A Summary for New Troop 264 B and G Scouts and Parents

Welcome to Scout Troops 264!  Troop 264 B (boys) consists of approximately 60 scouts ranging in age from 11 to 17 years old (6th to 12th grade).  Scout Troop 264 G (girls) is the girls' counterpart and has approximately 20 scouts. 

Boy Scout Troop 264 (B) was established in 1927, while the newer Troop 264G was established in February 2020.  Both are sponsored by the Norman Price American Legion Post 68.  Mr. Dennis Bogan is the Scoutmaster ot T264B, while Mr. John Delaney is the Scoutmaster of T264G.  Meetings are held at St. John's Episcopal Church on Route 108 in Olney on Monday evenings at 7:30pm.  Troop Committee Meetings (sometimes called Troop Adult Meetings) are open to all parents or guardians of troop scouts and are held on the third Thursday of each month at the Brookeville Academy in Brookeville.  Troops 264 B and G are active troops and plan many activities during the year.

The following information may answer some of the questions that we receive often from new scouts and their parents.  If there is some matter not addressed here, please ask the Senior Patrol Leader (SPL), one of scout the adult leaders, or send your question to connect264@verizon.net.  We will get you an answer.

Contents

Joining Troops 264    Scout Leadership    Adult Leadership    Meeting Types    Patrols    Merit Badges    Rank Advancement

The Signaler (troop newsletter)    Troop E-mails and Facebook    Service Hours    Summer Camp    Fundraising    Older Scouts and High Adventure    More Information

We encourage youth and parents to come visit Troop 264 B or G at a troop meeting.  Visiting provides an opportunity to look over the troop and meet scouts and scouters, and to ask questions.   Past Signaler newsletters give a good picture of the range of activities the troops do.

Troop Dues are presently $105 per year for scouts and $55 for Registered Adults.  For current members, dues are collected in October for the following year.  Those new to Scouts pay a one time $25 new member fee into the Troop Equipment Fund (to help cover the cost of repairing or replacing troop equipment -- tents/stoves/lanterns etc.).  Parents of new scouts must fill out a BSA Youth Application Form and submit it to the Membership Chairperson (Mrs. Virginia Sheikh) for registration with the Council.  Checks should be made payable to “BSA Troop 264” and then given to the Treasurer (Mr. Al Barth).  Parents are encouraged to participate by joining as adult members.  Registering adults must first complete Youth Protection Training online at my.scouting.org.  Training time is about 1 hour and at the end you will print a completion certificate.  Then fill out a BSA Adult Application and submit it to the Membership Chairperson along with a printed copy of the Youth Protection Training completion certificate. . Adult dues are $55 per year per registered adult and the money mainly goes toward the registration costs that the troop must pay to BSA and the National Capital Area Council (NCAC).

The foremost scout leader is the Senior Patrol Leader (SPL).  Scouts elect the SPL and he or she is responsible for administering many troop functions, including the Troop Leadership Committee (TLC).  The SPL chooses assistants to help with duties, and selects other scouts to fill leadership positions such as Den Chiefs and Troop Guides.  We encourage scouts to direct inquiries to the SPL and his staff, this is one of their responsibilities, after all.

Troops 264 are very fortunate to have a large number of adults that assist in many different ways, as trained leaders, merit badge counselors, arranging outings, activities, fundraising, etc.   Here are a few of the Adult Leaders and their roles; these are the people you are most likely to encounter first:

• Dennis Bogan - Scoutmaster, Troop 264B (boys)


• John Delaney - Scoutmaster, Troop 264G (girls)


• Dale Bickel - Assistant Scoutmaster, Signaler Advisor, Communications


• Al Barth – Troops Treasurer


• Virginia Sheikh – Membership Chair (Applications/Transfer/Rechartering)


• Rick Justus – Committee Chairman, Troop 264B


• Helen Justus – Committee Chairman, Troop 264G


• Gary Matyas - Advancement Chair (merit badges and rank advancements)

We encourage adults to join and register with the troop.  There are many ways to help.

Normal meeting time is 7:30 PM, Mondays, at St. John's Episcopal Church in Olney.  Meetings usually last 60 to 90 minutes.  We don't expect every scout to attend every meeting or every scouting activity.  Sports, homework, and other activities can cause conflicts that last for a week or a season.  Come back when you can! 

• Troop Meeting -- the whole troop does activities together, usually including a scout skill presentation and a merit badge presentation by selected patrols.
  
  
• Patrol meeting -- each patrol meets separately with the Patrol Leader (a scout himself) to plan the patrol's participation in troop activities or to work on an agreed-to merit badge.
  
  
• Troop Leadership Committee (TLC) -- the troop patrol leaders sit down with the Senior Patrol Leader (SPL), Assistant SPL(s), and Scoutmaster Bogan or Delaney to discuss upcoming events, address any concerns, and receive pertinent information that the Patrol Leaders are to relay back to the patrol members.  This type of meeting usually occurs on the same night as a Patrol Meeting.
  
  
• Boards of Review (BOR) are conducted for those scouts who are ready to be considered for a rank advancement.  This type of meeting usually occurs on the same night as a Patrol Meeting.
  
  
• Courts of Honor occur three times a year (generally January, June, and September).  Earned merit badges, rank advancements, and other awards are presented to the scouts (and sometimes adults too.)
  

Central to scouting is the concept of a patrol.  In Troop 264B, there are six permanent patrols -- Eagles, Hawks, Vikings, Spartans, Sharks, and Titans -- averaging 6 to 8 scouts each, of all ranks and ages.  Troop 264G currently has two patrols.  There is also a "New Scout" patrol (this year called the "Bearded Dragons") for younger scouts just joining the troop.  The new scout patrol works together on rank requirements up through First Class, with the guidance of an Assistant Scoutmaster and older scouts.  In March of each year, the "new scout" patrol is divided into the permanent patrols, based on the scout's preferences and the troop's need to balance the size of the patrols.

Scouts in the patrols work together toward common goals, such as planning for outings, rank advancement requirements, or a group merit badge. 

Merit badges are a core element of the Scouting program.  Merit badges are little learning units of varying length that provide information about specific subjects or life skills.  A scout must complete a minimum of 21 merit badges for Eagle rank (including 11 required merit badges).  Lists of merit badges available are posted in several places on the Internet, like the U.S. Scouting Service Project at http://usscouts.org/usscouts/meritbadges.asp.  Summer camp is a great place to earn merit badges.

We encourage scouts to earn as many merit badges as they can.  Like some scouts in Troops 264, you might find your career path tomorrow in a merit badge today.

• Each scout must have a blue card.  This is literally a trifold, rectangular blue card on which a counselor will record completion of merit badge requirements.  The scout obtains a blue card from the Scoutmasters Mr. Bogan and Mr. Delaney or Mr. Bickel.  The scout completes his personal and troop information on both sides of the card and gives it to the counselor at the start of the merit badge.  Upon completion, the counselor records the completion and returns 2/3 of the blue card to the scout.  That scout must then turn the 2/3 portion in to the Troop Advancement Chair, Mr. Matyas, for proper recording and so he can obtain the award.  The merit badge is formally presented at a future Court of Honor, but the merit badge is officially complete once Mr. Matyas (Advancement Chair) records it in Scoutbook, BSA's online recordkeeping system.
  
  
• Partial merit badge cards occur when a scout completes some but not all of the requirements.  In that case, the scout may be returned the blue card to hold (don't lose it!) until the remaining requirements can be completed, either with the original counselor or a different counselor.  If a different counselor signs off that last requirement, that counselor also signs that the merit badge itself is complete.
  
  
• Keep in a safe place all the blue card stubs and rank advancement cards that come back at the Court of Honor, the scout will need them all at such time as he stands for Eagle rank.
  
  
• Merit badges don't have to be done in the troop.  There are lots of opportunities to earn merit badges many different places, and the troop notifies scouts of these events as they come to light.  And if you find a merit badge opportunity, share it!
  
  
• Merit Badges can be earned immediately but are not required before Star Rank.  There are a lot of age appropriate, fun merit badges that younger scouts can earn.  Examples include Fire Safety, Art, Fingerprinting, Mammals, and Safety.  These entry-level merit badges will familiarize a new scout with the procedures and expectations for more involved merit badges.

Each scout rank contains a set of skills and activities that must be completed before the scout can advance.  There is not a set schedule for rank advancement, nor do most requirements need to be completed in any particular order.  However, the scout must be able to demonstrate the skill or explain how he or she fulfilled the requirement.  Each scout is responsible for asking to have a requirement signed off when he or she has completed it.  The completed task can be signed off in the scout's handbook by the Scoutmaster or any Assistant Scoutmaster.  Also, where the scout's rank is First Class or less, the task can be signed off by older scouts who have completed First Class rank or higher.

• The scout requests a Scoutmaster Conference when he has completed all the rank requirements.  For the ranks up through First Class, the scout sits down with one of the Assistant Scoutmasters to review the scout's progress (Scoutmaster conference).  This is an opportunity to review the scout's skills and knowledge and find out what he may need to work on, to enhance the probability of a successful Board of Review (BOR).  Scouts who are standing for Star, Life, and Eagle ranks arrange their Scoutmaster conferences with the Scoutmaster, Mr. Bogan (T264B) or Mr. Delaney (T264G).
  
  
• A Board of Review is typically conducted in the third week of each month, for those scouts who have completed their rank requirements and Scoutmaster Conference.  A Board of Review consists of a panel of three adults (and sometimes includes a scout of higher rank) who will ask questions about the skills and activities related to that rank, as well as the scout's experiences with Scouting.  Not all of the adults may be familiar with the scout or his work.  The scout is expected to present himself in full scout uniform, including neckerchief.  Each scout sitting for a Board of Review must bring an adult with him, who will sit on another scout's Board.  In this way we can ensure that we have enough people to cover all the Boards that evening.  Should a scout not pass a Board of Review (it happens), a second board will be scheduled for a later date.  However, this is entirely avoidable -- Be Prepared!

The pinnacle of Scouting is Eagle rank.  Nationally, in 2019, only 8% of scouts made it that far.  But there is ample time to work toward this goal, a scout starting at age 11 has 7 years to complete the requirements before he or she turns 18, and assuming that the scout is inclined to reach this goal.  Troops 264 will make inquiry and assist scouts that are advancing in rank.  Whether Eagle or not, there is much to be gained from the skills and friendships made through Scouting.

The Signaler is Troop 264's monthly newsletter.  It contains information about upcoming events, summaries of past events, a troop calendar, and current information about the troop.  Find it on the Signalers page shortly after the beginning of each month.  Scouts as well as troop adults and parents should be familiar with it.  We encourage troop scouts and parents to contribute articles and photos.

Past issues are helpful for establishing attendance and participation at specific activities, and provide guidance for planning future outings.

All troop-wide e-mails are distributed through our Troop email account which is run by our Assistant Scoutmaster Dale Bickel.  This procedure blocks spam and ensures that the content is safe for the scouts.  The troop e-mail address is connect264@verizon.net.  Please e-mail this address to be added to the troop e-mails. and get reminders when the new Signaler (monthly Troop Newsletter) is available.  We will not distribute this e-mail list.

Troops 264's Facebook page is also available for Troop use.  This is a closed Facebook group open only to troop members and parents/guardians of troop scouts.

The troops participate in recurring and one-time activites for which service hours may be awarded.  There are also individual activites related to Scouting that can result in service hours being awarded.  Scouts may elect to have the hours awarded as SSL (Student Service Learning) hours, or may apply them toward some scouting requirement (for example, a merit badge).

All service hours projects and camping nights must be recorded in the scout's Handbook by the scout himself.  The Signaler can provide a backup record that can be reviewed to verify attendance at specific events.  To the extent possible, activities are also entered into Scoutbook.

Troops 264 attend a week-long summer camp, usually the second or third week in July.  This is an opportunity to earn merit badges, practice swimming, and do outdoor activities including cooking.  It takes the scout away from the familiar comforts of home and challenges him to adapt.  It builds friendships with troop scouts and adults, and teaches the scout to work with others.

Parents are welcome to attend summer camp too, and can come for all or part of the week.  Initial summer camp information is usually posted in the Signaler in February or March.  We strongly encourage scouts to go.  All people attending summer camp must be registered with BSA before they can attend.

The Troops currently have fundraisers during the calendar year.  The profit from each of these fundraisers is divided between the troop and the scout.  The scout's share is used to help reduce the cost of the various campouts and activities the Troop does throughout each year.  This can include High Adventure trips like Seabase.  For example, for selling NCAC Trails End Popcorn (Aug-Nov), the scout earns 28% of the profit to be put toward his scouting activities; if he sells $2500 worth of popcorn, he can also earn an additional FREE week of Summer Camp ($400 Value).  Our Wreath and White House Ornament sales in late fall allows the scout to earn some credit per item sold. 

Fundraising has benefits far beyond raising money for scout functions and keeping dues down.  Done properly, it teaches a scout how to approach people he or she does not know, face to face, and try to persuade them that what he has to offer is desirable.  It also teaches how to handle a negative response gracefully without taking it personally.  These are valuable interpersonal skills the scout will use for a lifetime.

Scouts who are age 14 to 18 are eligible to attend BSA High Adventure trips.  The four nationally run BSA bases are Northern Tier (canoeing in Minnesota and Ontario, Canada), Philmont in New Mexico (remote area backpacking), Seabase in Florida, USVI, or the Bahamas (sailing), and The Bechtel Summit in West Virginia (various activities).  Troops 264 regularly make arrangements for scouts and some adults to attend these locations.  There are many other opportunities within Scouts as well.

Some of our scouts (both boys and girls) have gone on to work in paid summer guide and management positions at Philmont and Northern Tier, after turning 18.  The opportunity is there!

It is not possible to answer all questions in a short document.  However, you may e-mail us at connect264@verizon.net.  Or come to a troop meeting to see us in person!