Lock-In - February 20-21, 2026

Good Afternoon Troop 103,

Your annual lock-in / Game Night is here!!! This Friday evening we will be meeting at Parkview Church in Miamisburg for a lock-in, all of the information is on the attached permission slip. I will have printed copies at the meeting tonight, for you if you need one.

Parents - If your scout is going, please send them in tonight with a signed permission slip or stop in and sign one before heading back home during the meeting, it will really help us finalize a head count.

I am trying to get these slips out earlier, and this one being late is a failure on my part, and I do apologize.

See you soon,
Marty Sanders
Troop 103

The Permission Slip can be found on the Troop 103 website as well.

Spring Flower Sales - February 9 - March 2, 2026

Spring Flower Sale

Why: Selling flowers helps raise money for scouts to attend summer camp, weekend camping, and dues. Individual selling profits go into your scout account.

How: Contact family, friends, and neighbors and tell them that you are able to provide beautiful, quality flowers for them. The flowers are purchased from Furst Florist and arrive the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend and make great gifts.

Selling/Ordering

• Selling dates: February 9th - March 2nd, 2026
• Please submit orders to Mrs. Burchett on March 2nd at the start of the Scout Meeting.
• All orders AND money are due on or before Monday, March 2, 2026 to Mrs. Burchett. She will attend the troop meeting that evening.
• Complete individual order forms, double check each order, and complete a master order form to submit.
Bring the master, individual order forms, and money to the meeting on March 2. After orders and payment are verified, you will be given the individual order forms to use for your delivery. Additional individual order forms will be available on the Troop 103 website.

Delivering the Flowers

• Flowers will be delivered to St. James parking lot on Saturday, May 9th, around 9:30 am. Scouts should plan to pick up their orders between 10:30am -11:00 am. We will have a drive through pickup on the east side of the parking lot. More information to follow. (Try to make sure you are able to fit all the flowers in your vehicle.)
• Scouts should deliver their flowers as soon as possible. Please water as needed.

Additional Help Needed

• We need 2-3 adults to help organize and check orders during the troop meeting on March 2 from 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm at St. James. Please be patient, we have lots of orders and money we are double/triple checking.
• A few adults are needed to help unload the truck at St. James on Saturday, May 9 at 9:30AM and pull the orders for each scout.
• If you are able to help with these tasks, please contact Sara Burchett at 937-371-8218 or
SBurchett3.14@gmail.com

Reminders from Mr. Sanders

Good Afternoon Scouts,

Based on a show of hands at recent meetings, we are expecting a full sled of participants and some Youth-Staff volunteers at the upcoming Klondike (next weekend). We must have all permission slips turned in at the next meeting. I will have some printed copies there for your parents to fill out if needed.

In the near future we also have a winter hike at Germantown Metro park (February 7th). This will be a no cost event, but we still need permission slips for that (a pdf is included with this email.)

Lastly, I handed out a few packets about the upcoming merit badge colleges that are available. I stressed this at the meeting, but the troop is not organizing this. This is simply information for the scouts to look into options to find merit badges that fit into their schedules. As a reminder, we have many merit badge counselors in the troop, if you want to learn a new skill or earn a new badge, just speak up and we will help. Please reach out to me if you want more information.

Until next time,
Marty Sanders
419-601-8651

Eagle Palms Requirements Change

Eagle Palms: the official requirements

These are effective Aug. 1, 2017.

After successfully completing your Eagle Scout board of review and being validated as an Eagle Scout by the National Service Center, you will be entitled to receive an Eagle Palm for each additional 5 merit badges you have completed before your Eagle Scout board of review. For these Palms only, it will not be necessary for you to complete any of the requirements stated below.

After becoming an Eagle Scout, you may earn additional Palms by completing the following requirements.

1. Be active in the Boy Scouts of America for at least three months after becoming an Eagle Scout or after the last Palm was earned. **
2. Since earning the Eagle Scout rank or your last Eagle Palm, demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Tell how you have done your duty to God and how you have lived the Scout Oath and Scout Law in your everyday life.
3. Continue to set a satisfactory example of accepting responsibility or demonstrating leadership ability.
4. Earn five additional merit badges beyond those required for Eagle or last Palm. ***
5. While an Eagle Scout, participate in a Scoutmaster conference. *

Notes

*For Varsity Scouts working on Boy Scout requirements, replace “Scoutmaster” with “Varsity Scout Coach.” For Venturers working on Boy Scout requirements, replace “Scoutmaster” with “crew Advisor.” For Sea Scouts working on Boy Scout requirements, replace “Scoutmaster” with “Skipper.”

**Eagle Palms must be earned in sequence, and the three-month tenure requirement must be observed for each Palm.

***Merit badges earned any time since becoming a Boy Scout may be used to meet this requirement.

Merit Badge Application Process

Starting March 7, 2016, the following process will be in place for Scouts wanting to work on a Merit Badge.

1) Scouts are to arrange for a discussion with Scoutmaster in order to

1. State their desire/plans to work on a merit badge,
2. Define which merit badge counselor they are planning to work with 
3. To review some basic expectations of the merit badge process

2) When that Scoutmaster conversation is in place, I will then

1. Provide them a blue card, 
2. Ask them to fill out "Application for Merit Badge" section 
3. Will approve the application by signature

3) Scouts may then arrange to meet with Merit Badge Counselor to begin conversations.

The Scoutmaster will designate additional resources as needed for times of high activity.

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The following rules/guidelines are still in place.

Scouts and Parents,

All Troop 103 scouts who are working on Merit Badges need to meet the following expectations:

1) You need to schedule all meetings with your counselor ahead of time. This can be done by telephone, e-mail, or by asking them in person at a meeting. Do not walk up to your merit badge counselor at a meeting and ask them to meet with you on the spot. Our adult volunteers give very freely of their time, but they are pulled in multiple directions at a meeting. Take responsibility for scheduling your merit badge sessions.

2) Read the merit badge requirements carefully. If there is a requirement to have a discussion with your counselor prior to beginning a merit badge requirement (i.e. Personal Fitness, Family Life, Personal Management, etc.), DISCUSS WITH YOUR COUNSELOR BEFORE BEGINNING THE REQUIREMENT. If you have not fulfilled the discussion requirement prior to beginning the main requirement, it may not be approved. This means that you may have to do even a time requirement again (such as the personal fitness workouts).

3) If a time requirement requires you to record your results over the duration of the requirement, then record them as you go. Do not try to re-construct the records at the end of the requirement.

4) Merit badge worksheets are an excellent idea, but, simply writing down the answer and giving it to the counselor is not sufficient. Scouts need to be able to discuss their answer and be able to answer their counselor's questions on the subject. Answers need to reflect an understanding of the material and not be one-word answers such as "yes" or "no."

5) Two deep adult leadership must be in place at ALL TIMES. Adults; if the meeting is at your house, be home; if the meeting is at the counselor's house, stick around; if the meeting is at the church, don't drop off the scout and take off. This is very important for the protection of our troop as a whole.

Rank Advancement Reminders

Scouts and Parents,

Here are some reminders and some new information scouts and parents need to know regarding rank advancement: 

1. Troop positions of responsibility for Star Scout and above: Scouts serving in positions of troop responsibility will work with adult mentors and complete Junior Leadership Worksheets (reminder). Mentor assignments and Junior Leadership Worksheets can be found on the troop web page (http://www.bsa103.org/). Position of responsibility requirements in scout handbooks must be signed by the scout's position mentor (new). 

2. Merit Badge requirement verification for Star Scout and above: Scouts must request a Troop Master printout from Mr. Crawford at least one week prior to Scoutmaster conferences and boards of review for ranks Star Scout and above. Troop Master printouts will be used to verify merit badge completion. 

3. Remember to request a Scoutmaster conference and a board of review a week in advance. 

• Scouts should contact the Scoutmaster verbally or by email (lee.r.burchett@gmail.com) to schedule a Scoutmaster conference. 

• Scouts should contact the Troop Committee Chairman verbally or by email (robcrawfordinmiamisburg@gmail.com) to schedule a Board Of Review.

• Scouts must wear Class A uniform to all Scoutmaster conferences and Boards Of Review. 

4. Scouts should bring their Scout Handbook to all Scoutmaster conferences and board of reviews.

YIS,
Dr. Burchett and Mr. Crawford

Requirement Sign Off in Scout Handbook

Everyone,

There have been several questions asked about who can sign-off on completed requirements in the BSA Handbook. We have the answer....

The following people are permitted to sign-off completed requirements in the BSA Handbook for Troop 103:

1. Scoutmaster 
2. Assistant Scoutmaster 
3. Committee Member
4. Junior Assistant Scoutmaster

NOTE: Adult Leaders or Non-Leader Adults are NOT permitted to sign-off completed requirements for their own scout.