Joining the Troop
When you decide you want to formally join Troop 1321, please reach out to Stephen Stewart, the Onboarding Chairman.
We want to ensure that we have your family set up correctly for the purpose of tracking your attendance for badge completion, keep in communication during this year, and be in compliance with Orchard Church. Please understand if costs are a concern at this time, let us know, and we still want your family to attend.
What to Do:
1. Registration with Trail Life Connect: To formally enroll your son(s) as a Troop 1321 member, you need to complete the registration on TrailLifeConnect.
Please let us know if you want to register. We will send you a separate email from Trail Life to give you a link to set up your password, then you can log into Trail Life Connect and complete your son's registration.
Trail Life Connect is the online Troop Management software that is used to keep you, your Trailman, and the Troop leadership all on the same page. This software keeps track of the Troop's calendar and events. It tracks your son's advancement progress and we can share important information with you. It also contains all the resources and information you will need to answer any question you have. For help navigating TLC, you can find help videos and documents in the Help section of TLC.
It will require you to pay the fee of $42.27 per boy. You will need to add your boy to your household to register him. Registration also requires a submitted medical form given to the Troop Master. Uploading a photo of your son(s) helps our leaders to have a name with his face.
Review the Email Communication Page. Please ensure that all the adults who will be with your boy(s) are listed on the account, along with any email addresses you would like to receive emails from us. Ensure your main email address would be included in your son's Adult CC email so emails are sent to you when emails are directed to your son's patrol.
Please note that if Trail Life USA dues are not paid, we lose the ability to track advancements and attendance at the troop level. Also, you may risk not receiving emails due to your account not being in good standing when your TLC account is not paid.
TrailLife Connect Instructional Video
2. Become a Registered Adult (RA): It is now mandatory to become a Registered Adult as it helps us maintain a healthy adult-to-boy ratio with our two-deep adult policy at our outings which is mandated by TrailLife USA. We require at least one attending guardian to become a RA, not the whole family. Registered Adults can include all dads, moms who are joining the Foxes and Hawks (K-3rd Grade) boys, and grandparents who will be joining as well. Please note, this has a separate cost of $46.55 to cover the cost of the additional background check and training on Child Safety Youth Protection. By becoming a RA, you can take on leadership roles within the troop but does not obligate to service. Your assistance could be requested without hesitation from Leadership. We’ll have TrailLife send you another email to invite you to complete RA process.
3. Badging: In TrailLifeConnect, you can print your son’s badge by going to Profile and clicking on your son’s name under Household, then clicking on Profile Overview and finding the “Print ID Card.” We will provide a clear badge for your son to insert your boy’s ID.
4. Pay the Dues: Visit Jeannie Moore during the meeting to pay the Troop Dues, which are $105 for the year ($55/semester). There is a $10 discount for each additional boy. The Troop dues are used to purchase teaching supplies, campout necessities, lanyards, awards, and the annual assessment our troop pays to the national office. If paying by check, please make payment out to "Orchard Church" and write Troop 1321 on the memo line.
5. Purchase the Uniform: See our page on Uniforms. We ask that you order the uniform in a reasonable amount of time after joining the troop. Please let us know if you need financial assistance with the Uniforms.
6. Purchase the Handbook: It is encouraged - not required - to purchase the Trailman’s handbook for the Woodlands, which provides information on how to progress through the program. It is required for the Navigators and Adventurers to purchase the Handbook to guide them through the program.
7. Get your Son Prepared: Learn the Joining Award steps.
For the Woodlands (K-5th Grade): Help your son obtain the Woodland Trail Branch Patch (Joining Award) which includes memorizing the Trailman Oath and Pledge of Allegiance, learning the Trailman Sign/Salute/Handshake and when to use them, and Mountain Lions (4-5th Grade) need to understand how to properly fold the American Flag as well. Please reference the Trailman’s handbook for more information.
For the Navigators (Middle School) Adventurers (High School) the same Joining Award steps are still required to be known and are used during each troop meeting, and must be known to receive the Recruit Rank. Navigators and Adventures have their own recruitment ranks to be received through the program.
8. Reach out to the Chaplains for information on obtaining the Worthy Life Award. The requirements for the Worthy Life Awards by Trail is under the Badges page in Trail Life Connect.
9. Join the GroupMe for the group: This is text messaging app (Download Apple or Android app) the leader uses to send out messages directly to the group. Click here to join Foxes Unit on GroupMe. Click here to join Hawks Unit on GroupMe. Click here to join Mountain Lions Unit on GroupMe. Click here to join Navigators on GroupMe.
10. Visit Trail Life Resources: Watch the onboarding video on the TrailLife Connect website under "Welcome to Trail Life." If you're interested in learning more about Trail Life, there are resources under “Profile” and videos available through TL University called “Peak One” on TrailLifeConnect. The Peak One training shares the history of Trail Life, what makes Trail Life different, and an overview of the program. Also, you can read through the resources that are on TrailLifeConnect under your “Profile.” Trail Life University is the home of Trail Life's training resources to equip Trailmen, parents, and leaders.
11. Review the Email Configuration page to ensure you're setup to receive all emails. Consider whitelisting or adding "[email protected]" to your address book to make sure you don't miss an email from spam filters.
12. Trail Life encourages parents to take an active role in their son’s program, by attending meetings, completing in-home activities, and providing encouragement. Your presence, assistance, and words of encouragement will benefit your son and also other Trailmen who may or may not have a parent present. For 2025-2026 season, having a role, even a minor role, is required by the registered adult to assist the troop. For families where fathers or other male role models are not present, male Troop leaders, following all Child Safety and Youth Protection protocols, can serve as program role models and mentors for Trailmen as they grow into young men. Foxes (youngest members of the Woodlands Trail Unit) are required per Trail Life to have at least one parent in attendance at all meetings and outings. Presence of a family member is requested to be onsite by our Troop Leaders to assist in the activities during the troop meetings as we don't want the troop to be a drop-off program to not involve a father who is able to join us. If a father is not available, please reach out to us.
13. Pray About Becoming Involved with the Troop: You can help behind the scenes or take the lead on an outing or share your skills with the boys during the meeting. Please contact your troop leader to find out how you can help with the troop, as we would love to learn from what God has blessed you with.
14. Most Importantly… Take time to be with your son, pray with him, teach him, and help him grow to be a Godly man.
It is our prayer that this trail you and your son are starting to walk on now allows you both to fellowship with other like-minded people, brings you closer to each other, and strengthens your walk with Christ.