Leadership policies

Scouts serve in positions of responsibility, and for Star, Life and Eagle that service has to be active and last long enough. These are the Troop's rules for leadership terms, elections and credit. The list of positions is in the Scout positions directory.

Terms

The Troop has two six-month leadership terms each year:

• Fall term: September 1 to March 1. Elections are in late August.
• Spring term: March 1 to September 1. Elections are in mid-February.

The spring term covers the summer, and Scouts can still earn credit then through active participation in the annual planning process, summer camp and high adventure.

A Scout may serve at most two consecutive terms in the same position, unless it would otherwise go unfilled.

Each term

1. Sign-ups open for elected and appointed positions.
2. The First Year Assistant Scoutmaster appoints Troop Guides (spring term only).
3. The Senior Patrol Leader is elected at a Troop meeting.
4. The SPL-elect chooses the appointed positions: Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Scribe, Quartermaster, Bugler, Historian/Webmaster, Librarian, OA Representative and Outdoor Ethics Guide.
5. The SPL reviews the choices with the Scoutmaster, who has final approval of every leadership appointment.
6. The SPL announces the appointments.
7. Patrol Leaders are elected at a Troop meeting.

Election rules

• Two uniformed leaders are named Election Officers and run each election. A leader whose child is running cannot be an Election Officer for that election.
• Candidates are announced, must be present, and give a short speech. Voting is by paper ballot, and candidates may vote. The Election Officers collect and count the ballots.
• At least half the members must be present for an election to count, and the winner needs more than half of the votes cast.
• If there is a tie, there is a runoff between the tied candidates. If it is still tied, the winner is the candidate with the better attendance and participation over the past six months. If that does not decide it, the SPL breaks the tie for Patrol Leader elections, and the Scoutmaster breaks it for SPL or Patrol Leader elections. When a sibling of the SPL or a child of the Scoutmaster is among the tied candidates, that person does not vote and the Election Officers decide.

Credit toward rank

• A Scout must be First Class or higher for a position to count as credit toward rank, and must serve actively to earn credit. Any Scout can hold a position without that rank, but it will not count toward rank until they reach First Class.
• Credit for six months requires a participation score of at least 15 with no 1 in any category. Scouts are encouraged to aim for 20 to 25.
• No credit is given for months in which nothing is done.
• Participation is reviewed by the Scout's Patrol Advisor, the adult leader assigned to their patrol. The final decision is made by the Scoutmaster for the SPL and appointed positions, and by the Patrol Advisor for Patrol Leaders and Troop Guides. Any disagreement is reviewed with the Scout and the Scoutmaster.
• A Scout cannot double-count: serving as a Patrol Leader and a Den Chief at the same time earns credit for only one.

Summer camp, high adventure and special projects

• A week of leadership at summer camp, or at Camp Ta-Ki-Ma, earns one month of credit. Twelve days of leadership on a high adventure trip or jamboree earns two months. Only key positions such as SPL and Patrol Leader count on these trips.
• At most three months of credit can come from these roles in a single summer.
• The Scoutmaster can approve special leadership projects, and credit for serving as a Troop Instructor teaching a specific subject. The Scoutmaster approves all summer camp, high adventure and special project credit.
• Credit cannot overlap. A Scout who is a Patrol Leader for the spring term and the SPL for Oljato earns no extra credit for the summer.