Troop Elections (2015)

Scouts, Scouters & Parents,

During our last meeting, we elected our next Senior Patrol and Patrol Leaders who will be officially installed at COH. They will assume their new duties on 10-06-15. I am very proud of how the boys handled the election and how the nominees presented themselves. Before I get to the results I want to share a couple of important points. Scouting is intended for the Troop to be “boy led.” I think this really equates to “boy led” and adult facilitated. My job, as well as the other adult leaders, is to teach, guide, prod and encourage the boys to take on these leadership roles and manage the problems and challenges associated. This involves recognizing priorities and setting goals and objectives. We as parents and leaders must keep this in mind as the troop exists because of the boys, and always remember this is their troop.

A quick recap of how we handled the elections is in order. First, I had the boys list what they felt were the most important qualities of their leadership. We also discussed the minimum participation requirements, as it is no secret that many of our Scouts have other interests and obligations. The Scouts decided as a troop that each person elected as SPL, ASPL and PL’s will maintain 2/3’s participation at all meetings, camping trips and day hikes or they can be removed from that leadership role and placed in a different role not involving Senior Patrol or Patrol Leader positions. Qualities the Scouts wanted in their leadership included:

• Communication (making sure the message gets out)
• Integrity
• Follow-thru
• Knowledge, skills and abilities (it’s hard to teach something you don’t know)
• Loyalty (If you are in leadership, you need to be there!)
• Scout Law

We then opened up the floor and the Scouts were able to nominate Star rank and higher for Senior Patrol, and First Class and higher for Patrol Leader. Each nominee, if accepted, gave a 60-second speech as to why they should be elected. The nominees were then posed questions by members of the troop that they each had to answer. I give a huge amount of credit to all the Scouts as the questions were direct, but thoughtful, and reflected a genuine sense of concern about maintaining a healthy troop. Each nominee obviously answered the question(s) honestly and openly. It is yet another reflection of their camaraderie and mutual respect for each other. It was a great process to watch, and again I am very proud of all the Scouts.

I would like to congratulate our new Senior Patrol and Patrol Leaders!

SENIOR PATROL

• Ryan B.- Senior Patrol Leader
• Christian S. – Asst. Senior Patrol Leader
• Matthew P. – Asst. Senior Patrol Leader
• Ishaan C. – Asst. Senior Patrol Leader

PATROL LEADERS

• Tyler M.
• Samuel P.
• Adam P.
• Colin S.

In the next couple of weeks we will be shuffling the patrols around to balance out age and experience. All remaining First Class and higher Scouts will receive or continue in a position of leadership.

I also want to congratulate Carlos G. and Adam B. as they will both become Junior Assistant Scoutmasters in the next couple of weeks. They have both been very active in the troop and I have relied on them heavily for the past couple of years.

We will have a Patrol Leader Council on 10-06-15 at 615 PM to start planning and organizing for the months of October and November.

One last note, next Tuesday is your last chance to have a Scoutmaster Conference so you (the Scout) need to call me after you check with Mr. Suematsu to confirm your eligibility.

In closing, WE ARE TROOP 486, and our last meeting is another reason why!

Warm regards,

Mr. Burnside