Membership

Welcome to Troop 506

We’re glad that you've joined Scouting and we hope you and you will have a great adventure with Troop 506. Troop 506 has been meeting at the Sportsman's Club in Ham Lake, MN for more than 55 years and continues to thrive! We all believe that Scouting is an important part of physical, mental, and spiritual development.

Troop 506 is in the District J, one of several districts in Anoka County that are part of the Northern Star Council, Boy Scouts of America. The Northern Star Council is the largest BSA Council in the US. We are chartered annually by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America, which is chartered by the Congress of the United States of America.

About Our Chartered Organization

All Troops are associated with a chartering organization that sponsors them, and approves selection of leaders. Troop 506 is chartered by the Ham Lake Sportsman's Club.

Troop Organization

A group of approximately 5 to 10 Scouts of the same age make up a Patrol.

Individual patrols have Patrol Leaders and Assistant Patrol Leaders. With the help of the other members, the Patrol Leader coordinates regular meetings and outings. The Assistant Patrol Leader assists the Patrol Leader in all meeting activities and assumes the role of the Patrol Leader in their absence.

All of the Patrols together make up the Troop. The Troop is led by the Senior Patrol Leader and the Assistant Senior Patrol Leaders. The Senior Patrol Leader runs the troop meetings and is the face of the troop to the scouts and the community. The Assistant Senior Patrol Leaders assist the Senior Patrol Leader in all troop meeting activities and assumes the Senior Patrol Leader role in their absence.

The Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmasters help the youth leadership with Troop meetings and activities. They provide adult oversight and supervision during these events.

The Troop Committee is headed by the Committee Chair who presides at Troop committee meetings and helps make sure all troop activity is conducted in accordance with the rules and guidelines of Scouting. Troop Committee Members are interested parents, leaders, and members of the Chartered Organization. They support the Troop in areas such as implementing Troop activities, fundraising, events, field trips, outings, camping trips, court of honor, etc.

Meetings

Troop 506 meets Monday nights from 7:00pm-8:30pm at the Sportsman's Club or at another agreed upon time and place.

The Troop Calendar is in ScoutBook and on the Troop Web Site. Updates are communicated via email.

BSA Health and Safety

All Scouting activities are in accordance with national BSA health and safety standards and dictated in the Guide to Safe Scouting.

Health Forms

All participants must complete a BSA medical form (parts A and B) each year. The form can be found online at: http://www.scouting.org/filestore/HealthSafety/pdf/680-001_AB.pdf

Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco Use

Illegal drugs and alcohol are not allowed at any Scouting activity and persons under the influence of drugs or alcohol are not allowed to participate or be present at any Scouting functions. Any violation of this rule will result in immediate dismissal from the event and possible intervention by law enforcement agents.

Scouting provides a tobacco-free environment for the Scouts and smoking is not allowed in the presence of the Scouts. If you must smoke or use tobacco products, please do so outside and out-of-site of the Scouts and always remember to keep the area free of cigarette butts and trash.

Knives and Firearms

A Scout can carry a pocket knife once he has learned the safety rules for using a knife and earns his Totin' Chip card. If a Scout is found handling his knife improperly, it will be taken away from him. Each time this happens a corner of the Totin’ Chip card is to be snipped off. If all corners are removed the Scout no longer is allowed this privilege. In addition, any adult who sees a Scout with a knife can ask him to produce his Totin’ Chip. If he cannot do so, the knife will be taken away from him and given to his parents.

Shooting equipment is only allowed under stringent supervision by a trained adult on a safe firing range at a council or district-sponsored event. Pistols are not allowed. Firearms are not allowed except under certain demonstration conditions and can only be handled by qualified adults. See national BSA Health and Safety standards for details. Except for police officers in their jurisdiction, there are to be no firearms at any of our activities.

Aquatic Activities

All aquatic activities must be supervised by trained, qualified adults while strictly following the BSA's Safe Swim Defense Plan for swimming activities and Safety Afloat Plan for boating. There are no exceptions. See national BSA Health and Safety standards for details.

Communication

In this busy society we live in communication is at the heart of every successful organization. The same is true for Scouts.

We want to avoid using meetings for the purpose of communicating information. The troop meetings are for fun, not announcements.

Our troop leverages the following forms of communication:

· Email

· Troop Web site

The possibility of phone calls exists as well, though this is rare and impractical for a troop of our size.

Email

The primary communication mechanism of the troop is via email. The list is controlled via ScoutBook. If you are unsure if you are on the email list, please contact the Committee Chair immediately.

If for some reason email does not work out for you, contact the Committee Chair so that an alternate arrangement can be made.

Troop Web Site

Troop 506 maintains a site on the World Wide Web as a mechanism to keep parents, Scouts, Leaders, and members of our chartered organization informed of our activities, progress, and changes of plan. The address of this website is http://www.troop506mn.org

We encourage scouts to bookmark this site and check it often – it’s an excellent tool for us to keep you up to date.

The troop calendar is maintained on this web site.

Website, Media Coverage, and Privacy Issues

We will occasionally post photographs of activities on this website. It is also possible that local newspapers and television stations may provide coverage of some of our activities and your Scout’s name and photograph may appear in a publication or on TV. If you object to having your Scout appear on the website or in the media, please let our Leaders know (in writing) as soon as possible.

For maximum protection of your Scout, it is our policy that:

· No Scout will ever be identified on the website by his full name. Scouts will be referred to by first name only.

· No addresses or phone numbers will be posted on the website, except for Adult Leaders who consent to making this information available.

· If you determine that any of these policies have been violated or if you have any other concerns about the website or privacy issues, please contact a Scout Leader in our Troop immediately.

ScoutBook

Troop 506 tracks advancement using an online tool owned by BSA known as ScoutBook. You should receive an invitation to create an account in this service so that you can help record and track your advancement as you progress through the ranks. The address of this website is http://www.scoutbook.org

In addition to advancement, ScoutBook has the capability of sending email, tracking the Troop calendar, and even texting.