CT BSA troop 175/1175 - Cuba, Kilimanjaro, and more

[RememberSchiff]

Simsbury, CT Boy Scout Troop 175 is the first BSA troop to visit Cuba in 57 years.

Brad Mead, the troop's Scoutmaster, said the trip is part of Troop 175's mission to take the Scouts to unique places.

"We are a rather unusual troop," Mead said. "We go all over the world. We've been up Mount Kilimanjaro twice, we've been deep in the Amazon jungle, we've been rafting down the Zambezi River, we've been to Alaska a couple of times."

Mead said the idea for a trip to Cuba came about when travel between the United States and Cuba was reinstated a few years ago.

"When they opened up for special visas, I thought it would be a fun trip," Mead said. "We've been the first troop to do an awful lot of stuff, so it seemed like something to do before somebody else did it."

Wow sounds like ... ADVENTURE!

More interesting details at source link

http://www.courant.com/community/simsbury/hc-va-simsbury-boy-scout-cuba-0525-20170524-story.html

Edited October 30, 2019 by RememberSchiff
whitespace removal, title change

[eagle90]

I am extremely curious as to how this troop raises funds for these world wide trips.  We schedule a $600 high adventure trip and are met with complaints about the cost.

[TAHAWK]

Zip codes: 06070.

Estimated median household income in 2015: $113,846 (it was $82,996 in 2000)

Simsbury:   $113,846

CT:   $71,346
Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Simsbury-Connecticut.html#ixzz4i8lLtF6Q

 

Edited October 30, 2019 by RememberSchiff
whitespace removal

[RememberSchiff]

Same Boy Scout troop 175, now with a female Boy Scout troop 1175, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for the third time this past summer. Good information about what makes a strong program - scout lead, adventure, outdoor-experienced (not trained in classroom) leaders 

....a little risk goes a long way in building the Scouts’ character.

“We’ve engineered risk out of almost everything for teenagers these days,” Mead said. “One of the great things about a Scouting program is that it’s allowed to go into these environments where you don’t know what’s going to happen. We find on these trips, while we do strong safety overlays, it challenges people. You can’t suddenly go home. You are in hostile environments sometimes and you can’t just bail out. That’s an unusual experience.”  ~ Scoutmaster Brad Mead

“We run these types of trips every summer for our older scouts. We have taken them deep into the Amazon Jungle, sailing down the Belize Reef, exploring through Thailand, Rafting down the Zambezi River (Zambia Africa), SCUBA diving in Honduras, sailing through the Greek islands, and even a cultural expedition in Cuba,” said Scoutmaster Mead. “Properly prepared, teenagers can do extraordinary things. The Scouting BSA program provides those opportunities.”

More details of experience and photos at sources:

https://www.courant.com/community/simsbury/hc-va-simsbury-boy-scouts-mount-kilimanjaro-20191031-20191029-3t4wrtft5bfjlcrxvi2qzdrd3a-story.html

http://simsburytroop175.org/troop-news/simsburys-bsa-troops-175-and-1175-on-top-of-africa/

We are proud of our adult leadership at Troop 175. It’s deep and experienced. Our Adult leaders have camped, climbed, fished, hunted and explored on many expeditions. They are all great teachers. In addition we have a very high participation by the Dads in our Troop and it is not unusual to have 10-15 dads on a trip. No experience is necessary and if you were never a Scout as a boy this is your second chance to learn the ropes. We have a Dads/Leaders Patrol, the “Usual Suspects,” on each trip and we eat very well (a source of some pride and a fair bit of competition) and share a lot of experiences as Dads and as professionals from all walks of life.

Our Troop is Boy Led and our Boy Leaders are selected by the adult leadership based on their performance and ability to lead. The senior patrol leaders and patrol leaders share their wisdom and pass on their knowledge to the younger Scouts through our trip and advancement programs. The Boy Scouts is one of the very few organizations where boys can be put in leadership positions at ages as young 12. Good leaders often appear early and the fun of Scouting is watching them "take the lead".

Troops are only as good as the boys who want to step up and take charge and the adult volunteers who are there to assist. This years boy leaders are:....

https://sites.google.com/site/simsburyboyscouts175/about/troop-leadership (older link, likely before girl membership ~RS)

Edited October 30, 2019 by RememberSchiff