About Troop 68
Troop 68 started its first charter in October of 1929 and we have been going strong for over 80 years, graduating over 160 Eagle Scouts. Monthly Campouts are Friday night through Sunday afternoon. Each campout has a theme. Like Capture the Flag, Rock Climbing, Rifle/Shotgun, Canoeing, Sailing, Hiking, Cold Weather, etc. High Adventure: Our Venture Crew takes week-long hikes in the W
eminuche Wilderness, Big Bend National Park, and down into the Grand Canyon to get their High Adventure thrills, as well as mountain biking, canoeing, and kayaking white-water river courses. Summer Camp: Usually the 3rd or 4th week of June. Facilities: Troop 68 meets in our very own building dedicated solely to scouting. "The Scout Hut" is a two story structure that serves Troop 68, Pack 68, and Troop 517 for meetings, gear storage, and more. It is located across the street from First United Methodist Church, Arlington (our sponsor) on Mesquite street. The Scout Hut was designed specifically for this Troop, and is called the Richey/Yarbrough Scout Facility in recognition for the hard work and dedication of the men who came together and made their dream of a dedicated scouting facility come to life. Transportation: Troop 68 has its own 60-person bus to safely transport boys and men on Troop campouts & activities away from the Scout Hut. ALL of our drivers maintain a Texas Department of Public Safety issued Commercial Drivers License for passenger transportation. Equipment: Troop 68 owns a very large assortment of gear from its 85 years of history. We have enough canoes to put up to 50 boys and men into the water at a time in anything from white-water courses to simple ponds or lakes. Troop 68 even has a few sailboats ranging from a Sunfish to an 18-foot sailboat. In all of our monthly campouts, Troop 68 provides each patrol with their very own dedicated tents, cooking gear, backpacks, lanterns, chuck boxes and all the other supplies for camping trips. Each boy needs to only supply his personal equipment like clothes, sleeping bag, and toiletries. Advancement: In Troop 68, boys earn merit badges and advancements (called ranks) that show the skills they have mastered. The highest and most recognized rank is the Eagle. Leadership: Troop 68 is truly a boy-led Troop. With guidance from the adult leaders, the older boys plan the meetings and campouts and all aspects of the Troop functions. The Senior Patrol Leader and other support staff (older boys in the venture crew) run the weekly meetings setting up competition for the younger boys in the patrols to compete in. There has been times when the meeting didn't go according to plan, but our boys learn from their mistakes and grow in their leadership by doing. Our aim of a more hands off/eyes on approach allows the boys to struggle, solve, and succeed in an environment that is safe, secure, and most importantly, well monitored. Adult Leadership: Troop 68's Scoutmaster is Lee Stringham. Dozens of additional adults assist him in all aspects of the program. The Boy Scouts of America performs a background check on all adult leaders. The Troop provides leaders with Youth Training and other BSA training and abides by the BSA child protective policies (YPT) in accordance with our Charter Organization. Past Scoutmasters
Structure: Each patrol works as a unit of 5-8 boys within the Troop. Each patrol competes against other patrols; learns skills together; camps together; plans and cooks their meals together; and learns to function as a team. Each patrol has a leader selected by its members who handles the responsibility of being in charge of his group at meetings, on campouts, and at summer camp. The patrol leaders calls his patrol each week to ensure attendance, notify parents and scouts of changes of the calendar as well as the progress of scouts in his patrol. Ideals: The leadership skills, character, and maturity acquired as a Boy Scout of Troop 68 are what help develop our boys into more respected and successful adults than their counterparts in school, church, and sports teams. Election and participation in the National Honor Society of scouting known as The Order of the Arrow further assists in the development towards manhood. Our tiered structure of patrols and venture crew create an environment where boys stay in scouting far longer than that of their peers in other troops, allowing for leadership experiences within scouting at a much later point in their life, something many parents and scout have found to be an extremely successful program. If Troop 68 doesn't look right for you, that's OK, just do us a favor and find a Troop you like and either get your boy started in Scouting and always keep him having fun in Scouting... it truly is the best thing you can do for your boy.
