Preparing to Explore a silver & gold mine
that dates from the 1870's
Basics
Troop 97 began in March, 1952.
The troop failed in 1956, due to lack of adult leadership.
The troop began anew in June, 1959, and has been in continuous existence for the 53 years since then.
Our chartering organization (sponsor) is St Luke's Episcopal Church, 2000 S. Stover St, Fort Collins, CO.
Membership Data (as of September 2012)
55 Scouts
13 current active uniformed adult leaders
more than 50 adults cover numerous support and troop committee roles, including providing merit badge counselors for almost every one of Scouting's 120+ merit badges
Schools
8 elementary & middle schools (53% of Scouts/grades 5-8)
7 high schools (47% of Scouts/grades 9-12)
Churches
65% of our Scouts belong to a church (representing 19 local churches)
35% of our Scouts do not attend a church
Former Cub Scouts/Webelos
69% of our Scouts earned the Arrow of Light as Cub Scouts
55% of our Scouts joined directly from a Cub Scout pack (from 13 different packs)
Younger Scouts
You've got 26 fellow Scouts aged 10-13, who attend 8 different schools.
There's a good chance you'll know some guys a grade or two above you at your school, from Troop 97.
You've got senior Scouts to help you advance, and can teach you the skills based on their experience when they were younger.
Senior Scouts
Troop 97 has more senior Scouts than most troops, Varsity teams, or Venturing crews.
You've got 29 fellow Scouts aged 14-17, who attend 7 different high schools.
You work with and teach the younger Scouts, but you've also got plenty of older Scouts to do things with, too.
As you advance toward Eagle, it helps to have other guys working on the same things.
Eagle Scouts
Almost 25% of all Troop 97 Scouts since 1979 have earned Scouting's highest rank
161 Troop 97 Scouts have earned Eagle, 123 since 1979
Parents
20% of our Scouts come from single-parent/step-parent families
49% of our Scouts have at least one parent actively involved
Scoutmaster
Jeff Snowden is the troop's 16th Scoutmaster. He has:
been in Scouting continuously since 1959 (53+ years)
been a Scoutmaster since 1967 (45+ years)
been with Troop 97 since 1978 (34+ years)
been involved in Scout and adult leadership training for the district, Council, and Region since 1968, including serving as course director for Scouting's week-long Wood Badge advanced adult training course
been awarded the Silver Beaver for service to youth
