Troop 297 meets every Tuesday from 7-8:30 pm at Keller Junior High School, 820 Bode Road (northeast corner of Bode and Salem), in Schaumburg, Illinois.  We meet in the cafeteria - to the right as soon as you go in the front door. 

If you are looking for a Boy Scout troop to join, or would just like to know what Boy Scouts is all about, please feel free to visit one of our meetings and talk to our scouts and adult leaders.  For more information, contact our Scoutmaster, Doug Zubka, or our Committee Chairman,  Tom Vanek.

Keller is not available on certain dates throughout the year.  The location of each troop meeting will be posted under "TROOP MEETINGS" on the HOME page - make sure to check there before coming to a troop meeting.

ORGANIZATION: Troop 297 is first and foremost a boy-run, adult supervised troop.  The scouts, ranging in age from 11 to 17, run the troop meetings and awards ceremonies (Courts of Honor), plan the events, pitch their own tents and cook their own meals.

The Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmasters are the adult leaders for the scouts, providing solid role models and offering the scouts their guidance and support.

The Troop Committee, made up of an active group of parents, is the troop’s “Board of Directors”.  This committee manages the operations of the troop, working on behalf of the chartered organization to ensure a quality scouting program.

With this steady foundation, many young scouts have grown and matured into responsible, confident, self-reliant young men. 

Click here to see a flowchart of the troop's youth organization. 

PATROLS: Currently there are 24 registered scouts in Troop 297 divided into four patrols.  These patrols give the scouts experience in teamwork, democracy, responsibility, and leadership as the scouts climb the ranks from Tenderfoot to Eagle.

EAGLE SCOUTS: Since the troop was founded in 1968, we have graduated 33 Eagle Scouts!  In fact, 10 of those were in the last five years, and several of our scouts are now actively working towards their Eagle rank. 

CAMPING: This troop has a very active camping program and is well outfitted with camping gear that travels to events in our customized troop trailer.  The troop camps in tents in the great outdoors (or sometimes in cabins in the winter) and enjoys hiking, canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing, rappelling, archery, shooting sports, orienteering, geocaching, swimming, fishing, caving, and much more.

Many of the campouts are at local area scouting camps, although the troop has also rafted down the Peshtigo River in Wisconsin, explored Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, and stayed aboard the World War II submarine USS Silversides in Michigan (to name just a few).   In the summer the scouts spend a week at Camp Napowan in Wisconsin, which offers lots of adventure and plenty of opportunities to work on merit badges.
 

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"I think that American leadership is vital to peace and prosperity and the advancement of democracy in the world, and that requires having strong leaders. And I don't think there's any organization in the world, certainly not in the United States, that better prepares young men for leadership in this country than the Boy Scouts of America--in teaching leadership skills, in teaching values, in teaching importance of standing up for what's right."

Bob Gates, Secretary of Defense,
former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and Eagle Scout

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