About us and FAQs

WE ARE ACCEPTING NEW ENROLLMENTS AT THIS TIME.

Please read through all of this websites Dues, Fees, and By-laws and our About us and FAQs to see if we might be a good fit for you. We are only allowing a limited number of applicants to join (we have limited resources).

If you are interested in joining, please email bsatroop2020@gmail.com with a subject line of "Interested in Joining" (include information such as the age of the youth to be added and a little about them).  We will contact you for additional information.  Currently our Scouts are ages 11 through 15.

We welcome you to contact us regarding our Troop, and to schedule a visit. Every Troop is run slightly differently. Here are some questions you may have and our responses.

When does the troop meet?

  • Our meeting time may change weekly depending on activities, please contact us to find out when and where we are meeting in a given week.  Our troop currently meets on Tuesdays from 5:30pm-7:00pm. We reevaluate the meeting time annually.

Where does the troop meet?

  • We have 1 residential home in North East Orem that we meet at.

How long have the adult leaders been involved in Scouting?

  • Shawn has been an adult leader in Scouting for about 20 years and is Woodbadge Trained and has served on Woodbadge Staff.
  • Ryann
  • Scott
  • Lorin
  • Kent
  • Bruce

How often do you go camping?

  • We average camping 10 out of the 12 months during the year (taking December off)--for about 17 nights a year. We hope you love camping, since that is where we put many of our skills to use.

How big is the troop?

How are activities funded?

  • At this time, activities will be funded from the parents of the youth.  While we do notify you of the opportunity to sell fundraiser tickets, we don’t currently have fundraising activities setup.

What kinds of experiences are memorable from your troop?

  • It may not make sense, but the scouting program is actually designed so that youth can learn from experiences, both good and bad, in a controlled environment.  We assess what went well or did not go well with each activity, they learn to improvise if some piece of gear or ingredient is forgotten and to change plans in order to accommodate weather changes and to stay safe. 

Is the troop youth-led?

  • Whenever anyone approaches one of the adult leaders and asks what is supposed to be going on with the Troop, the answer is almost always “go ask your patrol leader” (or your senior-patrol leader).

What are some of your troop’s core/signature events?

  • Mostly, we focus on merit badges and advancement that the youth decide on and campout locations that interest them. These campouts have taken place at:
    • Klondike - Annual Council camp
    • Hiking/backpacking campouts in the High Uintas, Wasatch Front, or Southern Utah
    • Fishing Campouts
    • Annual Scout Camp
    • Overnight campouts with a hiking or biking component
    • Council camporees
    • Other fun campouts

What sets you apart from other Troops?

  • We feel strongly about helping the youth, and have worked with youth in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in other youth organizations.
  • We were the first Non-LDS Troop formed in Orem after the LDS Church decided to dissolve their partnership with the BSA.  We were formed 11 months before the church dissolved their partnership.  When we formed in 2019, we were also the only Troop for 10 months that was Non-LDS sponsored and continuing with Scouting in 2020.  (8 other troops were created by the end of December 2019 while we had been operating for 10 months before they were created).
  • BSA Troop 2020 was officially formed on February 1st, 2019 by leaders whose combined scouting experience was well over a hundred years.

Do you offer Scouts BSA for girls?

  • We currently do not offer Scouting American for girls.
  • However, if you are interested in starting a troop and can get enough youth and leadership for it, we'd love to talk to you about starting one.

Do you offer cub scouts?

  • Unfortunately, we do not.

Do you offer the Venturing Program?

  • The Venturing program is a high-adventure program that is co-ed program for youth ages 14-21.  We do not offer that program.  Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts of America) is for youth ages 11-18 (10 ½ if they have their Webelos and Arrow of Light from Cub Scouts).
  • Troop 1098 from American Fork offers the Venturing program.

Are there other options in Utah Valley for Scout Troops?

May my son and I come to a troop meeting?

  • We highly encourage you to arrange a time to visit our troop and meet the Scouts. Most of them have been getting their Eagle at about age 15, which explains the upper age of our Scouts.

As a parent, may I be involved at all?

  • We welcome parents in joining the committee and helping to carry out the instruction and planning that go into camping and weekly activities.

How are records tracked?

  • Scoutbook.com is the electronic record keeping system the BSA has given us.  

Do you have any resources for planning a Court of Honor for an Eagle

  • Absolutely.  Here is a document that we put together from both our own experience and from documents that were created by others (some of which are no longer available at the location we retrieved them from).  Eagle court of honor notes and ideas

I need help deciding what to do for my Eagle project


I heard that the LDS/Mormon Church got out of Scouting because of their belief that the organization has become corrupt or because of something which they consider evil (lots of reasons added here)?

  • First off, let us clarify the LDS/Mormon Church should be referred to as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  • https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/multimedia/file/bsa-joint-statement-may-8.pdf
    • "While the Church will no longer be a chartered partner of BSA or sponsor Scouting units after December 31, 2019, it continues to support the goals and values reflected in the Scout Oath and Scout Law and expresses its profound desire for Scouting’s continuing and growing success in the years ahead."
      • That sounds to me like the church strongly supports Scouting.
  • https://www.ldsbsa.org/blog/peace-goodwill-and-optimism-an-overview-of-the-2018-national-annual-meeting-2/
    • Elder Holland stated..."Collectively and individually we are invested in this. My boys are Eagle Scouts and my grandsons are Eagle Scouts. There has been considerable anguish at the highest levels of the Church as we have made this decision...This isn’t a divorce. This is sending kids off to college...Please know how grateful we are to the BSA. We are friends now and we will be friends forever. In 18 months when our charters are finished, we hope that many LDS youth who wish to do so will still choose to be in Scouting. It is just the charter part that we are separating from. We’re going to stay in close contact. And we are locked arm in arm and hand in hand... Let me stress again, ‘This isn’t a divorce.’ It’s growth. We’re not in any way disavowing any of those virtues of Scouting. This is about children. We hope that you keep serving. Let me say it again, ‘Keep Serving.’"
    • Elder Holland is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I think that says it all.

I have more questions about Scouting?

, some of the questions above were based off information found in this article.

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2019/01/09/16-essential-questions-to-ask-when-selecting-a-troop/

Frequently Asked Questions for those in the Troop

I can't see the Troop Calendar?

  • We have a Gmail calendar setup for members of the Troop.
  • Step 1, make sure you are a member of the Troop (or a members parent).  The calendar is not public and is only visible to the current members.
  • Step 2, make sure the leaders have added you to the calendar when you became a member.
    • You will need a Gmail email account for the calendar.  If you don't have one, you can create one for free.
    • Email accounts other than Gmail will not allow you to view the calendar.  We can send your emails to accounts other than Gmail but you will need a Gmail account to view the calendar.
  • If you are on a Desktop computer - Open Google calendar and make sure there is a check mark next to bsatroop2020@gmail.com
  • Mobile devices - the problem we've seen with mobile devices are that the calendar hasn't been selected or it hasn't been synced.
    • Google Calendar App
      • Open Google Calendar on your phone and click the hamburger icon in the top left (looks like three horizontal bars).
      • Click Settings.
      • Under your gmail email address, you should see BSA Troop 2020 (you may need to click on "Show more" to see all of your calendars).
      • Click on BSA Troop 2020.
      • Make sure that Sync is turned on.
      • Go back to the Calendar on your mobile device.
      • Now, when you click on the hamburger icon, you should see BSA Troop 2020 in the list.  You can select it or un-select it to hide our events.
    • Samsung Calendar
      • Open Samsung Calendar and click the hamburger icon in the top right (looks like three vertical dots).
      • Click Manage Calendars
      • Scroll down until you find BSA Troop 2020 and make sure it is selected.
    • Other mobile calendars
      • They will most likely follow the same procedures as above.  Ask one of us if you need help.

Where can I find merit badge requirements that are current?

First off, the latest printing of the merit badge book is your best resource.  Not only does it have all of the current requirements, but it also has tons of great information in it that may be difficult to find elsewhere.  (i.e. you'll be doing a ton of research to find the information that would have been at your fingertips).  However, here are some excellent links that have the merit badges for you.

Do you have any good resources on camping in general?


Do you have any good resources on backpacking in the rain?


Do you have any good resources on cold weather camping?

Winter Camping Checklist:
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/winter-snow-camping-checklist.html
Winter/Snow Camping Checklist - Single page checklist
https://www.rei.com/content/dam/documents/pdf/Gear%20Checklists/Printer%20Friendly/EA_checklist-winter-camping.pdf

Some good advice from Scouting America:
https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/safety-moments/winter-activity

Dress appropriately.
One thing boys like to do is to wear shorts during winter months.  Once you lose body warmth, you don't get it back just because you put a jacket or coat on at that point.  Once it's gone, it's gone.  If you don't get cold in the first place you don't need to warm up later.
You want to dress in layers during the winter.  The absolute worst thing you can do when it is cold is to get wet.  If you are dry, you will stay warm.
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/layering-basics.html

Here is more advice on winter camping:
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/winter-camping.html

When camping in cold weather, you should use a closed-cell foam pad.
(Search for the following phrase on this page: Camping on snow)
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/sleeping-pads.html#TypesofSleepingPads

How to sleep warm and dry in cold weather:
https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/camp-sleeping-tips.html

The biggest things are to stay dry & stay warm (don't lose your heat as it's hard to get it back once it's gone).  If you go to bed cold, you'll probably be cold almost all night long.  That last article has the best tips on staying warm at night.

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