I have been involved in Scouting since second grade. I joined a local Cub Scout pack, and stayed in it until the middle of fifth grade when I moved on to a Boy Scout troop. Cub scouting’s has similar methods compared to Boy scouting, but it also has its differences. Cub scouting is more family oriented, and is run by adults. The camping trips are not as intense, and cub scout units have a lot more restrictions on when, where, and how they can camp. For example, they cannot go camping in tents during the winter.

Some of the activities that I went on during my years in Cub scouts were trips to Battleship Cove, in which we slept on a retired USN battleship (which is now a museum) for the weekend. There was also the annual crossover campout at the end of the year, where there would be games and activities to participate in. Each February would be the Blue and Gold banquet, where the fifth graders would move onto a Boy Scout Troop.

In February 1998, I joined Boy Scout troop 428, where I am currently registered as an Assistant Scoutmaster. Leadership positions I held while a youth include Patrol Leader, Troop Historian, Order of the Arrow Troop Representative, and Troop Scribe.

During my time in the troop, I have gone on a few trips. I have biked around Block Island a couple times, gone canoeing and kayaking on the Delaware River in New York, gone camping in Maine for a week, and many local camping trips over the weekend. Although it wasn’t with the troop, the best trip I have ever been on was when I spent two weeks canoeing in Alaska.

On May 5th, 2004, I successfully completed my Eagle Scout Board of Review. After 6 years 3 months, I had earned the highest rank, and perhaps the most well known, that Boy Scouting has to offer. For my project, I refurbished a shed that is behind my church and used to store the lawnmower and other groundskeeping tools. The shed was extremely rusty and in need of much repair. My team and I repaired the doors, caulked the the bottom of the walls, sanded off the rust, and then painted everything.

The Order of the Arrow is Scouting’s “National Honor Society” and aims to “recognize those Scout campers who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives, develop and maintain camping traditions and spirit, promote Scout camping, and crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others. Around February 2000, the youth members of my troop felt I was worthy of inclusion in the OA, and they elected me to the OA. In June 2000, I went through my Ordeal, and became a member of Owaneco Lodge. In September 2005, I completed my vigil, and became a Vigil Honor member, the highest membership level.

The OA has provided me even more opportunities than I could get in my Troop alone. I have been able to attend two National OA Conferences (2002, 2004), and will be attending the 2006 NOAC held at Michigan State Univerisity. I have also attended 2002 and 2003 (hosted by Owaneco) Section NE-2C conclave. In addition to those events, I have also gone to, and help run in one manner or another, many local lodge events, including Ordeals and Fellowships. I have attended two Lodge Leadership Development courses, and a National Leadership Seminar.