Junior Leader Training, August - 2009

The key to leadership longevity lies in succession. And this weekend, Troop 451 took a great first step toward building the leaders who will be running our troop in the years to come. Thanks to outstanding leadership training put together by Mr. Brown Sr. (Sterling) and executed by Noah B. and his staff, our first and some second year scouts now have a better grasp of "shared leadership," the traits that make a good leader, and why trust and working together are key to running a great troop. Now it's on to Brown Sea - the second stage of leadership training - the weekend of September 11-13. The future of 451 is indeed bright.

Saturday morning, the scouts arrived at Hills & Hollows in Denton excited, but not quite sure what was in store.

Packed and ready for whatever the next 36 hours brings our way


First up, the flag raising ceremony...

And the Pledge of Allegiance. Always a wonderful reminder of the importance of Scouting and why we do what we do.

Next, get unpacked and help each other get all the tents up.

The senior scout staff did an outstanding job all weekend. Thanks Noah, Matthew, Chris, Saurage, Will and JJ for your leadership.

Noah B. laying out the lay of the land and the schedule for the weekend.

The scouts had a great time working through a "blind" communication exercise where they all held on to a rope and had to make one giant shape without looking at where everyone was standing, relying on on verbal communication.

Fortunately, on another 100-degree Texas afternoon, we had a great pavilion where we could meet to watch the video portions of the leadership training. It was also a great place to watch our Saturday night movie - "The Great Debaters!"

At the breaks, there was plenty of time for a little Football.

Hey, it is August in Texas. Football is on everybody's mind!

Mr. Covington did a fantastic job as Grubmaster putting on a Feast of Tacos on Saturday night including a delicious batch of Queso.

The great eating continued Sunday morning as Team Brown put on a Pancake & Bacon buffet!



Of course, the "patter vs. non-patter" pancake debate was raging as it always does when the 451 griddle gets fired up. Mr. Brown made it clear where he stood and as if on cue, Mr. Perry appeared to represent the "non-patter" side of the debate.

Quite a popular spot over the last two days - we went through 40 gallons of Gatorade, Lemonade and Water over the day and a half we were at Hills & Hollows. Got to stay hydrated! Many thanks to Mrs. Kahn, Mr. Osbourne and Mr. Lagesse who helped make all the meals and watch over camp.

This morning, the boys formed their patrol lines and cleared the campsite of all the trash they could find. The boys take "Leave No Trace" very seriously and did a great job cleaning up.


Our last activity before leaving camp was our Sunday morning service and the sharing of our "Thorns and Roses." Other than "bugs," "heat" and "a little late night talking" it was all roses including the food, the activities, the movie and from the adults, the joy of seeing these boys working together and learning to become leaders.