Scout Oath
On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake,  and morally straight.

B. S. A. Troop 560  -- Westerville, OH

Chartered by:  Church of the Messiah

Troop 560 Information 

PURPOSE: To help the scout grow into a responsible man, to help serve others, to become a leader, to attain Scout Spirit, and to have fun and fellowship while achieving these.

MEETINGS: Held Monday nights from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 pm. Immediately following the meeting a patrol leader’s council meeting is held to review the plans for the upcoming meetings. This is usually over at 9:00 p.m. Although the patrol leaders and other troop officers are the only ones voting, all members of the troop are urged to attend.

All scouts must bring their Scout Handbook and a three-ring notebook, paper, and pencils to each meeting.

Certain holidays are observed and no meetings are scheduled. These are noted in the troop calendar.

LOCATION: Meetings are held at the Church of the Messiah, 51 North State Street in Westerville . The church is at the corner of Home Street and State Street . Meetings are held in the lower level of the church.

DUES: The troop year runs from September 1 through August31 Dues are $85.00 annually. Dues are paid in September. Dues cover awards and badges earned by the boys, troop equipment and repair or replacement costs, and other general troop expenses. Scouts joining the troop during the year pay $7.00 per month for each month or part thereof from the joining date through August 31.

New scouts pay a one time joining fee of $25.00, which covers transfer or registration fees, Boy’s Life subscription, troop neckerchief and slide, troop hat, and scout plate.

CAMPING: The troop camps every month regardless of the weather. Camps are held at different locations with a variety of themes including cooking, hiking, backpacking, camping shelters, cold weather camping, horsemanship, bike trips, and mini-high adventure trips.

SUMMER CAMP: The troop attends a summer camp during one week each summer. These camps are in either June or July. The troop tries to vary the summer camp between three areas. The first is a Boy Scout Summer Camp sponsored by a Boy Scout Council, which provides basic scouting skills and opportunities for advancement. The second camping experience usually involves a trip to a national Boy Scout High Adventure base. The troop has attended Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico several times for a two-week backpacking trip. Since there is often an age requirement to attend these camps the troop also provides an opportunity for the boys not attending the high adventure camp to attend a local Boy Scout Council sponsored summer camp. The third leg of the summer camp triangle is usually a trip to a Provincial Park in Ontario , Canada . This is a one-week canoeing trip through the wilderness of Canada .

AWARDS: Recognizing advancement is an important part of the Scouting experience. Advancement is recognized as part of the Court of Honor, which is usually held three times each year. Parents and family are encouraged to attend. The event is usually followed by a social period during which the troop leaders are available for informal discussions regarding troop activities.

Because immediate recognition of advancement is important, badges of rank are presented at the weekly meetings as earned.

ADVANCEMENT: The pace of advancement is up to each individual scout. The troop helps by having trained and experienced leaders and a corp of experienced older scouts to leach the skills. Meetings and campouts are geared to teaching skills or merit badges, which lead to advancement. However, each scout is responsible for, and is expected to work on his own, to achieve his goals. Scouts that attend the meetings and campouts will learn skills and will advance, but participation is required. This is part of what we call Scout Spirit.

PARTICPATION: Scouts arc encouraged to attend all meetings, campouts, and service projects. This will enable them to learn the skills necessary for advancement. Parents are encouraged to participate and lend their experience where possible. The troop recognizes that scouts also participate in band, sports, and other activities, but requests that Scouting he given importance equal to these activities.

EQUIPMENT: The troop provides camping equipment such as tents, eating plates, backpacking stoves, frying pans, pots, tarps, and other major camping equipment. Please Sec the attached lists according to the season. Occasionally, separate equipment lists will be issued for special function campouts. Other wants and needs develop as experience is gained. The scout and his patrol will carry all camping gear and food as we generally hike in to the camping area. Before buying any equipment please talk to the scoutmaster or assistant scoutmasters for suggestions or recommendations.

BOYS AND AUTOMOBILES: The troop realizes that while most of our young men are responsible, situations occur when young people and automobiles mix that result in less than desirable outcomes. The troop has therefore adopted a policy patterned after the National Boy Scouts policy regarding transportation. Simply stated, while a boy with a valid driver’s license may drive himself to a scout function, no youth member of the troop is permitted to transport any other youth member of the troop to any scout function. This applies even if the parents have given permission to their sons. For further clarification of this issue, please confer with the troop committee chairman.

DISCIPLINE: The adult leaders oF the troop make every effort to adequately supervise the boys of the troop, however, they are not capable of watching every move of each boy each minute, and boys will be boys. The troop urges civil resolution of problems among the boys, and any form of abuse of another member of the troop will not be tolerated. At any time that a member of the troop resorts to the use of physical actions, the adult leadership may request that the parents immediately remove the offender from the meeting or campout. The boy may return to the next meeting provided that he and his parents first attend a conference with the scoutmaster to discuss the problem and steps, which have been taken to avoid this situation in the future.

FUND RAISING AND BOY ACCOUNTS: Periodically the troop sponsors fund raising events, which allow the scouts to earn money to buy equipment, pay for summer camp, and pay for dues. The troop treasurer maintains these funds. Any expenditure must be approved by the scoutmaster prior to acquisition. In order to participate in a fundraising event, the scout must have his dues current. The troop fund may he used to pay dues, providing there is an adequate balance on the due date. Funds earned after that date cannot he used to pay the current year’s dues. A scout withdrawing from the troop and joining another troop can request to have his fund transferred to the new troop, if that troop maintains accounts for the benefit of the individual boys, and the request is made within thirty days of the withdrawal from the troop. The funds of a scout who withdraws and ends his scouting experience revert to the troop’s general fund. In no case are the funds paid directly to the scout.

SCHOLARSHIP FUND: The troop realizes that participating in many of our activities may place a strain on the funds of the parents. This is why we offer the boys opportunities to raise some of the needed funds themselves. Even this is sometimes not enough, and because the troop committee sees the need for all boys to be able to participate, they have established a scholarship fund, which is funded by a portion of the fundraising activities. This fund is available to a boy seeking assistance with camping or leadership training experiences. Any boy who desires to utilize this fund should contact the scoutmaster directly.

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