Boy Scout Troop 108

Two scouts from Troop 108 were members of the Honor Guard at the 2009 Northern New Jersey Council Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner on May 14. Stephen, Brian, and other Scouts, Venturers, and Explorers from the Council opened and closed the dinner that honored Dr. Ralph Izzo, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), New Jersey’s largest utility.

Alex, Jake, and Matt completed their Order of the Arrow Ordeal weekend at Camp Turrell on May 1-3, 2009.  It was a weekend full of rain, work, and camaraderie.

The purpose of the Order of the Arrow is fourfold:

1. To recognize those Scout campers who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives

2. To develop and maintain camping traditions and spirit

3. To promote Scout camping

4. To crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others

There’s no troop meeting on May 5, but please drop off your Scouting for Food collections at 7:30 PM.

Father Rugel Hall at Our Lady of the Valley Church was the setting for Troop 108’s latest Eagle Scout Court of Honor. Stephen completed his Board of Review in November, and on April 26 was formally presented with Scouting’s highest rank.

Wayne Township Mayor Christopher Vergano congratulated Stephen on behalf of the town council, and representatives from Congressman Bill Pascrell’s office, the Northern New Jersey Council and the Paterson Diocese Catholic Committee on Scouting also attended and made presentations.

The annual Black Bear District Awards Dinner was held on April 18. Two of our adult volunteers received awards for their involvement in Scouting over the past year:

• Ron Westervelt - Assistant Scoutmaster of the Year Award.
• Jack Boyle - Venturing Crew Advisor of the Year.

Congratulations, and thanks for all you do for Scouting!

A note from your Scoutmaster

Hope you all enjoyed the opportunity for "lean" lean-to camping.  Lean-to's are a great way to get the full "outdoor experience" in scouting.  What better way to have nature as your wide-open front door?!  Did you know that in Finland, lean-to's are called "Laavu's", which is a traditional Finnish forest shelter?

The word Laavu refers to the first simple lean-to shelters ever built by man.  So if you took advantage of a lean-to this weekend, consider yourself sleeping in a part of history.  I'm hoping for more of this type of camping in the future, perhaps a minimalist backpack trip next fall.

All scouts going to summer camp will have an opportunity to register real time for their merit badges and other programs (Kayaking BSA / Camp Kayaking / Brownsea etc.) at the meeting on Tuesday. Adults going should also be finalized and they too may wish to enroll in programs open to them.

Happy Easter to all from the scouts, leaders, and families of Troop 108! We’re not meeting again until after Spring Break, so enjoy your time off. But keep an eye on your email (and Twitter feeds!) for information about our upcoming camping trip and for other troop news.

On Saturday March 28, scouts and adults from Troop 108 spent a few hours cleaning up the OLV church parking lot in preparation for Palm Sunday and Easter. The many hands made for quick work, and in no time at the team had filled a few hundred bags with vegetative waste. Or at least that’s what one one of the new scouts said…