Our Monday nights begin for many at 6pm when the Venture Crew that I advise gathers. Our troop’s SPL is also a member of the crew. Instead of our regular gathering, he sent an email calling for any scouts who could make it at 6pm to come early so that they could all work to clear sticks, etc… from the church’s expansive lawn to prepare it for the church’s annual festival. The boys made sure that the lawn, which will become a parking area, was ready for use. My first thank you goes to the crew for giving up their meeting time for this to happen. The second is to the troop and parents who came an hour early to get it done.
At 7pm, they made their way into the church, swapped into their uniforms, and got right down to the business of the usual troop meeting. Things couldn’t have gone much smoother. Adding to the mix was three unexpected guests. Personally, I think this is when a visiting scout gets the best look at a troop because they see how it really works versus a planned recruiting event.
We had the privilege of meeting two brothers who recently came to Houston from Michigan and another who was invited by one of our scouts. All three were eager participants in the nights activities and were warmly received by our boys. The older of the two brothers told me that he was looking for a Venture Crew and his brother wanted a troop with lots of scouts his age, and that from the looks of things, he felt we were pretty high on their list of troops they had visited. AWESOME! To those three potential scouts, we say, “Welcome, we’d love to have you!”
They continually make me incredibly proud to be a leader of this organization (for both units) and the new Big Cypress District of the Sam Houston Area Council.
Troop 483 Blog 
