Frequently Asked Questions

• Visitors are welcome at any of our Troop meetings.
• The Troop’s weekly meetings are on most Tuesday nights during the
school year, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm in the Scout Room on the lower level of the Parish Life Center at The Church of St. John the Divine (Episcopal), our chartered organization since 1939, at 2450 River Oaks Blvd.
• Contact the Scoutmaster at scoutmaster@troop55.org or Troop
Committee Chair at tcc@troop55.org so we can welcome you.
• If your son knows a Scout in Troop 55, encourage your son to talk to him and have your son join his friend at one of our meetings or events.
• Check the Troop 55 website and calendar for scheduled meetings,
campouts, and events (www.troop55.org).

Information on who is eligible to join and what information is needed can be found HERE

Troop 55 is considered large relative to most BSA Troops with a regular membership of over 200 scouts. The large size affords Scouts with ample leadership opportunities and a wide variety of activities including monthly campouts and summer trips that span merit badge camps, mid and high adventure trips throughout the US and internationally.

• New Scouts are organized into New Scout Patrols for their year.
• The Troop also has several permanent Mixed Age Patrols that provide various leadership opportunities for Scouts. Each Mixed Aged Patrol has a wide range of ages and attained advancement levels from 1st Class to Eagle.
• New Scouts join one of the “New Scout Patrols” for their first 9 to 18 months with Troop 55. After this initial period, scouts join one of the permanent, Mixed Age Patrols. Scouts can be a member of these older patrols up to their 18th birthday.
• Each Patrol is led by one or more older, experienced Scouts serving as Patrol Leader, and each patrol has at least one adult serving as Patrol Assistant Scoutmaster dedicated to supporting and coaching the Patrol’s scout leadership.

• The weekly Troop meetings are run by the Scout Senior Patrol Leader with assistance from the Patrol Leader Council.
• We strive to have a Scout-run Troop led by the Patrol Leader Council, which is headed by the Senior Patrol Leader (who is elected by the Scouts). The Troop’s Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmasters provide adult supervision and mentorship to the Scout leaders.

• The Boy Scout program offers the Scout the opportunity for
i) Adventure
ii) Learning
iii) Challenge and
iv) Responsibility
• By offering the above opportunities, Scouting aims to provide
i) Character Development
ii) Citizenship Training and
iii) Mental & Physical Fitness
• Scouting uses the following methods to accomplish these Aims,
i) Ideals
ii) Patrols
iii) Outdoor Experience
iv) Advancement

For 2021, dues are $188 per Scout. A subscription to Scout’s Life magazine can be added for an additional $12. Dues for Eagle Scouts are $125.

A fee will be added to each campout to cover the cost of the site, porta-potties, firewood, and transportation. This is usually $20-40.

Additionally, Scouts will need to contribute to their patrols food budget for campouts typically $10

• Encourage your Scout to take responsibility for his own participation in the Troop and in his patrol and for his advancement and leadership activities.
• Lend a hand with the indoor and/or outdoor adult work that keeps the Troop running. *
• Attend the monthly Troop Committee meetings whenever possible.
• Sign up to be a counselor for a merit badge or two; you don’t have to be an expert, just willing to help the Scouts teach themselves. *
• Take the BSA’s introductory training courses for adult leaders. Refer to the Adult Boy Scout Training links on the Troop 55 website as well as on the Sam Houston Area Council (SHAC) website link, www.shac.org. Look at the training options on the Scouts BSA Leader Resources.
• Give your Scout some room to make mistakes — let his Patrol Assistant Scoutmasters (PASMs) decide if more coaching is required, and then let them do the coaching.
• Recognize that we strive for a Scout-run Troop, except in an unsafe situations. Please resist the natural instinct to “fix it.” Scouting allows Scouts to learn by planning and doing for themselves.
• Per BSA policy, before being registered as an adult leader or serving in any ‘direct contact’ leadership capacity, you MUST complete a quick online Youth Protection Training course.

• Troop 55 provides each new Scout who has paid his dues with an
embroidered Troop 55 neckerchief and a Boy Scout Handbook.
• All other personal gear is the responsibility of the Scout and his parents.
• The Troop furnishes each patrol with a stove, propane, cooking gear, a
dining fly, and a lantern. (The Troop also owns a fleet of canoes, kayaks,
climbing gear, and other common equipment.)

• The Troop’s Web site, www.troop55.org, contains a great deal of useful
information, including forms, calendar, contact lists, each Scout’s
advancement status, and more. Scout and adult personal information is
password-protected.
• Troop 55 makes heavy use of email; it’s extremely important that you go
to the Troop’s website and sign up for the Scout and adult mailing list after
joining.