The troop leadership drove to Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware, for a troop planning conference. At this meeting almost all of the patrol leaders attended as did Mr. Paul D., Mr. Steve R., and Mr. Roger B. The reason everyone was assembled was that there were a few problems in the troop that needed fixing and we needed to straighten the schedule out.

       There were several important topics discussed at the meeting. First we had to find out a way to make the meetings more interesting. We had to make the scouts want to come. With this in mind, we planned the events and details for the next several meetings, including inviting Mr. Howard DuQuette from the FBI to do the Fingerprinting Merit Badge. That was a big success and everyone who wanted to could have gotten or will get the merit badge.

       Another idea was to have different merit badges going year-round. This way, if there was no planning, teaching, or preparing going on, then at least there will be merit badges available. This will keep people from roaming the halls and from being bored.

       A third problem that we tried to fix was the discipline problem. Sometimes at meetings there is too much horseplay and too little work being done. Sometimes there is even some pushing or shoving.  Though certainly no one wants to hurt another scout, accidents do happen, and by cutting down on the horseplay, we can keep these accidents to a minimum. Many ideas were discussed, but possibly the most significant has to do with rank advancement. When it comes time for a scout to advance, Mr. Paul D. or Mr. Philip S. will ask the patrol leader about the scout's behavior. If the report is bad enough, that scout might have to show improvement in his behavior before he is allowed to advance in rank.

       Using the patrol leader to judge a scout's behavior was one aspect of a larger objective, of getting the patrols and patrol leaders to play a greater role in troop activities. Senior Patrol Leader Mike S. decided that all the patrols should go for the Baden Powell Patrol award, and led the patrol leaders through a discussion of how to go about that.

       For the schedule we talked about different trips, hikes, and campouts. We talked about the camporees, Eagle Landing, New York, and skiing trips, as well as several other events. The schedule for the troop is available where all of the other forms are kept every meeting, in the back of the room.