About the Annual Troop Parent Meeting
This week is our Troop PLC and Committee meeting and next week is our annual Troop parent meeting. Every year we try to get as many parents, whether Committee members or not, together in a room to try to figure out how we can help our youth carry out their ideas.
Support Youth Plans
So at the Patrol Leaders Council, our youth leaders will decide where they want to go camping for the coming year and what sort of activities they would like to do. Then, at the parent meeting, our Committee Chair will enlist the parents’ help to try to help the youth carry out their plan. We will need adults to act as advisors to our campmasters and help with their specialized skills.
Recruit Committee Members
Our Committee Chair will also be trying to recruit more Committee members at the troop parent meeting. Several important Committee positions, like Secretary and Quartermaster Advisor, are open. And, like many Troops, we can always use additional Assistant Scoutmasters.
Budget
Finally, the budget will be presented to the parents and we will talk about things like dues, turning receipts in on time, etc. Hopefully, this part of the meeting won’t turn into a policy debate. That is what the Committee meeting is for.
Turnout at these meetings can be spotty. But if we could get 75% of our families represented at the troop parent meeting, I think we’d have the year off to a good start.
What Does a Scouts BSA Troop Committee Do?
In a troop committee, committee members provide the support and resources which the youth leaders of the troop need to carry out their ideas.
How Can You Have a Youth Led Troop When the Scouts Are All New?
A reader asks about being youth-led when all of the Scouts have no previous experience. “The girls have tried, but without experienced scouts in leadership positions to model how to plan a scouting year, run troop meetings or plan a trip, and troop trainers to instruct new scouts in camping skills, like established troops have, things have come to a stand still. “
Annual Planning Conference
Long-term planning happens at the annual planning conference, typically held in late spring or early summer, as soon as possible after school, community, and council calendars have been published.
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