A smaller troop has its advantages. Your son will not be lost in a crowd, and will be insured of receiving personal attention.

 

The troop has tents and cooking equipment, but Boy Scouts are responsible for personal camping items like sleeping bags (0-degree rating recommended), backpacks (with external frames recommended) and day packs (bookbag size), and mess kits and utensils, as well as other personal items. Besides camping equipment, the biggest expense involved is buying a Class A uniform (described below). A Scout also needs the Boy Scout Handbook. 

We try to plan an activity once a month, which can be weekend camping, hiking, field trips, etc. We spend a week at summer camp every July (7 days, 6 nights), and we try to schedule a High Adventure activity on a regular basis for older Scouts (age 13 or 14 and First Class rank).

 

Every couple of months, we collect aluminum cans for recycling as a way to earn money. We also participate in a fund-raiser in the late fall, selling Christmas greenery (wreaths, swags and centerpieces). This gives revenue to the troop to replace and buy new equipment, and helps the Scouts earn money toward their summer camp fee.

Troop 185 doesn't collect weekly dues from our Scouts. They pay $30 to re-register with Boys Scouts once a year, and part of the fee goes toward registration, Boys' Life subscription, and the remainder to the troop treasury. Personal costs would be involved in buying camping equipment, uniform and handbook. Fees are usually charged per Scout for district camporees, camping in state parks, campout food, and other fees depending on the activity.

Troop meetings are held every Wednesday during the school year, 7-8:30 p.m., in the Goodwill Room at Dublin Community Church (81 West Bridge Street). During the season of Lent in the spring, the meeting location will change.

 

We do not meet the week of Thanksgiving or during the Christmas and New Year's winter break. During the summer, June through August, the troop meets every other Wednesday.

Chuck Johnson (former Eaglescout 1970 of our troop, Greenbar trained) became Scoutmaster in September, 2009. Assistant Scoutmasters are Kurt Novak (former Scoutmaster, Blackfoot, Woodbadge trained), Bob Richardson (former Scoutmaster, Greenbar trained) and our most recent Eagle Scouts Kevin Benner, Markus and Mike Novak and David Rohlfing.

 

Our troop committee is headed by Dana Kromer (Blackfoot trained).  Other committee members are Sue Rostorfer, Mike Stanton (advancement), Harvey Ebersole (chartered organization representative), Alan Molnar, Jim Whetstone, Cheryl Jacino and Jeff Mead.

Volunteer! All of our leaders (Scouters) are volunteer parents, none are professional. No one gets paid. Without parents, the troop cannot exist. We need adults at troop meetings, we need two-deep adult leadership at all troop activities, we need two-deep leadership for our week-long summer camp every July. We encourage new Boy Scout parents to become active volunteers in the troop as soon as possible.

 

Training is available for all Scouters, starting with FastStart Training and Youth Protection Training. Advanced training opportunities are offered by the Buckeye District in the spring and fall (Blackfoot, Okama, Green Bar), and is paid for by the troop.

 

What a parent of a new Scout can do: start out by becoming a troop committee person to help decide troop business, and/or become a merit badge counselor in fields where you have experience in and/or enjoy an area of interest as a hobby. Troop committee members also sit in on boards of review for Scout rank advancement. Volunteer to come on campouts, stay a day or more at summer camp, be a summer camp driver.