Serving the community since 1916
Troop 8 Chatham
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Troop 8 Chatham
With approximately 100 Scouts enrolled throughout the year, Troop 8 is one of the largest troops in the Patriots Path Council. In 2016, we celebrated 100 years of our continuous operation with our sponsor, Ogden Presbyterian Church, in Chatham, NJ. Our Scout room and other facilities are located in the church building.
With weekly meetings and monthly trips, Troop 8 is incredibly active. Our favorite activities are camping and adventure trips, which provide countless learning experiences and opportunities to build confidence.
We hope our website provides useful information to both our current and potential Scouts and their families, friends, and our supporters.
Most of the Scouts in Troop 8 come by way of a local Cub Scout Pack (typically Pack 8, Pack 24, and Pack 6). Unlike Cub Scouts, Boy Scout rank advancement is not based on participant’s grade level; it’s based on fulfilling requirements and earning merit badges as an individual.
Each Scout has a handbook that guides them as they move through the following ranks:
The rank of a Scout depends on how quickly they complete requirements for each rank. In a large troop like ours, it is not unusual to have a 15-year-old Life Scout and a 16-year-old First Class. So much depends on the Scout’s other activities in school and sports and how much time they have to spend working on rank advancement. The point is, it’s not a competition.
The Scout Troop has an adult leader called the Scoutmaster, and a Scout (youth) leader called the Senior Patrol Leader. All Scouts in a troop are assigned to smaller groups called “patrols.” Each patrol elects their own patrol leader, and in some cases, an assistant patrol leader. These “positions of responsibility” rotate often throughout the year to ensure all Scouts have opportunities to develop leadership skills as they’re ready.
Troop 8 has a standing weekly meeting on Monday nights at 7pm. These meetings are boy-led and follow a well-established structure that allows new scouts to pick up on the routines pretty quickly.
Parents are welcome (and encouraged) to volunteer. Please visit (this page) for a list of ways to get involved with Troop 8.
The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and the Scout Law.
On my honor, I will do my best
to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
A Scout is: Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, reverent.