How to run a pre-campout meeting

Troop 66 typically has a pre-campout meeting the Tuesday or Wednesday before we leave on the Friday campout.  We came up with this for several reasons:  1) when we had these during our troop meetings, the boys not going on the campouts were bored.  If you pull the campout group aside, you are disrupting the trainers and trainees that you have setup for the meeting.  2) it’s great to have the information fresh in people’s minds.  We had people forgetting things when the meeting wasn’t close to the campout day.

So on to how to run the meeting

The meeting should be run by the Assistant Senior Patrol Leader with the help of the Food Quartermaster (QM).  We have just come up with this idea, so stay tuned to see how well it works.  We have split the QM duties between equipment and food related items. 

Role of the Food Quartermaster

The food QM should work with the menu parent to organize the menus and make sure we make the most effective use of the food we have left over from previous campouts.

The food QM should bring either the food from previous campouts or a list of what food is available.

The food QM should collect the menus from the various patrols and make sure there are:  1) at least 2 cooked meals and 2) the menus are balanced

The food QM should have a copy of the menu for the Youth Leadership, a copy for the Adult Leadership, and give the original back to the Head Cooks.

What needs to be completed at the pre-campout meeting

1. Need to form Patrols for the Campout.  Each Patrol must have a Patrol Leader and a Patrol QM
2. Need to have menus (including shopping lists) for each patrol.  Food QM must approve the menus for each patrol.  He must also amend the food list depending upon the food we have available to the Troop.
3. Each Patrol will determine Head and Assistant cooks after consulting with Assistant Senior Patrol Leader (ASPL).
4. Detemine tent assignments for each patrol (summer campouts only)
5. Program Patrol must complete a campfire program form.  One patrol will be designated Service Patrol and another the Program Patrol.
6. Service Patrol must develop duty roster for Troop wide duties (e.g. getting water, common meal clean-ups).
7. Each patrol must create their own duty roster

Scouters will work with Senior Patrol Leader (SPL) to

1. Determine SPL, ASPL, and QM for campout
2. Provide guidance on who should be the cooks.  This is determined by who needs the cooking requirements.
3. Assure all of the deliverables listed above are met.

 

How to run a PLC meeting

Before the meeting

1. Wednesday of week before - work with the SPL to make sure the agenda is set for the meeting.  Make sure the agenda for PLC meeting is sent out.
2. Make sure the Senior Patrol Leader (SPL) includes a reminder in the announcements in the Friday meeting before the PLC.
3. Ask the SPL to do a quick poll at the Troop Meeting to make sure every patrol will have a representative at the meeting

 

At the meeting

1. Talk to the SPL before the meeting and make sure he is prepared with the agenda and ready to run the meeting.
2. Make sure that all of the pertinent information is available for the planning of the meetings
   • What is the theme of the month?
   • What Merit Badge(s) will be covered?
   • What advancement requirements are needed?
   • Are there activities for all groups of Scouts (new Scouts, experienced Scouts below First Class, Scouts above First Class not in Merit Badges)?
   • Are there any Quartermaster jobs that need to be accomplished?
3. Make sure the appropriate forms are filled out.  1 page form for each meeting.  3 pages for each campout (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).  Please make sure that forms are legible and that all information is completed.  The SPL (or his designate) needs to be able to run a meeting from these forms.  It is critical that we note who is responsible for each task.  I also find it helpful to put the Service and Program Patrol on the top of each form.
4. After the forms are filled out keep the originals and have copies made for each of the participants.
5. The forms will be uploaded to the web site by the Online Scribe, so he needs a legible copy.

 

Reference & Documents

Sample Agenda for Meeting

1. Stop/Start/Continue - 15 minutes 
2. Review May Meeting Plans - 5 minutes
3. Plan - May 30 meeting, May 16-18 Campout - 40 minutes

Troop Meeting Planning Guide

Campout Planning Guide

Blue & Gold Crossover Ceremony

This past Friday, a select number of Scouts and Scouters attended the Blue & Gold ceremony for Pack 66. The troop paid for our dinner. Several Scouts working on the Communications Merit Badge were responsible for creating the Crossover Ceremony.  [Sample Crossover Ceremony]

The scouts that should attend should be the Den Chiefs for the respective Webelos Dens. Siblings of Cub Scouts who are Boy Scouts should also attend. It is a judgment call who should pay, the family or the troop. I feel it depends on the role the boy has in the ceremony and where the boy is sitting. If he is primarily there as part of the troop and not with his family, the troop should pay. The troop committee can help make this call.

The Crossover ceremony is the official transition point for these Webelos to become Boy Scouts. Typically, they are called up with their parents and they AND their parents cross over a bridge to symbolize the transition from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. We usually have troop neckerchiefs and boy scout slides waiting for them on the other side of the bridge. We take off their Webelos neckerchiefs and slides and hand them to their parents and put on their troop neckerchiefs.

After a few additional words, reciting of the Scout Oath and Law, etc. The ceremony is concluded. One thing I make a point of is letting the new Scouts know that because they are now Boy Scouts they need to help clean up. I make sure the Boy Scouts who are present work with them to break down and clean-up after the Blue & Gold.

This is an important ceremony and care should be taken to make sure the scouts attending look their best.

Mike

Meeting Preparation Checklist

1. Make sure the Patrol Leaders of the Service and Program Patrols know what they need to do to prepare for the meeting (Flags, Games, etc)

2. Make sure the QM knows what he has to do to make sure we have the appropriate instructional materials

3. Make sure you have Instructors lined up (you may want to have your Patrol Leaders let you know how many Scouts are attending Friday’s meeting)

4. Make sure your Troop Guide reminds the Jaguars about the meeting

5. Validate with any MB Counselors that they are attending and how much time they need

6. See if any of the ASMs or Committee have any announcements

Troop Web Master

PLC Responsibilities 

1. Attend the PLC
2. Gather the Meeting Plans and Campout Plans
3. Scan the Meeting and Campout Plans
4. Upload them to the website
5. Update the WIKI to reflect the changes
6. Send an email to all@troop66rf.org to let them know about the change