A Scout-led troop in Tallahassee since 1973
Troop 44 has been camping, canoeing and climbing out of Tallahassee for more than fifty years. We ski in the Carolinas every January — a tradition since 1978 — and we have been running high-adventure expeditions since 1980. We camp every month of the school year, and our Scouts plan those trips themselves.
That last part is the whole point, and it is worth explaining properly.
Adult-guided, youth-led
Every troop says it is Scout-led. Here is what it actually looks like in Troop 44.
Our Patrol Leaders’ Council — Scouts, not adults — plans the year’s calendar, decides where we camp, and runs the meetings. Adults are there to keep it safe and to teach, not to organise it. On a campout, Scouts cook with their patrol, pitch their own tents and clean up afterwards. Adults camp separately, even from their own children.
If your Scout is crossing over from Cub Scouts, this is the biggest change. Cub Scouting is run by the adults. Scouts BSA is run by the Scouts. The first campout can look a little ragged — dinner is late, the tent goes up crooked — and that is not a failure of the programme. It is the programme. Our governing rule is simple: never do anything for a Scout that he or she can do for themselves.
Parents are welcome on every trip. You will be nearby, and you will not be in the middle of it.
One troop, all Scouts
From 20 September 2026, Troops 44 and 45 become a single family troop. Troop 45 was chartered in 2019 so that girls in our community could have the same programme; from this September, everyone is simply Troop 44 — same meetings, same campouts, same leadership.
For a family with a son and a daughter, that means one troop, one calendar, one set of dues, and siblings on the same trips.
What a year looks like
- Meetings every Monday of the school year, 7:00–8:15 pm
- A campout every month, September through May
- A week of summer camp at Wallwood or Woodruff
- The annual ski trip in January — running since 1978
- High adventure for older Scouts — since 1980
- Service to Tallahassee throughout the year
Advancement at your Scout's pace
New Scouts join the New Scout Patrol, led by trained older Scouts serving as Troop Guides with an Assistant Scoutmaster alongside them. The goal for the first year is First Class rank, taught month by month from August through May. Once a Scout reaches First Class, they move into one of the troop patrols.
After that, how far and how fast is up to your Scout. Around 200 Troop 44 Scouts have earned the rank of Eagle since 1973, and many of our Scouts stay active until they age out at eighteen. We also understand that Scouts play sports, join bands and have exams. They come when they can.
A programme that is meant to be affordable
Troop dues are $35 a year. Campouts run $20 to $25. There is no joining fee — Scouting America removed it in 2024.
The troop owns tents and patrol cooking gear, so a new Scout does not need to buy camping equipment to get started. A duffel bag and a sleeping bag will do for the first few trips.
Our Scouts also fund a good deal of this themselves. The troop runs a pumpkin patch, sells firewood and coffee, and staffs concession stands — the pumpkin patch alone took more than $8,000 in 2024. Proceeds are split between the troop and the Scout’s own account, and most of our Scouts earn enough to cover a full week of summer camp — the largest single cost of the Scouting year.
If cost is a barrier for your family, please talk to us. It is not a reason for a young person to miss out, and the conversation stays between us.
Safety is built into how we operate
This matters to every parent, so we will be plain about it.
- Two-deep leadership. At least two registered adults at every activity. No adult is ever alone with a Scout who is not their own child.
- Background checks and training. Every registered adult is screened, and Youth Protection Training is renewed every two years.
- Separate sleeping. Adults tent apart from Scouts, and Scouts tent with their patrol.
- Merit badge counselling is never one-to-one. A Scout always meets a counsellor with another Scout or an adult present.
Come and see for yourself
Reading about a troop only tells you so much. Come to a Monday meeting, or better still, come on a campout with us — visiting families are welcome on both.
