Archives

Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to take this time to say it was both my honor and privilege to have served as Scoutmaster for Troop 45 for the last 5 years. I first want to thank each and everyone of you for entrusting your son with us, and that you continued to bring them back to meetings, campouts, merit badge events, and fundraising events. It means so much to me that you allowed me to be a part of their growth from boys to fine young men who will go out into the world and accomplish great things. I also want to thank Chuck Crouch, Jeff Woodfin for seeking me out and bestowing the honor of serving in this role. To Bill Taylor who made it easy to lead as he never said no to an adventure and kept the board apprised of our great many trips. I also want to thank each and every board member and Assistant Scoutmaster who helped along the way, if it were not for them, we could never have accomplished so much. The countless hours of sacrifice they made to make every trip and event a success. These men and women who always said yes to serving and giving back are the backbone of Troop 45. I will always look back at my time as scoutmaster with great fondness and thankfulness for the time I spent with these men and women and our scouts. They have brought great joy to my life over the past five years and will continue to do so as I have made everlasting friendships and bonds. There are so many stories I could tell of our boys’ growth and the growth of our leaders that I could tell, but I am limited to this email. I also want to thank Jason Bouldin and Jamie Copelin for being my rock in the trying times, I could always lean on them for just one more thing. These two embolden the spirit of the Scout Oath and Law in every which way. It was these two I relied on at dwindling hours of the nights and mornings trying to find new ways to inspire the boys to realize their goals and achieve them. I also want to thank Nathan Crouch for taking on the undaunting task of stepping in as the new Scoutmaster to continue these boys journeys to excellence. Lastly, I want to thank the boys themselves. I want to thank them for stepping up to each and every challenge I laid out before them, even in our failures we created stories of overcoming obstacles and a relentless passion to never quit. The boys who took on the roles of leadership know just how demanding I was of them and not one of them backed down from these demands and took them on as challenges they would face together and succeed together. I’m not sure who learned more from each other, the boys or me. Every moment I spent with them I learned more and more, and I will cherish these moments for the rest of my days. Each and everyone of these scouts whether they were eagled or not were very special to me. I hope one day they realize just how thankful I am of them. I look forward to my new role with the troop as a committee member and continuing leading them on High Adventure trips across the United States.
From a truly grateful heart and as the final time as your Scoutmaster of Troop 45, I send this last email out to you. Thank you Benjamin D. Stepp Scoutmaster

Hello Parents and Leaders of Troop 45,
I wanted to send a quick reminder about the Court of Honor tonight.
Details: • Location: First Presbyterian Church Main Sanctuary Hall • Time:
o 6:00 PM – Scouts arrive in full Class A uniform o 6:30 PM – Parents and families are welcome to arrive for the ceremony o ~7:15 PM – Court of Honor Reception After the ceremony concludes, please join us in the Fellowship Hall for light refreshments and an opportunity to connect with other Scout families and leaders.
One final note: as I begin serving in this leadership role, I will be working over the coming weeks to update our troop email distribution list. If you would like to add another family member to the list, or if you would prefer to be removed, please let me know and I will make those updates in the revised master list.
Warm regards,
Nathan Crouch Troop 45

Hey,
Running behind,
Just got off the river but have to have pack up. It will take us about 1:15 to pack up.
We will probably arrive now around 9:30
Will text or email when we leave
Thank you

Good Morning Parents and Leaders,
This email is intended for those attending Summer Camp at Camp Yocona from June 7–13. If you have not registered it’s not too late, just please let us know as soon as possible. The fee is a little higher at $400 vs. $300 for early registrants, but there is still room at camp for those interested.
As we discussed together Monday night, there are several key action items needed as you prepare your Scout for Summer Camp:
1. If your Scout is not a new Scout participating in the Polaris Program, please decide on the merit badges they would like to take, complete the attached “Merit Badge Selection” form, and bring it to the Court of Honor next Monday, May 18th. We will collect the selections and then enter the badge selections as a group later in the week. 2. If you have not already done so, please pay Troop 45 the $300 Summer Camp fee by next Monday. Please include “Yocona Summer Camp – Scout Name” in the Venmo subject line. 3. If not completed earlier this year with the Troop, please complete the Scout Physical before camp begins on June 7th. Your pediatrician can complete the form, or you may use one of the local urgent care clinics, which is what I have done in years past. Camp Yocona requires this for all attendees.
We are also exploring an additional physical option conducted by one of our physician leaders, but we have not finalized a date and time yet. Once confirmed, I will send a separate email with details or announce at the Court of Honor next Monday.
*Merit Badge Sign-Up Process*
• If your Scout is new and this is their first Summer Camp, they will be enrolled in the Polaris Program, which focuses on helping Scouts complete key Tenderfoot and portions of Second Class rank requirements. They will also earn the Swimming and First Aid merit badges, both of which are Eagle required.
• If your Scout is above Tenderfoot rank or has attended camp before, they will need to select their merit badges for the week.
• When reviewing the class schedule on page 2 of the attached guide, you will see time blocks labeled MB 1, MB 2, etc. These correspond to the merit badge sessions during the day.
• To determine which badges are available during each session, refer to pages 6–13 of the attached Merit Badge document. Each badge listing begins with a session number: • “1” -indicates Session 1 • “2” -indicates Session 2 • and so forth
• Your Scout should generally choose one merit badge per session. Some more advanced or time-intensive merit badges require two sessions. In those cases, you will see multiple session numbers listed before the badge (for example, “1,2”). That means the badge occupies both Session 1 and Session 2.
• There is also an additional chart breaking down the daily schedule and time blocks on page 24.
• If this process feels confusing, please don’t worry. Several leaders will be available after the Court of Honor on Monday to help Scouts finalize their schedules.
• For packing guidance, please review the “Personal Equipment” section on pages 19–20 of the guide. The Troop will provide the items listed under the “Unit Equipment” section.
If you have any questions about Summer Camp, please feel free to approach me or Rob Devries after the Court of Honor on Monday. We would be happy to help.
Warm Regards,
Nathan Crouch Troop 45

Hello all, This coming Monday, May 18th is the Spring Court of Honor for Troop 45. Scouts need to be at the church in full class A’s at 6pm to set up and go over any last minute details. We will start the ceremony promptly at 6:30 PM. For the new folks, the Court of Honor is where the scouts are awarded their merit badges and rank emblems earned throughout the semester.
Lastly, Nathan will be sending out all emails and responding to your emails from here on out.
Thank you Benjamin Stepp Scoutmaster

Good morning Parents and Leaders of Troop 45,
Nathan Crouch here with 2 important updates:
– Reminder that Swim Test Make-Up Day is tonight at 6:00pm at the Oxford Swim Club. All Scouts going on the Canoe trip need to have a swim test completed.
*Canoe Trip Details*
*Drop Off Time & Location:*
– 7:00am Saturday at the *VFW, 125 Veterans Drive Rd, Oxford, MS* – *Please have your Scout eat breakfast prior to arriving. Only lunch will be provided. If you Scout was assigned quarter master, please work with them on the selection and purchase of food for their patrol. For this event, these should be items that do not require cooking (sandwiches, trail food, etc.)*
*Pick Up Time & Location:*
– ~7:30pm Saturday evening at *VFW, 125 Veterans Drive Rd, Oxford, MS* – *Please watch your email late Saturday for any updates. As this is our first trip, we are making our best estimates of Canoeing times, but if there are any unforeseen delays, we will alert you via email.*
*Canoeing location:*
– Wolf River- Ghost River Section Le Grange, TN (1:20 Minutes from Oxford) – www.mvk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Enid-Lake/ <www.tn.gov/environment/program-areas/na-natural-areas/natural-areas-west-region/west-region/ghost-river.html>
*Plan and details for the Weekend:*
– We will have ~32 Scouts and 8 leaders attend the canoe trip, traveling in a mix of the First Presbyterian Church bus and leader vehicles. – The 2 Scout Masters taking lead for this event are: – Nathan Crouch- 601-934-5628 – Ben Stepp- 662-816-9557

*What to Wear and Items to bring:*
o Swimsuits/quick dry clothing- they will definitely be getting wet and possibly swimming some.
o Water shoes/Closed toed shoes; Keen’s style shoes would be the best as they will have to walk through muddy sections at times but old tennis shoes could be an alternative as well. Sandals/Flip Flops would not be safe.
o Sunscreen
o Bug spray
o Full Water Bottle
o Small Towel
o Hat and Sunglasses
o Change of clothes in a separate bag that will stay on the bus for the ride home. Small trash bag for wet clothes
o Life Jacket if you have one. If your Scout has a personal life jacket that fits them well, please bring it. If not, we will have many available.
o Please avoid bringing unnecessary electronics or valuables. Expect that anything brought on the river could potentially get wet

Thank you again for encouraging your Scout to participate. The weather looks great and we’re all looking forward to a great trip down the Ghost River.
Warm regards,
Nathan Crouch
601-934-5628 Troop 45

Good evening Parents and Leaders of Troop 45,
Nathan Crouch here writing on behalf of the Troop. We are looking forward to the Scout Canoe Trip next Saturday down the Ghost River section of the Wolf River. We have a great group of 32 Scouts and 8 Leaders signed up.
As we prepare for the event, could you please help with two items in advance?
1. Life Jackets As part of our preparation, we need to ensure we have an adequate supply of life jackets. Tomorrow night, could you please have your Scout prepared to let us know if they have a personal life jacket available to use on Saturday?
If they do not have one, that is perfectly fine — we will have extras available. We just need an accurate count so we can plan accordingly.
2. Event Payment Please have your Scout bring the $40 payment for the event tomorrow night. This will allow us to purchase food and other supplies needed for the day in advance.
Thank you for supporting your Scout in attending the trip. The weather forecast looks great, and we are all looking forward to a fun and memorable day on the river.
Best regards,
Nathan Crouch Troop 45

Meeting: Monday May 10 Location: church Uniform: Class As Camp cards and cash are due Monday May 10

Hello everyone, Here are the names of the individuals who took the swim tes: Leo Young, Parker Stepp Ethan Wiginton Joey Arnold RJ Devries Jackson Coplin Stacker Richardson Henry Witt Tucker Milner Tennyson Montieth Andrew Colby Conner Upton Will Jones Aiden Williams Ryan Deveries Connor Coplin Liam Holloway Logan Herrington James Edwards Tucker Milner Eli Turner Sam Haskell James Haskell Price Milner Mark Crouch Jake Myers Colson Hughes Wyitt Hughes Aaron Meisenheimer Bennett Meisenheimer Abe Jobin Everest Stewart
If your scouts name is not on here they will need to make up the swim test.

Hey again, Two things I wanted to address just in another email. First all communication with Scoutmasters to include text, phone calls and email must include two leaders or a parent and the leader. If there are not two leaders or a parent included in the communication we can not respond. Second, all rank advancement must go through the youth leadership to senior patrol leader which then goes to the scoutmaster. This is to keep our troop youth led. We have asked all ASMs and committee members to refer the scout back to their patrol leader if the adult is asked about advancement. We have run the troop this way for awhile and we inform our scouts of this repeatedly and should come as no surprise to them. I just wanted yall on the same page. Thanks Ben Stepp Scoutmaster