Scouting

Moore Family
of Arizona

Scouting

Well when Alex joined the Pack 278 Cub Scouts back in late 2003 - I went with him on an overnight campout... We encouraged him to work hard to catch up to all the other boys who had been in cubs for years... in just 4 months he completed all the requirements to get his Arrow of Light before he transitioned over into Boy Scouts.

Little did I know that the workload would NOT stay at a lower level...

Boy Scouts of America Troop 278 Ahwatukee is a quite large and very active Scout troop, it has many activities every year often with 2 outdoor activities per month, a week long summer camp every year and usually bi-annually sends a crew to the Philmont high adventure base for a 2 week backpacking adventure.

I started out by attending many events with Alex, I enjoyed getting out there as much as he did, and the troop needed drivers and extra adult activity attendees. Pretty soon I stepped back from "helping" Alex while I was there - and let him do more of his own thing.

I took an interest in planning events and locations and was then invited to join the Troop Committee. I started out as Secretary and was quite active - I initiated some major changes creating the troop website and an email distribution system and revamped the troop's bylaws. I also started running some outdoor events for the troop - mainly backpacking trips.

After a couple of years I was invited to take over as the committee chair. In 2008 the Scoutmaster announced he would only serve for another year and was looking for a replacement. He told me he thought I would be the best choice... I was surprised. He worked on me for months to convince me to consider it... which I reluctantly did.

I did not really want to take on this role - but ultimately I agreed with him that I was in fact the best candidate from the troop's perspective - and felt strongly enough about the value of Scouting in Alex & Daniels lives that I wanted to make sure the troop not only endured but thrived...

So here I am almost 3 years into being Scoutmaster - which it turns out (as expected) consumes a huge amount of my work and time... Still it is rewarding in some major ways.

I am looking forward to stepping back a little as I hand over the Scoutmaster role at the end of 2011...