See the
article about Troop 205 in
"Encore Magazine" ! It's on
pages 40 thru 48 of the January 2007 issue.
Welcome Troop 205 offers boys the opportunity to
experience High Adventures and learn leadership skills that
help them grow into well rounded young men.
Founded in 1916, our troop has a long history
of producing Eagle Scouts - in fact
more Eagle Scouts than any other southwest Michigan Boy Scout troop-who
are grounded in the outdoor skills and responsibilities of citizenship for
which scouting is known.
Our troop is chartered by the First Presbyterian Church of
Kalamazoo, and is comprised of a diverse group of boys from many backgrounds.
Troop 205 is a High Adventure
troop.
What that means simply is that our boys venture into wilderness situations that
provide man-sized challenges and require strong knowledge of surviving far from
civilization. We believe these experiences help our scouts grow strong
physically, emotionally and psychologically.
Our troop has explored the oceans, mountains and forests of our
nation over the years, via sailboats, backpacks and canoes. Troop 205 scouts
have bushwhacked the Rockies, chartered courses through the Bahamas, portaged
lakes through Canada, and climbed through caves in Indiana.
The reason is simple really: nature can exert her force and beauty
on boys in a manner that gives them respect for her and yet softens their
attitudes towards others at the same time. Many parents comment on the marked
difference in their sons upon their return from one of our High Adventure
trips.
Developing leadership is our goal.
Troop 205 is a boy-run troop, because that is the best way to teach leadership.
That means, our boys plan the program, execute the activities and follow the
patrol method to the greatest extent they are able. Each patrol is a microcosm
of our troop and our leadership corps come from these patrols in turn. Sure,
mistakes are made and sometimes adults need to step in, but lessons are learned
and responsibility is understood.
Advancement through knowledge and skills is key.
Through the scouting program, each scout pursues a rank advancement, which
requires them to learn new things in a variety of areas, including outdoor
skills, citizenship, conservation and first aid, to name a few. Each scout
progresses at his own rate, following a more rigid set of requirements in the
lower ranks, then expanding into a broader field of study through merit badges
in the higher ranks.
In addition to this advancement, the
scouts must demonstrate reverence, scout spirit and
citizenship for each rank. Often, this means the boys must
volunteer to do projects in their communities and think about
their lives in a spiritual context, though this can embrace
every religion in the world. Additionally, scouts can earn
special recognition in a variety of ways for achievements that
don't lead to rank advancement, but which demonstrate other
skills.
