Troop of the Week

As far as I could see, everyone who spent the week at Yawgoog came back smiling - dirty, tired and covered with itchy mosquito bites, but smiling. Why? Because summer camp is fun! Also, because the Troop was awarded Sandy Beach Champs - Troop of the Week. Winning Sandy Beach champs was a goal from the start, but it's not easy to achieve. It takes good leadership, teamwork, discipline and focus. It gets harder as the week goes on - there are more ways to fall behind other Troops. Everyone gets homesick and tired and the heat and humidity and mosquitoes begin to wear everyone down. But the Troop and it's young but competent leaders stayed on track and kept their eye on the prize. The prize in question demands a lot from a bunch of young boys. They must get up at the crack of day and immediately clean up the mess from the night before, get a series of morning jobs done, get to meals on time, behave like civilized people at meals, show lots of spirit all week long, attend ALL camp activities, offer themselves to the staff for a service project and compete in a number of athletic events, all the while behaving the way we all expect Scouts to behave. It's a LOT of work. So to see the smiles on Day 7 because they had fun and achieved special recognition as a unit is a very special thing indeed. My time away from home, work and family and all the hours of paperwork and preparation is paid for by those 36 smiling faces.