One of the parents of our new Scouts suggested that I address “What is Troop Committee?”
Troop Committee is the governing organization for the Scout Troop and the Venture Crew (for our older Scouts) and provides the framework that the scouting organization operates under.
Troop Committee meets each month, usually on the 3rd Monday evening. If there is no Troop meeting on the 3th Monday, we move the Troop Committee one week so that we always meet from 7:30 PM until about 9:00 PM during a Troop meeting.
Usually about a dozen adults are present.
Troop committee discusses the money and equipment that we need to provide the program that we provide for Scouts, including the monthly outing, the annual summer camp, and our special outings (this summer we have several Scouts on their way to the 100th Anniversary National Scout Jamboree).
In addition, troop committee provides oversight of how the Troop is carrying out it’s program (are adult leaders being trained?, are scouts advancing?, are we following the rules and filling out the required paperwork?, etc.) Troop committee schedules and coordinates our recognition of Scouts – our Courts of Honor – a few times a year.
As the Scoutmaster, I am responsible to Troop Committee and rely on Troop Committee to be able to conduct a quality program for the Scouts. I attend at least a part of each Troop Committee meeting to report on our activities and answer any questions that Troop Committee may have about our activities.
Parents are always welcome to attend and encouraged to participate, whether by attending a few meeting to observe or to take on (or share) one of the ongoing roles. We are all parents, doing this in our “spare” time, because we value the program and want it to suceed and to be available to as may Scouts as possible.
John Fulton
john@johnfulton.org