Boy-Led

When Lord Baden-Powell conceived the idea of Boy Scouts over one century ago on Brownsea Island, he envisioned a program that put boys in command of making their own decisions. Over that time, some troops have moved away from this belief and have an adult-led Boy Scout troop. Parents appreciate our troop’s opportunities for their son to lead a group of boys, whether it is a patrol or the whole troop. Our troop is a boy-led troop with adult supervision. What exactly does that mean?

• Meetings are run by the senior patrol leader (SPL) or an assistant senior patrol leader (ASPL).
• The junior leaders plan monthly activities and trips in late August.
• Meals are planned by the Scouts. These meals are then purchased beforehand and made by the Scouts as well.
• Campouts follow the patrol method. (This means that boys in the same patrol sleep, eat, and go to places in groups together).
• All leaders are elected by the Scouts.

How is the troop supervised by adults?

• Adults provide transportation and extra eyes for the senior patrol leader.
• Adults handle all funds, insurance, and medical records.
• When the SPL has a question, he will turn to one of the many BSA certified adult leaders.
• Meetings are supervised by one Scoutmaster and four assistants for safety.
• Adults sit in on the junior leaders' meetings; however, they have no power to vote. Adults are simply there to act as mentors and advisors on planning meetings and other events. The final decision is made by the junior leaders.
• Parents that are Youth Protection trained by the BSA may attend campouts. This must be renewed every two years.

In our program, the Scouts, adult leaders, and parents all work together to make the program the best it can be. It takes the cooperation and work of all three groups to provide everyone the best experience possible. The SPL represents the Scouts, the Scoutmaster represents the adult leaders and the Boy Scout program, and the parents represent themselves on the troop committee. Troop 85 is a family of Scouts, and we come together to acknowledge the achievements of Scouts, adult leaders, and parents two to three times a year at our courts of honor.

The parents are asked to volunteer via Evite. Adults assist the uniformed, trained leaders such as our Scoutmaster to provide a well-organized Scouting program. The best way to describe it is that the adults are there to transport the Scouts, supervise them, and make sure that nothing bad happens; however, the boys still run the troop.