CELEBRATING 100 YEARS STRONG
BY ELIZABETH DEAL
Noel’s troop has provided many boys with positive life lessons, integrity and good morals. They develop team building and leadership skills. The leaders watch children come in as 11-year-olds and see the growth in their skill, leadership, and maturity as they reach each rank and grow into young men. Troop 15 uses the Patrol Method where the boys are the planners, makers, and doers of the program and activities. The adults are there as guides and role models. “It is in making mistakes in a safe environment that a scout learns to be prepared the next time,” said Marc Braden, former Scoutmaster.
Boy Scouts of America: Local Troop 15
B
oy Scout Troop 15, chartered by Noel Memorial United Methodist Church in Shreveport on October 21, 2021, has been serving the youth of Shreveport for 100 years. Noel is in the Historic Highland Neighborhood and the Troop’s Scout Hut is in Highland Park. The members and leaders of Troop 15 have played an important role in the Highland Community, as well as the City of Shreveport, by performing countless hours of service not only within the park and neighborhood, but also in schools and communities all over the city. In 1922, Troop 15 ranked its first Eagle Scout and has had a total of 107 boys reach this highest rank. An Eagle Scout Alumni was recognized with the National Outstanding Eagle Scout Award for his contributions to scouting and his community. In its heyday, the Troop served 60-100 boys and the current troop has about 20 members. The troop can continue to grow as long as it maintains required ratio of adult volunteers to scouts. Troop 15 has worked tirelessly to instill the traits of the Boy Scout Oath & Law: helping boys develop character and citizenship by learning that a scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent; along with duty to God, country, and self. “Our program is geared towards teaching young men character, citizenship, leadership skills, and a love for the outdoors to prepare them to soar and become an Eagle Scout if they choose. We may not always reach that goal, but that’s what we are always striving for,” said Wyatt Simpson, current Scoutmaster. “A lot has changed since I was a Scout and there are new obstacles in the way, but this Troop has stayed strong and risen to the occasion.”
Recent projects of Troop 15 range from building storage for local churches, community garden projects such as composting bins and garden sheds, park beautification projects, various camps for children’s enrichment, and raising funds to build a solar power grid to power school in Haiti. The boys must plan and move at their own rate, and the leaders say it is refreshing and exciting to see them take initiative and see something come to fruition. Character has been developed through many years of camping and other outdoor activities. Notable trips throughout the decades taken by Troop 15 have included: numerous backpacking treks to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico; Calgary, Canada; sailing at Florida Sea Base; Yosemite National Park; Washington, D.C; and whitewater rafting the Snake, Nantahala, Ocoee, and Pigeon Rivers; and attendance at several National Jamborees at Fort AP Hill in Virginia. According to the troop leaders, the idea of spending a lot of time outdoors and camping is not necessarily popular with today’s youth. But scouting has offered the boys of Troop 15 activities and opportunities that would not have been afforded to them. The leaders and adult volunteers are consistently coaching and mentoring the boys to complete tasks they have started, whether it be gaining a merit badge, hiking a trail, packing a patrol (kitchen) box, or cleaning a toilet. Troop 15 Scouts always see a project through to the end, an admirable trait desirable in today’s world. There have been many dedicated Scoutmasters, Assistant Scoutmasters and adult leaders that have served Troop 15 throughout the years, most members of Noel, guiding boys to becoming productive young men prepared for life. The adult leaders truly care about the boys and their future and are keen to remind them: it’s not just what you do when people are watching, but how you conduct yourself when no one is watching. @TROOP15NORWELABSA
78
NOVEMBER 2021
| SBMAG.NET
Photos: BSA
