Scouts BSA Troop 457 > Articles by: Troop 457
CategoriesAnnouncements

Troop 457 earns Gold Journey to Excellence Award

Troop 457

Journey to Excellence is the Boy Scouts of America program to help units to plan, monitor and evaluate their performance and their ability to serve youth. There are specific criteria for the unit to plan and accomplish. These standards are reviewed each year and revised standards are published.

Troop 457 is pleased to announce we have earned the GOLD Journey to Excellence Award for 2022 (the highest possible rating).

View our JTE Scorecard

ITEMS OF NOTE

  • The Troop achieved a top score in 4 of the 11 objectives (Planning & Budget, Building Scouting, Service Projects, Patrol Method)
  • We expect to achieve gold in the 3 silver objectives
    • Webelos-to-Scout transition: Needed to have a Den Chief.  Two were selected in our latest election
    • Short Term Camping: We hope to have short term camping opportunities 10 of the 12 months this year.  This will be dependent on Scout interest and Parent availability.
    • Leadership & Family Engagement: We missed gold because we only had 2 Courts of Honor in 2022. We plan to hold 3 Courts of Honor in 2023.
  • Our Bronze rated opportunities are primarily related to removing inactive Scouts from our charter.  We hope these changes will enable us to achieve silver or gold status in 2023.
  • Finally, there is only one objective that we did not score on in 2023: Advancement.  In order to achieve Bronze, 40% of our Scouts must advance at least one rank during the year.  Only 23% of our registered Scouts advanced in 2022 (34% if we excluded our inactive members).  During 2023, we will focus on increasing this percentage.
CategoriesEvents Car Camping

Ski Trip (January 28, 2023)

Troop 457

We’re in the process of finalizing a Troop ski trip at Peak’n Peak.  The Troop will depart ELC on Saturday, January 28 for a day of skiing and snow tubing. Based on the results of our survey, we’re also exploring options for participants to spend the night near by for a camping night.  Be sure to RSVP using the survey below even if you do not plan on attending the event.

[contact-form-7 id=”11044″ title=”January 2023 Ski Trip RSVP”]
CategoriesEvents Car Camping

Thanksgiving Feast (November 4-6, 2022)

Troop 457

The Troop’s annual Thanksgiving Feast campout is coming!

Join us for the weekend of November 4 – 6, 2022 or just for the meal on Saturday evening.  Additional details will be posted in TroopTrack the week of October 24.

You must RSVP in TroopTrack by this Tuesday, October 25, to reserve your spot for this event. 

There are two options to RSVP:

  • Dinner Only: You will only be attending dinner on Saturday evening.
  • Weekend Campout:  You will be attending all (or part) of the weekend’s activities including Dinner on Saturday.
Weekend Campout
Dinner Only
CategoriesEvents

Troop Elections (November 8, 2022)

Troop 457
Troop 457 will hold its semi-annual elections on Tuesday, November 8.  All Scouts in the Troop should submit the form below to declare :
  • Whether they intend on running for a Troop Position
  • What position(s) they intend to run for
Scouts must declare their candidacy by Tuesday, November 1.
Learn More in the Leadership Hub

Declare Your Candidacy For the November 2022 Elections

  1. Scouts cannot directly run for Assistant positions.  These positions are filled by the Scout with the second highest vote count in the primary position’s election.
  2. Per the Scout’s BSA Handbook, Assistant Patrol Leader is not an approved position of responsibility for the Star, Life, or Eagle Ranks.  The Bugler position is not an approved position of responsibility for the Eagle Rank.
  3. Scout must have earned or working to earn the Bugling Merit Badge to be eligible for this position.
  4. Scout must be an Ordeal member of the Order of the Arrow to be eligible for this position.
CategoriesAnnouncements

Our TroopTrack URL is Changing!

Troop 457

Beginning the week of October 24, the URL we use to access TroopTrack is changing to:

https://Troop457Zelie.TroopTrack.com

This change is intended to align our TroopTrack URL with our website and new Social Media presence.  The Troop has also launched new, public-facing social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube which will be used for community outreach and recruiting purposes.  (For Youth Protection purposes, we will not post photos/video of our Scouts to these sites without parental permission.)

Facebook Opal-icon-instagram Youtube Globe

You are also invited to join our (soon to be private) Facebook Group where you can share photos from Troop events to our current members and alumni.

This change will also allow us to create custom email addresses that will automatically forward emails to the appropriate individuals in the Troop.  Need to send a message to your patrol or schedule a Scoutmaster Conference or Board of Review?  There will be unique email addresses setup to allow you to do just that.

Preparing for the Change

An email will be sent to all members from TroopTrack once the change is completed.  At that time, you should:

  • Update any links / bookmarks you have setup on your personal devices.
  • Add @Troop457Zelie.TroopTrack.com and @Troop457Zelie.org domains to your contacts / email whitelist so it is not treated as spam.
  • Relink the Troop Calendar to your personal devices (if you had previously subscribed to the).

We do not know if the old TroopTrack URL will redirect to the new URL after the transition.

CategoriesAnnouncements

Volunteers Needed to Organize 2023 Activities!

Troop 457

Many hands make light work.

The Troop has at least one event planned every month (in addition to our weekly Troop Meetings).  While our Scouts do much of the planning and coordination for these activities, they still need help from adults to be successful. 

We ask that parents signing up to help our Scouts coordinate one event per year.  Our goal is to have at least two adults assigned to each of the Troop’s events (one with over a year’s experience with the Troop). 

Volunteer Survey

Please complete the survey below to let us know which events you would be interested in helping to coordinate.  We will contact you with additional information before assigning you to the event.  (All fields are required unless otherwise noted.)

CategoriesAnnouncements

Mr. Maloney’s Wood Badge Ticket

Troop 457

TICKET COMPLETE!

In September and October 2022, I have attended the BSA’s Wood Badge leadership training course. As part of the course, I had to develop a vision and set of goals (collectively called a “ticket”) that will improve Scouting in some way. I now have until March 10, 2024 to achieve those goals in order to complete my Wood Badge.  I’d like to share some of the details of my ticket as my vision is intended to have a positive impact on our Troop, Scouts, and families.

I’m excited to start completing my ticket and I hope your excited about how our Troop will continue to grow and improve in the coming years. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas.

Yours in Scouting,

Mr. Maloney
Assistant Scoutmaster

WHAT IS WOOD BADGE?

Wood Badge is the ultimate leadership training program of the Boy Scouts of America. Reflecting the best of nearly a century of Scouting experience and tradition, Wood Badge draws upon current leadership models used to train leaders in organizations throughout the world. Through hands-on activities, learning experiences, and games, leadership models are brought to life. 

Wood Badge isn’t just a training, it’s an experience. Participants come together with a variety of leaders in Scouting to learn and practice the latest in leadership models, backed by the timeless principles of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

MY WOOD BADGE TICKET

Vision

To create a repeatable onboarding process for new Scouts and their families that is welcoming and rooted in the deep heritage of Scouting.

Goals

Last Updated on March 30, 2023
  1. Create and send a series of “New Member Bootcamp” emails and website posts: (COMPLETED 5/2023) Joining a Troop (even from Cub Scouting) can be an overwhelming experience, especially in a Troop with over 80 years of history behind it. To complete this goal, I’ll continue sending monthly emails to our incoming AOL families sharing important information they’ll need to know when their Scout crosses over and make that same information (and more) available on a special “New Member Bootcamp” section of our Troop website.
  2. Develop a plan with the AOL Den Leader to engaged Scouts from the Troop in the Den’s annual advancement: (COMPLETED 11/2022) The Troop’s greatest recruiting tool is our Cub Scout Pack and we want our Cub Scouts to be excited to join our Troop. To complete this goal, I’ll work with our AOL Den Leader to a schedule for 2022-2023 and finding ways to get our Scouts to help the Den and Pack.
  3. Offer a Scouting Heritage Merit Badge Class to Scouts in Troop 457 after crossover this spring:(COMPLETED 5/2023) Scouting Heritage Merit Badge helps Scouts to learn the history of our program and gain a greater appreciation for this traditions and methods of Scouting. As a counselor for this Merit Badge, I hope our Patrol Leaders Council will allow me to present this merit badge class to all of the Scouts in our Troop.
  4. Hold quarterly “Coffee with the Scoutmaster” sessions:  (COMPLETED 2/2023) Scout meetings can be chaotic affairs and sometimes there just isn’t enough time for leaders to address questions from Scouts and families. During these quarterly events, Scouts, their families, and the whole Zelienople Community will be invited to join me at a local Zelienople business to have your questions answered while also helping the Troop be more visible in the community. (Think of it as an in-person Reddit “Ask me Anything”)
  5. Compile a “scholarship list” for youth who would like to participate in the program:(COMPLETED 5/2023) Scouting can be an expensive activity, but I want to make sure that every youth who wants to participate in our program can. This scholarship list will allow us to proactively identify ways that we can help Scouts fund their participation when the costs can’t be covered through fundraising or family contributions. (This may include setting aside funds at a Troop level, identifying donors in the community willing to sponsor Scouts, or even finding groups that provide Scouts uniforms.)

HOW YOU CAN HELP

I’m ultimately the one who needs to complete the goals on my ticket, but I hope that you will help me by:

  • Anyone: Participating in the “Coffee with the Scoutmaster” and Scouting Heritage Merit Badge sessions
  • Scouts and their Families:
    • Telling me about what you wish you knew when you joined the Troop
    • Responding to requests for assistance / input

LEARN MORE ABOUT WOOD BADGE

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