My Scouting Experience

My Experience with Scouting began in 1981, when I registered with Pack 95 in Sidney, Ohio as a Webelos Scout. That year, I earned my Webelos Badge and Arrow of Light and in the Spring, crossed over into a recently re-started Troop 95. As a youth member of Troop 95, I held the offices of Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Troop Scribe, and finally Senior Patrol Leader. While a member of Troop 95, I had many exciting experiences, the most memorable being:

1983

Troop Trip to Ontario, Canada and Massawepie Scout Camp in New York. While in Canada, we stayed in Ingersol and met with some Canadian Scouts. On the way to Massawepie, we stopped at Niagara Falls. On the way home, we visited the Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

1985

Member of the Council Contingent to the National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia as a member of Troop 675. This trip included several days of touring in Washington, DC.

1987

Philmont Scout Ranch

1988

Tinnerman Canoe Base on the Georgian Bay in Canada. Tinnerman is operated by the Greater Cleveland Council.

1989

A 60 mile hike along the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. Our midway point was the town of Pearisburg.

1990

Troop Trip to Charleston, SC. We visited the Charleston Naval Base and Patriots Point, home of the USS Yorktown.

1995

Return to Philmont Scout Ranch with the Troop as part of the Council Contingent.

Along the way, I earned two Catholic Religious awards, the Ad Altare Dei, and the Pope Pius XII. In 1989, I earned the rank of Eagle Scout. In 1990, I became an Assistant Scoutmaster, still with Troop 95. The 1995 trip to Philmont would be my last activity with Troop 95. Upon returning from Philmont, I moved away from Sidney. It turned out that the other troop that we traveled to Philmont with was from the area that I was moving to, and so, I became an Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 516 in Centerville, Ohio. Since joining Troop 516, I have had more exciting adventures, including:

April 1996

Spring Break Trip to the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point in Charleston, SC. We spent a night on the Yorktown in the crew area.

June 1996

High adventure trip to West Virginia. During the trip, we did Rock Climbing, Rappeling, Spelunking, Backpacking, Whitewater Rafting, and Mountain Biking. ACE Whitewater made many of the arrangements and provided guides for several of the activities, as well as providing camping facilities for our use.

July 1997

1997 National Jamboree as part of the Miami Valley Council contingent, Troop 1221

April 1998

Spring Break Trip to Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky, and to the National Scouting Museum in Murray, Kentucky.

June 1998

WhiteWater Canoe Trip on the Dumoine River in Quebec, Canada. Valley Ventures provided the guide and equipment for this trip.

May 1999

Completed Buckskin Training. This is a two weekend and two weeknight meeting adult training course offered by the Miami Valley Council.

June 1999

Back to Philmont to tackle Itinerary 7, which covers the South Country.

June 2000

Troop high adventure trip to St. John's Island, which is one of the US Virgin Islands. We spent a week snorkelling, sailing, hiking, and just hanging out on the beach.

August 2000

Attended Woodbadge C-34-00 and became a member of "Da Bears" Patrol.

July 2001

2001 National Scout Jamboree as part of the Miami Valley Council contingent, Troop 1309

June 2002

My fourth trip to Philmont. This time, my crew chose itinerary 13.

July 2002

Traveled with Miami Lodge 495 to the National Order of the Arrow Conference at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.

December 16, 2002

I was presented with my Woodbadge Beads, after having finished my ticket near the end of the Summer.

For my first few years with Troop 516, I was an advisor the the Patrol Leaders Council. I also created our Troop Web Page (http://troop516.org), and serve as an advisor the the Scout Webmasters who maintain the page. My last reponsibility with Troop 516 was as Assistant Scoutmaster for the New Scout Patrol, so I worked closely with the Troop Guides, as well as with the new members of our Troop.

At the beginning of 2004, I was asked to help with a Troop in Miamisburg, which was in danger of folding. A new Scoutmaster had been found, but he wanted help from someone who had more experience as an Assistant Scoutmaster than he did, so I agreed to help with Troop 402 on a "temporary" basis. "Temporary" ended up being just over 2 years. Once my son was born, I stepped out of Scouting so that I can be ready to get back into it again when he is old enough.

I was also involved in the Order of the Arrow, having served as the Advisor to the Secretary, to the Publications Chairman, to the Troop Representative Chairman, to the Vice-Chief of Membership, and to the Website chairman. I kept the Vigil on July 22, 2000, and was presented with the Founder's Award in 2001.

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