In the Beginning Our Troop was chartered by the Copperfield Rotary Club in December, 1996 with 6 scouts and their parents. During the discussion of this new Troop with Council, Tom Majors, our original Scoutmaster decided on our Troop number. A number that he felt would be easy to remember, thus Troop 1296 (for December of 1996) was born.
On December of 2000, our charter was moved to Cornerstone United Methodist Church, where it still resides today. After serving as our Scoutmaster for ten years, in December of 2006, we finally let Tom step down and settle into a role as an Assistant Scoutmaster.
Jason Bargar was approved by the Troop Committee and served as the second Scoutmaster from January 2007 to May 2011. At the end of May, Jason returned to the position of Assistant Scoutmaster and Adult Quartermaster.
Our third Scoutmaster was Dr. Larry Zarker. He is an Eagle Scout, OA member, and has been with our Troop since December 2008 in an active Assistant Scoutmaster role. He stepped down as Scoutmaster in May of 2013 and followed in Jason's shoes to become Assistant Scoutmaster and Adult Quartermaster.
Our fourth Scoutmaster was T. Rebagay who served from May of 2013 to January 2014. T. has been with the troop for nearly 10 years and served as a critical bridge in the Scoutmaster transition plan while Kerry attended woodbadge and completed his tickets.
Our fifth Scoutmaster was Kerry Groeschel who served from January 2014 to December 2015. He is a member of the OA, Woodbadge, and served with honor and distinction.
Robert Beishir was our sixth Scoutmaster and an Eagle Scout. He served from January 2016 to February 2018. His 3 boys all earned their Eagle Scout rank as members of Troop 1296. He is dedicated, organized and most importantly patient. He remains an active part of the ASM Corps.
Trent Bailly was our seventh Scoutmaster. He served from March 2018 to September 2020. He has been an ASM and active in the Troop since 2015. He is also a member of the OA. He remains an active part of the ASM Corps.
Brad Bryant was our eighth Scoutmaster. He served from September 2020 to May 2023. He remains an active member of the ASM Corps.
Will Cole is our ninth and current Scoutmaster. He began this role in May 2023. Thanks for serving in this important role!
Troop Program Once a year, during the Annual Planning Meeting, our Youth Leaders plan the locations and events for the next 12 months of our scouting calendar. Then monthly, during the Patrol Leader Council Meetings, the PLC plan the details for the upcoming Troop Meetings, camp outs and other activities. The main focus is to provide a mixture of numerous activities with a monthly focus on camping or working on Scout skills.
Troop Meetings We meet on most Tuesdays starting at 7:00pm until 8:30pm. The location for our meetings is the Cornerstone Methodist Church gym located at 18081 West Road, Houston, TX 77095.