SPL Welcome Message

Senior Patrol Leader's Welcome Message

Greetings, and welcome to Troop 14's Web site! Our Troop has a long, rich history. We're over 50 years old, and we're proud of our record of provding continuous service to the youth of the Palo Alto-Mt. View-Los Altos area. We're grateful to Covenant Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto for their generous sponsorship throughout this half-century.

If you're a parent visiting our site, you're probably wondering either what it'll be like for your son to be a member of our Troop, or what it'll be like for you to be a parent in our Troop. And if you're a potential Troop 14 Scout, you probably want to know the kinds of fun things we do. Let me give you a taste of all these.

For Potential Scouts

For a Scout or potential Scout, the most important thing about Troop 14 is that we have fun. We go car camping, hiking, and backpacking. We take canoe trips and white water rafting trips, and we spend a weekend aboard a ship (for example, the USS Pampanito, and the USS Hornet). We go skiing, and we go winter camping. Some of our trips are short, some are long; some are easy—good for new Scouts—some are tougher, high-adventure trips—good for older Scouts.

Each year, we go to Camp Oljato for a couple of weeks. Oljato is on a beautiful lake in the Sierra Nevadas. Scouts get a chance to go swimming, sailing, boating, canoeing, and hiking. They can earn merit badges and work on a new rank. Some do some target rifle shooting, or some shotgun shooting, or archery.

In short, we're a year-round troop.

What will you learn in Troop 14? Here's a sample:

• • How to use a knife safely.

  • Make a campfire, and using a backpacking stove.

  • How to cook.

  • Knots and lashings, and what you can do with them.

  • The importance of helping others.

  • Picking a good campsite.

  • Teamwork.

  • First aid skills.

  • Being a good citizen.

But, enough: the best way is to come visit. C'mon by a Troop meeting and meet the other kids. See what it's like.

I look forward to meeting you!

For Potential Parents

The most important job Scout leaders have is to ensure a safe Scouting experience. Scouting offers specific training on youth protection, as well as leadership and outdoor skills training. We encourage not just our leaders, but all parents involved in our program to take Scouting's Youth Protection Training.

The next most important job we have is to help instill good values in our Scouts. These values are found in the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Along the way, we teach teamwork, an appreciation for the importance of community service, and basic leadership skills.

We do all of this in a program that's fun for the Scouts. We teach outdoors skills, first aid, citizenship, and more. We provide our Scouts with what, for many, are unique experiences that they otherwise might never enjoy.

Troop 14 isn't run by magic, nor by magicians: it's run by parents like you. Our Troop is only as good as we, working together, giving scouts the support .

We ask at least one adult member of each family to volunteer to help Troop 14 in some way: helping with a Court of Honor, organizing our participation in the annual Scouting for Food drive, becoming an adult leader, helping with the newsletter or the Troop's equipment, organizing an outing, coming on an outing, being one of our uniformed leaders, serving on the Troop Committee.

And, don't worry if you've never camped a night in your life, or know nothing about Scouting: we can train you.

Questions? We invite you to drop our Scoutmaster some email (Scoutmaster@Troop14PA.org), or stop by a meeting with your son.