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About Troop 97

Troop 97 Facts

Archery at Summer Camp

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.
The troop began anew in June, 1959, and has been in continuous existence since then.
The 'linked' Troop 97 for girls began in 2019, when BSA first allowed girls in Scout troops.
In 2024, the 'linked' boys and girls Troop 97's merged together into one troop, when the BSA invited us to be take part in their 'Combined Troop Pilot Program'.
We formerly met at St Luke's Episcopal Church from 1952 until the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
We are now chartered (sponsored) by Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1709 W Elizabeth St, Fort Collins, CO.
Our troop is open and welcoming.

Membership Data (as of August 2024)

36 Scouts (boys & girls)
17 current active uniformed adult leaders, plus another 32 registered adults in committee and other positions.
More than 50 adults cover numerous support and troop committee roles, including providing merit badge counselors for almost every one of Scouting's 130+ merit badges.

Schools

Former Cub Scouts/Webelos

69% of our Scouts earned the Arrow of Light as Cub Scouts
67% of our Scouts joined directly from a Cub Scout pack (from 6 different packs)
17% of our Scouts had been in another troop, either local or in another state
17% of our Scouts had never been in Scouting until they joined T97

Eagle Scouts

26% of all Troop 97 Scouts since 1979 have earned Scouting's highest rank (21% since the troop's founding in 1952)
207 Troop 97 Scouts have earned Eagle, 169 since 1979
Four of our female Scouts have already earned Eagle, including Larimer County's first female Eagle Scout.

Scoutmaster
Jeff Snowden is the troop's 16th Scoutmaster. He has:

been in Scouting continuously since 1959
been a Scoutmaster since 1967
been with Troop 97 since 1978
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 (national BSA award for service to youth) and the Episcopal St George Award (national award of the Episcopal Church for service to youth)
What are all those knots?