ANNUAL PLANNING CONFERENCE

This Page Last Updated on 03/10/2006

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Purpose and Leadership Before the Planning Conference
Running the Planning Conference After the Planning Conference

Purpose and Leadership

The following are instructions on how to organize and run the Troop’s Annual Planning Conference. The Planning Conference is held in the summer and in December. The purpose is to plan the Troop’s calendar.

WHO IS IN CHARGE: The SPL runs the meeting.

WHO ATTENDS: The SPL, ASPLs, Patrol Leaders (Including the Patrol Leader of the Senior Patrol), and Troop Guides attend the Conference and have a vote. The Troop Scribe attends and takes the minutes of the meeting. The Troop Scribe types up the Troop Calendar for approval by the Troop Committee. The Scoutmaster also attends the Planning Conference as an Advisor. Patrol Advisors, Troop Committee Chair,  and ASMs may attend. Assistant Patrol Leaders may attend if they want, but may not vote unless their Patrol Leader is not attending the meeting. If a Patrol’s Patrol Leader and Assistant cannot attend the Planning Conference, then the Patrol Leader is responsible to find another Patrol member to attend the Planning Conference to represent the Patrol as a voting member.

Before the Planning Conference

The following steps should be done prior to holding the Planning Conference:

  1. The Scoutmaster and SPL should decide on a date for the Planning Conference.
  2. The SPL should contact the ASPLs, Patrol Leaders, Troop Guides, and the Troop Scribe and make them aware of the date and location of the Planning Conference.
  3. The SPL should contact the Chaplain’s Aide to get dates of all religious holidays for the next year.
  4. The SPL should obtain a copy of the Culver City Unified School District’s calendar. Dates of SATs, PSAT, major school events, and Finals should also be determined.
  5. The Scoutmaster will obtain the dates of Council, District, and Troop Committee activities.
  6. Patrol Leaders should get input from their Patrol members about what activities they would like to see in the Troop’s Program.
  7. The SPL and Scoutmaster should discuss possible meeting themes, goals for the year, and campout locations before the meeting.
  8. The SPL should prepare a calendar with all of the religious and school holidays on the calendar before the Planning Conference.

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Running the Planning Conference

The following steps should be followed during the Planning Conference:

  1. The Scoutmaster should make an opening statement and discuss goals and expectations for the year.
  2. The SPL should go over the expectations for the Planning Conference.
  3. The dates and locations of all of the campouts should be planned first. Plan one campout for each month from September through June. December will be the annual bike ride to Redondo Beach. When planning backpacking trips, keep in mind the hiking abilities of the Scouts and weather conditions expected for each month. For the December Planning Conference, the campout dates and locations should be reviewed along with any changes.
  4. The dates of Patrol meetings should be planned next. Patrol meetings should be scheduled two weeks or more before each campout.
  5. Court of Honors should be scheduled next in September or October, December, March, and June.
  6. Select monthly themes based on the campout locations.
  7. Plan Troop meetings based on the monthly themes. The summer Planning Conference should include Troop meetings from the Tuesday during the second week of school through the first Troop meeting in January. The December Planning Conference should plan Troop and Patrol meetings from the second Troop meeting in January through the last Tuesday of school in June.
  8. The calendar should be reviewed by all and voted on by voting members of the PLC.
  9. If there are any conflicts with what is being planned, the SPL should hold a vote of the voting members of the PLC to decide.

 

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After the Planning Conference

  1. The Troop Scribe should type up the Troop calendar as soon as possible and submit it to the Troop Committee Chair, Scoutmaster, and SPL for review.
  2. The SPL will present the Troop calendar to the Troop Committee for review and any changes that need to be made.
  3. The revised calendar will be given to the Troop Scribe to be updated and sent to the Troop Committee Chair for distribution to the Troop.
  4. The SPL will present any changes at the next PLC meeting.

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