Fellow Appleseeders:
On May 31 - June 1, North Texas Instructors are hosting a 2-day private AS (in conjunction with a campout) for Trail Life USA Troop 19:1, Denton Bible Church, Denton, TX. (See the announcement under N-TX Child Board by 'FloydF'.)
Trail Life has exploded nation-wide as a Christian outdoor program for boys K-12. The organization officially kicked off in January 2014 with over 500 troops, and now... there are many hundreds more - and growing daily! And Here's The Deal: Trail Life boys "Trailmen" and their dads are eager to learn rifle marksmanship and US Revolutionary War History! So Get on Board! Be creative with your outreach and events, and please share what you're doing.
I suspect that many of you may be interested in joining Trail Life as volunteer leaders... I did. I'm the 'Advisor' for Troop 19:1 and I am blessed to be part of such a faithful organization! Please consider getting involved.
From TrailLifeUSA.com: Who We Are: "Trail Life USA is a Christian adventure, character, and leadership program for young men. The K-12 program centers on outdoor experiences that build a young man's skills and allow him to grow on a personal level and as a role model and leader for his peers. Living the Trail Life is a journey established on timeless values derived from the Bible. Our vision is to be the premier national character development organization for young men which produces Godly and responsible husbands, fathers, and citizens."
Trail Life Mission: ..."to guide generations of courageous young men to honor God, lead with integrity, serve others, and experience outdoor adventure."
Motto: "Walk Worthy" (From: Colossians 1:10 "... that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;...")
Oath: "On my honor, I will do my best To serve God and my country; To respect authority; To be a good steward of creation; And to treat others as I want to be treated."
You can find out more about Trail Life here: http://www.traillifeusa.com (http://www.traillifeusa.com)
You are welcome to contact me for questions and/or additional information regarding Trail Life!
Walk Worthy,
Eric Inman
Thanks for the heads-up, Eric. I was unaware of this organization. I found five troops in Kentucky and two nearby in WV. I am going to reach out to them, but this is really something that should be pursued on a national level. I checked out their website and they have a Strategic Partnership program that appears as though it was made for Appleseed:
http://www.traillifeusa.com/partner/learn-about-partnerships/
Who would like to apply for a Strategic Partnership?
http://www.traillifeusa.com/partner/strategic-partner-application/
By the way, what do you call these youngsters? Certainly not "Scouts". Is it "Trailmen"?
UL
I think you're right about possible strategic partnership, and through the national office.
In the mean time, as you discovered, Trail Life Troops are popping up everywhere - and the "field is ripe" for the AS message and rifle marksmanship skills development.
The boys are called "Trailmen".
-eei
Strategic Partnership online form filled out and submitted for Appleseed.
Gugisman- PM inbound
Quote from: Brown on April 07, 2014, 09:22:42 PM
Strategic Partnership online form filled out and submitted for Appleseed.
Gugisman- PM inbound
FYI I have not received a single response from the emails I sent to all the Kentucky and West Virginia TL leaders. So I think the strategic partnership is the correct way to approach them. Thank you Brown!
UL
I know this thread is a month old but I reached out to Michigan troops a couple months ago and haven't heard anything back. I am sure being a new organization they have their hands full.
We're going to have a 2-day AS in N. TX May 31 - June 1. It's scheduled as a "private". I'm confident that TLUSA and AS will be a great fit. Please check back for the AAR and forward it to your local TLUSA Troops. Try Facebook too as many Troops have accounts there. E. Inman
I think the TL people spreading it on their internal site and having them come out to us may be better. I was very leery of the program my first shoot and didn't know what to expect. I hope the Partnership works out as this would build credibility with the organization.
Get in before they ban bell shaped target like the other organization for boys.
There is an AS instructor that is a TL leader.
Yes... Me.
There is another instructor as well that is involved with Trail Life as well. I will dig up his post aafter the homeschool convention.
Quote from: Gugisman on May 08, 2014, 04:30:06 PM
Yes... Me.
Does TL have standard guidelines for their shooting program?
I just got home from the TLUSA Trail Leader training in Atlanta. I spoke to one of the point men in my state, Alabama, and he was very interested in the AS program. From what I saw this weekend, the shooting program for TLUSA has not been developed as they have only been in existence since 1 Jan. I plan on continuing to see a/b having my troop having an AS experience and will follow up w/ our region pointman.
Gugisman the instructor I was thinking of is RamblinWreck
We had a great 2-day AS with 17 Trailmen and 12 dads. Ffloyd was SB and we had 4 instructors. The AAR was posted last month.
I am attaching the camp plan for those interested in Trail Life USA/AS Collaboration.
E. Inman
Took some searching to find the AAR, figured I'd do a little cross-linking:
Public AAR (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=692527847471046&set=pcb.692528147471016&type=1&theater) on Facebook
IAAR (http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=41324.msg294697#msg294697)
One of the dads that attended wrote the following email to his co-workers regarding the AS/TLUSA event:
=================================================================================
All,
I recently attended a great American History/hunter safety/Marksmanship program with my oldest son Nathaniel (age 11) and many other youths and adults from trail life. It is an adult class, but they catered it to beginner youth due to the amount of younger students. The class was all day Saturday and Sunday and taught basic safety and form and aiming technique. It was a very valuable skill and was similar to what was in the WWII infantry field manual I inherited from my grandpa. The class was very organized and structured, the instructors were knowledgeable and focused on safety. The instructors are volunteers and they are teaching these classes because they enjoy it and see it as important. The class was held just a mile north of 380 in between providence subdivision on 2931 (20min from work). They even had super discounted rounds donated for the youths and loaners for when you find out your sights are brazed on and 8 inches off target. During breaks they would give some great American history lessons which added to the entertainment. Nathaniel was having difficulty in the beginning getting a group, so the instructor spent a considerable amount of time helping him perfect his form, which shows the dedication these guys and gals have for the class. He also found him a different loaner to try out.
I had been looking for a good hunter safety class for a while now, but also something to teach form and technique. It was also really cheap for a two full day training course this close to home. This was exactly what I was looking for, short of joining the military. If you guys are looking for something to teach your kids, wife, or perfect your skills, I highly recommend this course. I will be taking the younger kids once they are old enough. Remember they also had loaners if you need to borrow something. Floyd the instructor said you can contact the local class through appleseed texas or something, but I don't get on facebook because of the crummy things I hear them do. I have contact info for one of the local instructors if you need more details than what is on the website.
Thanks
Aaron