Troop 53
Miscellaneous Information

Semi-catalogued stuff

Most of this information was/is meant to be printed, either by a leader as a handout, or by the user for his/her own information. Unless otherwise specified, the files are PDF documents (even those that are "zipped") and require that you have Adobe's Acrobat Reader (at least version 4) installed on your computer.

Camping Information

• What personal equipment does my son need on his first campout?
• New Scout Patrol First Campout Plan (5.2 kb) — one way to do it.
• Cold Weather Camping (98.7 kb) — a guide on preparing for, and even enjoying, camping in winter conditions.
• Backpacking Equipment List (11 kb) — actually 2 lists: the "Philmont way", and the "Kevin way". Includes a little commentary on a few critical equipment items. Updated in March 2008 with items from the 2008 Philmont Guidebook to Adventure and a section on where to find/buy some of the items on the list.
• Okaw Valley Council's Local Tour Permit Policy — Almost impossible to find on the council website. Hope this is found by the search engines.

Advancement

• First Year Scout Training Program (34.3kb) — Updated with new 2008 requirements! A syllabus that ASM John Mackin developed to cover all the requirements from Scout to First Class in the Scout's first year. An outstanding resource.
  New section! This syllabus now contains the First Year Scout Summer Camp program below.
• First Year Scout Summer Camp Program (21.4kb) — John has come through again! We have run this program for a number of years but always kind of "winged it". A few notes would be made, a few assignments given, and a rough schedule of events was in somebody's mind. Now it's codified thanks to John. This material is included in the First Year Scout Training Program file above but you can download this if you want just the summer camp part.
• Board of Review Questions (8.8 kb) — The form we use for Boards of Review. Has an extensive list of sample questions.
• Eagle Scout Application tutorial (1034 kb) — Troop 53 has a number of Life Scouts knocking on the Eagle door. This Flash presentation/tutorial was developed to help them enter the correct information on the application. However, it's generic enough for all Life Scouts, whatever Troop they're in. Make sure to read the enclosed readme.txt file!
• Okaw Valley Council Eagle Scout forms and information — This link takes you to the Council's forms page. Look under the "Eagle Information" section.
• Editable Eagle Scout Application (746kb) — Make your application "professional looking" by typing all of your information directly onto the form and then printing it.

Climbing Information

Because of our litigious society, I have hesitated to let the following information loose in the wild. But, in the belief that more knowledge makes for a safer climbing/rappelling experience, they are here for anyone to use. These links will open a new window containing a CYA statement with which you must agree before downloading.

• Participant Guide (47.9 kb) — contains information on safety guidelines, knots, and more.
• Instructor/Assistant Guide (74.5 kb) — information for those assisting in a climbing/rappelling session. Has a lot of information on safe setups, safe area management, management of "emergencies", equipment useage and much more, all packed into 20 pages.

Webelos & New Scout Ceremonies

• The Four Winds bridging ceremony
• Induction Ceremony

Training

• Fast Start Training for new adult leaders or interested parents
• Youth Protection Training is required for all adults attending an OVC Summer Camp or a BSA High Adventure area (e.g. Philmont). However, all adults are highly encouraged to take this course.
• Safe Swim Defense and Safety Afloat

All of the above courses are pretty painless to go through. Each course only takes about a 30-45 minutes to complete. Note that you will have to create an "account" with a Username and a Password. Part of the signup process is to have your "person ID number". That number is available near the bottom of your BSA registration/membership card.

Etc.

• Welcome to Troop 53 (62 kb) — an online version of the "handbook" we give to each new Scout.
• Troop 53 Meeting Plan (4.4 kb) — Blank form that we use to plan our meetings.
• Troop 53 Honor Patrol Program AKA "Bead Program" (4.26 kb) — The guidelines we use...
• Are You Keeping the Promise? (120kb) — a 1993 BSA brochure produced from surveys and interviews of Scouts, Scout-age boys, and Scoutmasters. Its basic premise is "What makes a good troop?"
• World Conservation Award Application (34.1kb) — inspired by a similar form on the Chicago Council's website, this one is much "cleaner" since it is not a scan of a 3^rd generation photocopy. You can type your information directly onto the form, then print it.
• Scholarship information (274 kb) — Lindenwood University has set up a scholarship program for Boy Scouts. Now that they have a campus in Belleville this may be of interest.