Troop 89 Newsletter
August 2026
August is a month filled with warm days, exciting adventures, and meaningful memories. As summer begins to wind down, Troop 89 continues to stay active through community events, scouting activities, and opportunities to learn new skills. This month, our scouts showed teamwork, responsibility, and enthusiasm in everything they did.
- From the desk of the Committee Chair
- Summary of weekly meetings
- Voorhees State Park Trip - Leader Report by Vivaan
- SPL Experiences for the past term
- Events of Note
- Honorary Scouting Skill of the Month
- Puzzle Segment
From the desk of the Committee Chair
August was a powerful month for Troop 89, filled with growth, leadership, and real progress from our Scouts. Several of our youth — Omkaar, Pranet, Arnav, Aarav, Ojas, Yatharth, and Prajwal — are in the final stretch of their journey to Eagle Scout. They are owning their projects with maturity, independence, and minimal supervision, demonstrating exactly what Scouting is meant to build. Their dedication is inspiring the younger Scouts, and our PLC continues to become more Scout‑led each month, with new leaders stepping up and shaping the troop’s future. Behind the scenes, we’ve also continued strengthening our foundation. While we experienced the loss of our charter earlier this year, the committee has been working closely with a local community organization to finalize a new charter partnership — an announcement we expect to share soon. Troop 89 has proudly served Hillsborough since 1958, producing more than 135 Eagle Scouts, one of the strongest records in the country. That legacy continues to shine through our youth today.
As I reflect on my time serving as Committee Chair since 2026, I am deeply grateful for the Scouts, families, and leaders who make Troop 89 such a remarkable youth‑led organization. Your support, resilience, and commitment have carried us through transition and growth, and it is an honor to represent a troop with such a rich history and bright future. Our leadership team — Scoutmasters, ASMs, committee members, and volunteers — continues to guide and empower our youth while keeping our traditions strong. We are also strengthening our connection with Pack 89, supporting their den activities and helping build the next generation of Scouts who will one day lead this troop. As we move into the fall season, we encourage all families to invite friends, neighbors, and relatives to our Troop 89 Open House in October — details will be announced soon. Together, we are building momentum, building leaders, and building a future worthy of Troop 89’s long legacy.
Summary of weekly meetings
08/06/2026 - Troop camaraderie meeting
Location and time: Harold Docherty Memorial Park, 7:00-8:30 pm
Summary: In this meeting, our Scouts played games and signed off on requirements.
08/13/2026 - Summer Camp Recap Meeting run by Samarth
Location and time: Harold Docherty Memorial Park, 7:00-8:30 pm
Summary: The meeting that was presented by Samarth described what happened in summer camp at Ressica Falls Scout Reservation. The presentation included the pros of going to summer camp. As well as how Ressica Falls compared to other summer camps. Also, Kaushal gave an informative presentation about radios.
08/20/2026 - First Aid Meeting by Rohan
Location and time: Harold Docherty Memorial Park, 7:00-8:30 pm
Summary: This meeting was led by Rohan. Scouts practiced and learned first aid skills and how to apply them.
08/27/2026 - Flag retirement by Samarth
Location and time: Hillsborough Public Library Program Room AB, 6:15-7:45 pm
Summary: We retired flags that we collected from the township. We taught the younger scouts how to retire the flags before we proceeded to several bags of flags.
Voorhees State Park Trip - Leader Report by Vivaan
Kishor, Anant, Kaushal, and I started off the trip on Friday evening when we arrived at Voorhees State Park at around 7. We got the tents out and set them up. Then we tried to build a fire, and after that we went to a field next to the main entrance to start the astronomy merit badge, using the telescopes they had set up, to complete some requirements. We saw many shining stars and planets. We came back and took the gear out of our cars, and I gave everybody Cracker Barrel as I was the main cook, and we went and slept. The next day, I woke up at around 6:30. Kishor, Anant, and Kaushal also woke up, and then they helped me make breakfast. They went to do kitchen patrol(KP) for the breakfast dishes, and I started making lunch after our short breakfast break. I finished making lunch; they did more KP, and we hung the bear bag on a hook. We did about 5.5 miles, enough to satisfy the second class hiking requirement. We came back, relaxed for a bit, then I started cooking dinner with everybody doing some job like cutting or peeling, etc. We all ate dinner, then we tried again to build a fire, and after many tries, actually did it! Then we went to the actual observatory for some more requirements for the Astronomy Merit Badge. We came back, and I gave everybody Cracker Barrel again. Then we all went to sleep, woke up the next morning, and drove home.
SPL Experiences for the past term by Arnav
When I became Senior Patrol Leader, I figured the job was mostly running meetings. That turned out to be a small part of it. Most of the work happened outside meetings, like planning with the PLC and following up with patrol leaders to make sure what we decided actually happened.
Early on, I made a Google Sheet to keep track of what the PLC decided each month. Before that, a lot of ideas would get forgotten between meetings. With the sheet, patrol leaders could just check what was coming up instead of waiting to hear it from me. Also, it helped ensure that the PLC members remembered what they had accomplished this term.
The biggest event I helped run was our Court of Honor. I worked with the Scoutmaster and MCs to put it together, and it was great seeing everyone working together. It was worth it to see scouts get recognized for what they'd done during the year.
Coordination was probably the hardest part of the job. Everyone is busy with school and other stuff, so getting people on the same page about plans and timing took more effort than I thought it would. I started sending out details earlier and double-checking instead of assuming everyone knew. It helped a lot.
My favorite part of the term was seeing everyone grow. Some scouts who barely talked at the beginning are now speaking up at meetings, and the patrol leaders are running things on their own a lot more than when I started.
For the next SPL, my advice is to write everything down and ask for help when you need it. Thanks to the Scoutmaster, the adult leaders, the PLC, and everyone who showed up this term.
Events of Note
Wolf Patrol Meeting Run by Arya
Time: August 1st from 4:00–5:00 PM.
Summary: This is a camaraderie meeting. Scouts will be playing games and working on requirements.
Troop 89 Rotary Fairgrounds Cleanup by Omkaar
Time and Location: August 17, 2026 - 6:00–8:00 PM Hillsborough Rotary Fairgrounds (Next to Lowe's)
Summary: Scouts are cleaning up after the Rotary Fair to keep the environment clean. Scouts were required to bring their own water and gloves as they spent 2 hours tirelessly cleaning up the debris left behind at the site of the Rotary Fair.
Honorary Scouting Skill of the Month
As part of Scouting, all Scouts must master certain Scouting skills, including but not limited to Orienteering, Knots, Lashings, Basic First Aid, Cooking, Leadership, and adhering to the Scout Oath and Law.
This segment of the newsletter is dedicated to encouraging scouts to master these basic elements and skills of scouting.
This Newsletter is focused on teaching new and older scouts how to tie the sheet bend, an essential knot used when you are tying two ropes together and they are different widths. With many applications in outdoor activities like climbing and sailing.
Sheet Bend Knot
Puzzle Segment
Anagram Challenge: Explore & Discover
Unscramble each set of letters to reveal a word connected to places, travel, and exploration.
PAM → __________
LEHOT → __________
NARUTERA → __________
TOCSIPEN → __________
TANOCILOO → __________
SWEIREV → __________
Mini Crossword: Map Your Way
Fill in the crossword using the clues below.
Across
- A place shown on a map
- A location where visitors can stay
- User opinions and ratings
Down
- A visual guide to locations
- A place’s position
- Information about a business’s start and end times
Word Ladder: From MAP to SITE
Change one letter at a time to transform MAP into SITE. Each step must form a valid word.
MAP
↓
↓
↓
↓
SITE
Hint: The ladder connects ideas related to maps, places, and blog content.
Riddle of the Week
I show you where a place can be found,
When it opens and what it has around.
With photos and reviews, I help readers explore,
And bring interactive details right to your door.
What am I?
Put your answer in the comments.
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