaster

The scoutmaster and assistant scoutmasters work directly with the scouts, helping the scouts run the troop. They are appointed to those positions by the Troop Committee and they have to complete special training given by Council.

4. Be a Member of the Troop Committee

The Troop Committee is the troop's board of directors, and generally meets once a month. The Committee sets policy, approves overnight outings and troop expenditures, appoints the scoutmasters and assistant scoutmasters, reviews proposed Eagle Scout projects, and provides adults for boards of review. The Committee elects its chair and the troop treasurer, appoints a secretary and a liaison to JPL, and appoints other positions as desired. Parents of scouts may sit in on Committee meetings even if they are not members. To become a member of the Troop Committee you must take the online "Troop Committee Challenge" class.

5. Take Wood Badge Leadership Training

Wood Badge is advanced leadership training for adults, typically offered annually by Council. Learn about Wood Badge from any of the troop's Wood Badge graduates:

* Course Leader
* * Instructor