Turkey Camp 2025 - November 22-25

This will mark the tenth year of the East Texas Area Council’s Turkey Camp. Each year, we take feedback from our youth and adults to improve the previous year’s program. This program is driven by YOU, and we take your recommendations, needs, and comments seriously. 

We are dedicated to delivering the promise of a quality outdoor program in a great setting provided by a staff of volunteers that is second to none. We do all of this in a safe, clean, and friendly camp atmosphere here at the beautiful George W. Pirtle Scout Reservation.

If this will be your first year attending Turkey Camp, welcome! This event has the pace and energy of a Merit Badge Workshop fused with the outdoor experience of a traditional summer camp. Turkey Camp is 100% Volunteer based. There is not a traditional ‘Summer Camp Staff’ rather, Merit Badge classes are all taught by Unit Leaders who are attending camp. Everyone pitches in, and the atmosphere and energy reflect it.

The Turkey Camp program is designed to help each Scout in your unit to achieve the best possible experience. We strive to provide engaging programs for every Scout that comes to Turkey Camp, whether they be a first-year camper or the Scout that has been coming to camp for four or five years. We hope that this experience at Camp Pirtle will provide a lifetime of memories and the tools necessary for advancement to the next rank. If you have any questions as you plan your Turkey Camp experience, please drop us a line.

See you in November!

10/16/25 Update:

We are well on our way to another awesome Turkey Camp. We are at 88% of our total class seat capacity.

This isn’t a boast or a brag — it’s a testament to the incredible Troops, Adults, and Instructors who invest in our Scouts year after year. I can't say this enough—THANK YOU to everyone who has volunteered over the years and has already stepped up to help again this year. Those of you who are returning to GWP for Turkey Camp know this camp just feels different from other camps, and I believe this is why. You guys and gals are amazing.

So, what's next, and where do we go from here?

Let's talk about the Waitlist.

Class Registration is very dynamic and will continue to evolve leading up to the event. While many classes—especially Eagle-required ones—do fill quickly, we anticipate changes as Scouts adjust their schedules or drop classes, which will open up new spots.

We are monitoring waitlists closely and will add scouts when space becomes available. The Unit Leader on the registration will receive a notification when your scout is added to the class. When a scout already has a class during the waitlisted class's period, we assume the scout would rather be in the waitlisted class than the class they are currently registered for. 

Want to Help Scouts Get Into More Classes?

If we find additional instructors (or someone volunteers directly), we do have the flexibility to add extra classes. However, we need an instructor to come forward first. In other scenarios, if an instructor is comfortable with additional scouts and lets us know, we will adjust room assignments, capacity limits (and supplies) to accommodate more Scouts. For Example, our Welding Instructor let me know this morning that he can confidently handle two more scouts per session (Thanks, Matt!!), so the class size is now 12 instead of 10.

Encourage your adults to sign up as instructors! We’ll provide supplies and equipment as needed — just let us know in advance. Even if a class already has instructors (like the Citizenships), we’re open to adding more sessions if someone wants to lead.

Here’s the Instructor Sign-Up link: MB Instructor SignUp Genius

Maintain rigid flexibility, and we'll see you in camp!