Parents and Scouts,

Welcome to Boy Scouts Troop 911!

Thank you for taking the time to support your son's scouting experience. Over the past 40 years our troop has provided scouts the unique opportunity to participate in activities and character development that are not easily available to many youth today.

The goal of our troop, and BSA is to help boys grow to their full potential as well as help them become successful young men and adults.

As described in the Scoutmaster’s Handbook, the Aims of Scouting are three-fold:

1. To build character

2. To foster citizenship

3. To develop fitness

In our troop, we utilize the “Boy-Led Method” to achieve these goals. This means that the Scouts, not the adults, are the leaders. The scouts decide what trips they are going to take, elect their own leaders, and make their own decisions about how the troop is run. Using this method, our Scouts learn about camping, leadership, serving others, healthy living, mentoring and all of the things that Boy Scouts have been doing since 1910.

The role of the adult leader in a Boy Scout Troop is much different than that of a Cub Scout Pack. Adult volunteers provide qualified supervision (i.e. set and maintain safe boundaries) and give guidance to youth in leadership roles (senior patrol leader and assistants, patrol leaders and assistants), but they do not interfere.

Even when they know failure is inevitable. Provided the boys do not pose a danger to themselves or others, they are free to fail and succeed at will. In our troop failure is always an option, as we view it as one of the most valuable learning tools. We feel that by learning to deal with failure now, in a safe and controlled environment, will only make them more successful as adults.

I would like to personally invite you to stop by anytime to visit our troop. Our meeting times and location can be found on the “About Us” section of this page. No need to notify us in advance. Simply stop by and see our troop in action. I would also like to encourage you to visit other troops in the area before your scout’ decides to join our troop. While this might seem like an odd suggestion, the truth is that we as parents tend to pick troops for our scouts. However, we feel it is important that the scouts pick the troop where they most feel comfortable and at home. It is our sincere hope that Troop 911 will be that place.

Again, thank you for supporting your son’s scouting experience. If at any time I can be of assistance to you or your scout, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Yours in Scouting

Jim Voghell

Scoutmaster