Boy Scouts of America - TROOP 414

Spring, Texas

Training boys to become godly men

Troop 414 Leadership

"If a Scout can do it, adults don't"

Current Term Leadership (Sept 2011 - March 2012)
Position
Scout
Senior Patrol Leader
 Eli B.
Assistant Senior Patrol Leader - Troop Staff
 Greg D.
Assistant Senior Patrol Leader - Patrols
 Rickey V.
Troop Quartermaster
 Grant S.
Troop Scribe
 Donald F.
Chaplain Aide
 Zach R.
Troop Historian
 Xavier T.
Troop Librarian
 Alden H.
Troop Grubmaster
 Ryan C.
Leave No Trace Trainer
 William C.
Troop Webmaster
 Landon C.
OA Representative
 Hunter T.
Troop Guide
 Danny W.
Instructor
 Chris B.
Instructor
 Ian B.
Instructor
 Jacob G.
Den Chief
 Matthew A.
Den Chief
 Hunter T.
Den Chief
 Rickey V.
Previous Term Leadership (March 2011 - August 2011)
Position
Scout
Senior Patrol Leader
 Jonathan C.
Assistant Senior Patrol Leader - Troop Staff
 Eli B.
Assistant Senior Patrol Leader - Patrols
 Chris B.
Troop Quartermaster
 Ian B.
Troop Scribe
 Landon C.
Chaplain Aide
 Nathan C.
Troop Historian
 Ryan C.
Troop Librarian
 Cody C.
Instructor
 John B.
Instructor
 Greg D.
Troop Webmaster
 Nathan C.
Den Chief
 Matthew A.
Den Chief
 Hunter T.
Den Chief
 Rickey V.
OA Representative
 Hunter T.

Troop Leadership Resources

Troop Leadership Opportunities and Transition

Troop 414 selects new troop and patrol level leadership every six months. Terms run from April 1 to September 31 and from October 1 to March 31.

We need everyone to seek a position of responsibility (a leadership position) to keep the troop and patrols working like a well-oiled machine! Only two positions are elected:

All other positions are appointed by these newly elected leaders. That is, the new SPL appoints his troop staff and each PL appoints his patrol staff.

Elections for Senior Patrol Leader and Patrol Leader are held one month prior to the end of the leadership term. Scouts interested in running for SPL or PL must submit a completed Elected Leadership Position Application form to the Scoutmaster at least one week before the election. They must each also deliver a speech one week before the election. This gives the Scouts in the troop and patrols time before the elections to absorb what was said and seriously consider which of candidates will best serve the troop or patrol. Speeches should be no more than three minutes in length and include the following:

  1. Explanation of why he is qualified for the position.
  2. What he hopes to accomplish during his 6-month term; provide 2 or 3 realistic, attainable goals.
  3. His perspective on the job -- What kind of leader does he plan to be? How does he see himself doing the job?

The evening of the elections Scouts are given one last opportunity to deliver a one-minute speech to recap why he is the best candidate for the respective job.

Elections are done by secret ballot. Each Scout is given a pen and one sheet of paper with the names of the candidates. He is directed to select one candidate. Write-ins are not allowed. The Scoutmasters tally the results and announce the winner. In the event of a tie another round of voting occurs using only the two candidates that received the most votes.

Once the new SPL and PLs have been announced any Scout interested in being appointed to a troop staff or patrol staff leadership position are directed to give each the SPL or PL his Appointed Leadership Position Application form. This form lists the leadership position(s) the Scout is most interested in holding for the next leadership term.

Every Scout should take seriously the decision to seek an appointed troop staff or patrol staff position. He should realize that every job is important and needed, he should want to do the job and have a few goals to do it better than the last guy, and he should be thinking ahead of time about what he can do to meet those goals in his patrol and for the troop.

A Scout working on Star, Life, or Eagle rank needs to seek a job as SPL, PL, or troop staff, unless he has already completed a 6-month term in one of these positions and would like to help out in the Patrol staff instead. Scouts working on Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, or 1st Class rank should seek to be Patrol Leader or in a patrol staff position.

During the week following the elections the new SPL and Patrol Leaders should be communicating with each other so they fill their appointments without problematic overlap (e.g. The PL shouldn’t appoint a Scout as Quartermaster when the SPL has already selected him to be the Troop Quartermaster). The Scoutmaster will be happy to offer guidance and reflective questions to help these new leaders make the first official leadership decisions wise ones! If the new SPL or PL wants to appoint someone to a position that did not submit an application then he must call that Scout to see if he is interested, and if so, that Scout must bring a completed and signed application to the next troop meeting.

Once the SPL and PLs are comfortable with their appointments they are announced at the troop meeting the week after the elections.

If the troop schedule allows, the new SPL, ASPL, PLs, Troop Guide(s), and Troop Scribe then join the current leadership at the next Patrol Leaders Council (PLC) so they can see how a PLC is run before assuming leadership at the March or September PLC.

The actual transfer of power takes place at the March or September Court of Honor.

The basic leadership transition schedule, then, is as follows:

TROOP STAFF positions of responsibility we fill in our troop. Note that there are two new troop staff positions available as of Jan 1, 2010:

PATROL STAFF positions of responsibility we fill in our troop:

All of these positions are described in detail in the Guide to Troop Leadership Positions document (PDF file), available via the RESOURCES link above with the same name. Alternatively, click on one of the Leadership Position links below.