Welcome to Troop 1861!
Thank you so much for joining Troop 1861 in College Station, TX! Below are a few resources to help the transition into Boy Scouts.
New Parent Orientation Video
This comprehensive orientation video is designed for new scout parents of Troop 1861, covering everything from the transition from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, to preparing for camping adventures.
Important Documents
Packing Lists
Health Forms*
*Health Forms Hack – Download the PDFs and fill them out and save them to your computer or in the cloud. Then each year, you can simply change the year, update any details, and sign them.
Youth Protection
The Boy Scouts of America places the greatest importance on creating the most secure environment possible for our youth members. To maintain such an environment, the BSA developed numerous procedural and leadership selection policies and provides parents and leaders with resources for the Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, and Venturing programs. If you plan to camp with the troop, you must be a registered adult in BSA and have taken the Youth Protection Training (commonly referred to as YPT).
Communications
Troop Resources
Here are some links that we use regularly.
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GroupMe – This is our troop standard for communications. Please install the app on your phone and send us your information to be added to GroupMe.
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Google Group – This is another way that we communicate via email. Please request to be added to the Google Group to receive important email communications.
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ScoutBook – This includes information about your child’s advancement as well as event information (which is also fed into the Troop calendar below).
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YPT & Training – Training is important because every child deserves a trained leader. We would like all parents to complete the Youth Protection Training (YPT – 50 mins).
- Apply Now – This will take you right to a link where you can join today.
Area Information
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Arrowmoon District Website – This is the district that Pack 802 is in that covers the Brazos Valley and a bit beyond.
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Arrowmoon District Discussions – An online forum as a resource for district leaders and events.
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Sam Houston Area Council (SHAC) – This is the area council that Arrowmoon District is part of, covering the greater Houston area.
Charter Information
Where We Meet
Where We Meet:
Peace Lutheran Church
Fellowship Hall (beside the Sanctuary)
2201 Rio Grande
College Station, Texas
Scout Meetings: Every Tuesday, 7 PM
Charter Organization: Peace Lutheran Church
Charter Representative: Megan Reynolds
Scoutmaster: David Inbody
Committee Chair: Chris Hunter
About BSA Troop 1861
Troop 1861 is a boy lead boy scout troop chartered by Peace Lutheran Church in College Station, Texas. Our adult leadership is present to support and guide each young man as he develops leadership skills and puts those skills into practice.
The Troop offers a diverse array of camping experiences and camps at least once per month. In any given year, we typically enjoy canoeing, backpacking, rock climbing/rappelling, static (car) camping, beach camping, and fishing camp outs. Over 100 boys have earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the last 30 years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are a few questions we get asked about Troop 1861, BSA, Campouts and Meetings.
Scoutmaster: David Inbody
Charter Representative: Megan Reynolds
Committee Chairman: Chris Hunter
Peace Lutheran Church
2201 Rio Grande
College Station, Texas
Every Tuesday at 7 – 8:30PM
We participate in a few fundraisers each year to help our Scouts do all of the awesome things we get to do! A few to note are Popcorn Sales, Texas A&M Football game ticket scanning, the MS150 at Kyle Field, and Profit Share nights at a few restaurants in the B/CS area. We try to participate in “smart” fundraising and not require too much time from our volunteers.
Generally, your Scout will need the following:
- Backpack
- Sleeping Bag
- Uniform
- Flashlight
- Knife
- Drinking Container
There are really a lot of things that Scouts need, but generally the above is what each scout will need over time. Please check with the troop as items are donated every year that can easily be re-used. For a full list of items recommended for a campout, please refer to this comprehensive list.
For the most part, your Scout will just mainly need a “Class A” uniform which is the tan scout uniform that you can get from the official Scouting store in the Bryan/College Station area – Burdett & Son Outdoor Adventure Shop. We do have uniforms that have been donated though as Scouts tend to outgrow their uniforms quickly, so we suggest you check with us before purchasing a new uniform.
Troop 1861 is in the Arrowmoon District in the Sam Houston Area Council.
The yearly dues for BSA, the Council, District, and Troop are currently $160 per year per Scout and $90 per year per adult.
Generally speaking, for Trailer campouts (where we take all of our equipment in the Troop trailer), the campout costs are $10 per Scout and $20 per adult. This money is given to the Grub Master (Scout in charge of purchasing the food) to purchase food for the campout.
For hiking campouts, there’s typically no cost as each individual is in charge of packing and cooking their own food. Don’t worry, we generally will help provide support on what to bring and how to cook it.
Troop funds typically pay for the campsite fees.
*High Adventure campouts that Scouts 14 years and above attend are handled a bit different and will vary depend on the trip.
Youth can join a Scout troop who have earned the Arrow of Light rank and are at least 10 years old, or have completed the fifth grade and are at least 10, or who are 11, but not yet 18 years old.
If your son is below that age, we recommend that he join a Cub Scout Pack nearest to you so that he can join his friends.
Here’s a list of the Packs in the College Station area along with where and when they meet:
http://arrowmoon.shac.org/units-1
Absolutely! We encourage every adult to participate and help support the troop! It takes many hands to make our boys successful!
Absolutely! We invite every adult that’s a registered adult in BSA and has taken the BSA Youth Protection Training to come on camp outs!
This is a common question we get and while we’re not an “Eagle Factory”, we have several Scouts that attain the highest rank in BSA, Eagle Scout, each and every year. Currently, we have had over 100 boys achieve Eagle Scout in the lifetime of our troop.
Our troop is a highly motivated group of boys that help each other advance on a weekly basis. It’s a common occurrence at each weekly meeting to have a Scout (if not several Scouts) advance in rank.
We typically have around 10-12 campouts per year (one per month). Some of them are trailer campouts – meaning that we bring the troop trailer and have all of our equipment. Some are hiking campouts where we hike into our campsites. Some are summer camps where we spend seven evenings at a BSA approved summer camp.
And once the boys are above 14 years old, they can go on high adventure trips and go to some awesome places like Philmont Scout Ranch, Florida Sea Base, Summit Bechtel Reserve or Northern Tier.
We take a minimum of four adults on every campout. However, there are several favorite campouts (such as Webelos Woods, Camporee, Enchanted Rock and Floating on the River) where we have a lot more than that. It’s common to have upwards of twelve adults at these campouts.
We currently have around 50 active Scouts. There is an ebb and flow of Scouts as they get involved in sports, school and extracurricular activities so this number goes up and down depending on the season of the year. There are currently two patrols and we are looking to add a new patrol in the upcoming year.
Currently we have around 40 active adults. There are a lot of adults that still help the troop out, even though their scouts have long moved on. It’s a great troop to be active in and volunteer your time!
While we highly encourage parents to be involved in the troop (as well as camp with us), it’s definitely not required. We usually have adequate adult supervision to ensure the proper safety of the boys.