1. Troop Meeting Times - the General Troop Meetings will run from a crisp start at 7:30 pm to  program's end at 8:45 pm. This shortened time has been done so that the youth Scout Leadership can have a quick feedback/reflection session with adult Scouter Leaders from 8:45-9:00 pm. This feedback/reflection is a very important part of our youth Leaders mastery of Leadership Skills.
   
   Scouts in Opening AND Closing Patrols should be at Jesse Lee and in our Martin Hall meeting place no later than 7:15. An Opening Patrol will get flags out of the QM room and set up tables and chairs promptly so that meetings can begin promptly at 7:30 pm. The Closing Patrol should also be there by 7:15pm if they have responsibility for a pre-opening game and will stay after the 8:45pm closing ceremony to put away all the setup materials.
   
   Parents Note: Please help by reminding your Scout he is to be on time whensoever possible as meetings will start crisply at 7:30 PM.

2. Uniform Policy - The Troop is going to focus on greater adherence to uniform guidelines with some new flexibility for routine meetings. The guideline is fairly simple - For "routine" Tuesday night meetings, a Scout will be considered "in uniform" if he is wearing Scout uniform shirt (with appropriate patches and insignia) and Troop 76 or other approved neckerchief/slide or bolo tie. Scout pants and belt, although always welcome, will not be considered a requirement for such routine meetings. Further, Scout shirts must be tucked neatly into pants and if a cap/hat is worn, it must be an approved Scout cap/hat or be taken off while in the meeting.
   
   The full Class A uniform, including belt, pants, socks, etc. must be worn for Courts of Honor, PLC Meetings, Board of Review, Scoutmaster Conferences and any Tuesday night meeting which is designated, in advance, a Class A meeting - for example when important visitors are attending like the recent Webelos visitors. Meetings requiring Class A will be so listed on the "What's Happening Soon" page on the website (linked to from the top right of the Troop76.org Home Page).
   
   In addition, full Class A uniforms will continue to be required for "public" Scout activities like Service Projects, traveling to Campouts, and, of course, Summer Camp.
   
   Parents Note: Please help your son remember that wearing his Scout uniform is not an option, it is his personal responsibility & obligation and something he should do with pride.

3. Attendance & Advancement - Our youth Scout Leaders are going to focus on including in Troop Meetings and Campouts more opportunities for Scouts to make progress in their rank advancement. To help support this thrust, it is important that Scouts working on Scout up to First Class ranks remember to bring their Scout Handbooks to every Troop Meeting and campout so that requirements can be registered in their books.
   
   To assist in the planning and management of these advancement and other activities, the Troop is going to start taking attendance at Troop meetings. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each meeting and note will be made of whether the Scout is in appropriate uniform and for those under First Class rank, whether they have their Scout Handbook. This taking of attendance is not being done to in any way discriminate or hassle a Scout over which and how many meetings he attends as we know that our young men have very busy schedules and that conflicts will occur which preclude attending a Scout Meeting or Campout. This information will help us know which Scouts have been exposed to which advancement subjects and will be used to guide what skills sessions our Scouts need. It also helps the Leadership of the Troop to identify Scouts whose participation has dropped so we can reach out to them and see if there's anything the Troop can do to facilitate their return to more active status.

4. Leadership Commitments - An active dialogue is underway between adult and youth Scout Leadership about better defining the commitment a youth Leader is making to the Troop when he takes on a Leadership Role. This commitment will take the form of a clearly defined job description. This will also include some measures of performance that will enter into rank advancement deliberations. If you're interested in learning more, the details of these job descriptions are found as a series of "Leadership Cards" in the "Forms" section of the Troop 76 website (Click HERE to see them). Please note, however, that at present, these Cards are very much drafts and will no doubt undergo change as our Scout Leaders map out the commitment levels they feel the Troop needs and that they can honor.

The adult Scouter and youth Scout Leadership jointly developed and agreed to these changes. We all believe they are exciting and represent a course change in Troop 76 that will benefit all the Troop in its Scouting careers. If you have any questions or wish to provide feedback, please feel free to contact any of our Scout Leaders whose contact information you'll find on the website contact page.