Prepared For Life

Jerry Beaver says it all started when he volunteered to be a Popcorn Colonel! Jerry’s son was a Cub Scout and the pack needed someone to head up the popcorn sales and that eventually led to Jerry chairing the Black Rock District. Jerry tells Brian Beddow, Field Director for the Hawk Mountain Council, that scouting changed his life, built relationships and expanded his circle of friends. Jerry says he was shy but as a volunteer he developed public speaking skills and built confidence and respect … “the 12 tenets of scouting are good rules to live by and when you know what Scouting can do for you, you want to give it to others”. The Scouting experience gives as much to the parents and volunteers as it does to the young men and young women who join.

Vaughn Golden, Eagle Scout with troop 241 says his Scouting journey began in first grade when the Scouts came to his school to talk about Cub Scouts. He joined because it sounded like a lot of fun and never left Scouting. He tells Brian Beddow, Hawk Mountain Council Field Director, some of his favorite memories are the adventure opportunities.

Lifelong friendships were forged during a 12 day back-packing trip when Mother Nature left them in some tricky predicaments. Vaughn values the skills he learned in Scouting from raising funds which taught him financial planning and budgeting to leadership skills he learned as a youth leader and now an adult volunteer. As a member of the Order of The Arrow, Scouting’s National Honor Society, Vaughn continues to enjoy the volunteer hours he spends at camp giving back to younger Scouts.

Steve Silverman shares his son’s journey to becoming an Eagle Scout. He says it wasn’t a goal when they signed up for Cub Scouts. He really welcomed the opportunity to get their son involved in something interesting, fun and educational with his peers. Attaining the highest Boy Scout Rank wasn’t on their radar.

The years flew by and looking back Steve talks about Scouting as a very rewarding experience. He had as much fun volunteering for activities when parents were needed as his son did participating in Scouts. Steve says the biggest benefit of Boy Scouts is the conviction of the value of the Scouting Program. He says “It turns boys into men … and builds future leaders for our community.”

Adrienne Wrona, District Executive with the Hawk Mountain Scout Council found out why Moms like the Scouting program so much! Heidi Silverman says she was hooked after the first troop committee meeting she attended. That was when her son Craig was in first grade. Now her 18 year old son is an Eagle Scout.

Heidi says Scouting afforded her quality time spent together with her son, with her son’s friend’s parents and with troop parents. It allowed her to stay connected with her son. Heidi says being involved with the Hawk Mountain Scout Council also fostered a relationship with nature and cites her love of the outdoors as one of the biggest benefits of Scouting.

Adrienne Wrona, District Executive with the Hawk Mountain Scout Council talks with Alex about the profound changes she witnessed in her son after just a few months in the Boy Scouts. Her son was shy, afraid and unsure of himself. Yet is was her son that brought papers home and asked his Mom to please come to a meeting so they could talk about the Scouts.

Alex says since he has been an active Scout member her relationship with her son has changed. He is excited, motivated, engaged and happy. Alex says now her son teaches her things. She says he son is getting more attention and has more power because he is motivated to represent the Scouts well.

He has perfect attendance and is on the honor roll now and has been awarded Student of the Month! Alex says the Spanish Community needs a lot of these programs and is happy that her son found the Boy Scouts.

Tom Kauffman was 8 years old when he joined Leinbach’s Pack 190. Tom says he is results-driven and really enjoyed earning pins and badges and liked the opportunity to become a leader. By the time he was 14 he was an Eagle Scout and a Patrol Leader, and he learned how to be a leader, follower and teacher all at once! Tom says Scouting has come full circle in his life.

He says he is happy to be invited to be part of the Boy Scouts as an adult. Tom is currently on the Board of Directors for the Hawk Mountain Scout Council and serves because he feels it’s important to give back to today’s young men and women what was given to him.

Bill Garrett, Scout Executive and CEO of the Hawk Mountain Scout Council, talks with Dave Patti, President and CEO of the PA Business Council about how scouting shaped his life. Dave’s job entails working with CEO’s, shaping public policy and communicating about life and business in PA. He can trace everything he does today to growing up as a Scout and the various merit badges he earned. Communications was the first merit badge he attained. He says it was through scouting, at age 17 he had the opportunity to sit next to Paul Rodale and Marlin Miller. He learned how to read financial statements. Why join scouts? Dave says it is where you really develop the soft skills that employers are looking for when hiring. Employers want skills like dependability, honesty, integrity, showing up on time, working well with others, these are all skills that are honed in the Boy Scouts. And then of course there’s the fun you have while learning. Dave shares fond memories of some camping trips too.