Troop 59 meets weekly in the social hall of the Clifton Springs United Methodist Church (our sponsor organization) every Tuesday from 7 PM to 8 PM.
Regular Tuesday night troop meetings start on the First Tuesday of September and end on last Tuesday of June. Regular meetings do not occur during school breaks, the general rule
of thumb being NO SCHOOL NO SCOUTS. This would also hold true for weather cancelations.
During the meetings, scouts work on various tasks. They often stay in patrols to work on advancement needs or plan meals for upcoming camp outs. Other times the troop breaks
up to work on various merit badge requirements. Merit Badge work may or may not be done by patrol
DUES
Scouts are expected to pay $1 per normal scout meeting night. The money collected goes to offset costs like awards, registration, gear updates, insurance, camp outs and other general
costs. We encourage the scouts to be responsible for bringing the $1 to the meeting, themselves.
Uniforms
Scouts are expected to wear "Class A" uniforms to regular meetings, court of honors and other official scout events. During certain designated times, Scouts and Leaders also wear "Class B"
t-shirts in place of the Class A uniform (ex. Camp outs, activities that could soil a Class A uniform, summer camp, etc.)
We expect that scouts have the khaki uniform with appropriate patches in the correct placement. Presentable jeans or shorts may be worn in place of the official
scout pants/shorts. Check HERE for all the official BSA uniform guidelines.
Troop 59 uses the patrol system for the organization of the scouts.
The patrol system utilizes a Senior Patrol Leader and an Assistant Senior Patrol Leader who serve to manage the entire troop.
Each Patrol has a Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader. Each individual patrol leaders report to the senior patrol leader.
Patrols on camp outs
Patrols plan their meals as a group and do their own cooking during each camp out. One scout in the patrol is chosen to be responsible for
purchasing the food for his Patrol prior to the camp out. Before the camp out, the scout should divide the total cost of the food by the number of
patrol members attending the campout and let the rest of the patrol know their share of the cost for the food. The Scout purchasing the food
must make sure to have all perishable items stored in a cooler with ice (please make sure the cooler is marked with your name). The troop does not provide
patrol coolers. Please arrange to borrow a cooler if you do not have one.
How patrols are made up:
Patrols typically consist of similar age scouts who have entered into the troop together and tend to work on the same level of advancement.
There are occasions when patrols maybe merged due, to small patrol size, creating a mix of ages. A typical patrol consists of between 4 and 10 scouts.
The Court of Honor is a ceremony that is performed typically in October, March and June on a Tuesday night. At the Court of Honor, scouts are given
awards that they have earned (i.e. merit badges and rank advancements). The troop also has presentations on past campouts, upcoming campouts, and other important troop
information. Important note: Awards will only be given out at Court of Honor programs; therefore it is very important scouts show up to these ceremonies.
Even if scouts are not receiving awards they should plan on attending to show their support for their fellow scouts. This is also one of the best places
to see and hear what is going on with the troop.
The beginning ranks (Scout, Tenderfoot, Second & First Class) are similar to how the cub scout program works. Scouts work through very specific requirements in their
handbook. This is usually done as a patrol with other scouts who are at the same level. Even though scouts work at the same pace, some may advance more quickly than others. The
key to advancing through these ranks is to attend Tuesday Troop meetings regularly and as many camp outs as possible!
The upper ranks (Star, Life & Eagle) become more individual and scouts move as fast or as slow as they want. Scouts must earn merit badges to advance. Some of these merit
badges are required to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout and some are simply electives. The key is for scouts to be motivated to earn merit badges. Merit Badge Academies, Troop
meetings, and Summer Camp are great places to earn merit badges. If a scout is interested in working on a merit badge individually they must first talk to a leader, then find a
merit badge councilor (before work is done), and finally work with the councilor to complete the badge.
Eagle Advancement Notes:
The Eagle award is not something to be taken lightly, it is the top rank in scouts! The Eagle rank requires the completion certain merit badges, as well as, and Eagle project.
Before a scout can begin a project, it must be approved by the Troop Committee and Seneca Waterways Council representatives. The Eagle Project process is quite involved, so
it is very important for scouts to contact the Committee Chair as soon as they have an idea for a project and they will help to guide them through the system.
Troop 59 participates in a camp out or other activity one weekend each month. Camp outs usually run from Friday evening to Sunday morning. Scout drop off and return locations vary depending on the camp out.
They are usually at the Clifton Springs United Methodist church. Scouts meet at the Scout Trailer, which is parked the east side of the church. There are times when it maybe at the
"scout barn" which is a storage unit located on Prospect St. (next to FLACRA).
Camp outs and activities can vary greatly from high adventure based camp outs, like a weeklong canoe trip and hiking the high peaks, to overnight “lock-ins.” So there is something for everyone!
Scouts bringing perishable food need to make sure to bring a cooler to store it in, please make sure it is labeled. If you do not have a cooler, ask around there are plenty available if you ask.
The troop does not provide any coolers for the patrols.
If you cannot afford a camp out please don't let that be the reason your scout doesn't go. We urge you to ask a leader and we can make arrangements to get your scout on the camp out!
No Scout should miss out on these opportunities.
There are 2 classifications of gear; personal gear and troop gear.
Personal gear
Personal gear is anything that a scout needs for himself. Items that fall into this category are clothing, sleeping bags, backpacks, sleeping mats, etc. There are detailed personal gear lists on the Forms Page.
Please note that if you don't have an item on the personal gear list (like a sleeping bag) please ask a leader you can probably borrow one for the weekend.
Troop Gear
Troop gear is all the common gear that is used in the troop. The troop owns a trailer that is brought on most camp outs. In the trailer are: tents, stoves, cooking supplies (pots, pans, utensils),
lanterns, water jugs, etc. All your scout needs to have is their personal gear to attend a camp out.
Summer camp is a great experience that every scout should participate in!
Summer camp is much different than the regular camp outs. It gives each Scout the opportunity to spend a week at camp with their fellow scouters. During this week,
they build friendships that can last their lifetime. Along with friendships, scouts build their skills base, try new activities, work on merit badges, just have fun!
Traditionally, we attend summer camp at Babcock Hovey, located on Seneca Lake in Ovid, NY, either the 2nd or 3rd week of July.
Summer Camp requires a $100 deposit due in March, with the remaining balance due in May. You can pay for the camp fees out of the scout’s individual camp account.
Never let finances be the reason your scout doesn't go to camp! In addition to moneys raised through individual fundraisers like the popcorn sales, families can apply for campership money that will provide up to half of the camp costs.
Find out more information at the Seneca Waterways Council Summer Camp Page
How would you feel about having the opportunity to visit places like Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and other places in the American West?
Well, that is where our troop has gone! Not only once but we've gone there 4 times over the last 15 years, roughly every 5 years (2000, 2006, 2011 and 2015)
The trip usually lasts about 12 days and covers about 1,200 miles. The scouts fly in and out of Salt Lake City Utah and drive to the various parks.
The trip is a lot of work with fundraising ahead of time and lots of activities on the trip, but it is something we hope all scouts get to see in their lifetime.
An important part of the troop program is to provide community service. Community Service is also a required for each rank advancement. Troop 59 has several regular
community service programs like Scouting for Food, but we have lots of smaller one time projects that we also participate in.
Make sure to check out the list of our regular community service and past Eagle projects on our community service page.
Fundraising is one of the least favorite subjects, but is a necessary to provide a successful Scouting program.
Troop 59 operates 2 types of fundraisers - Individual and Troop.
The Troop fundraisers benefit the general troop and help pay for campouts, larger trips, camping gear, awards, registration, etc. Since these fundraisers benefits
everybody in the troop, Scouts are expected to help with these. Examples of troop fundraisers include tarp rentals, pumpkin sales, and our annual Valentines dinner dance.
Individual fundraisers give scouts the opportunity to earn as much as they can for themselves directly. All money raised goes into the individual scout camp account.
Popcorn sales would be an example of an individual fundraiser. Please note that camp accounts can only be used to pay for camp outs and summer camp.
