|
On November 5, 1997,
Lakeside United Methodist Church chartered Boy Scouts of American Troop 1778.
The first Scoutmaster, Venton Chaney, began with 5 boys aged 11 to 18 years.
The first meeting was held on November 11, 1997 in the Westwood Estates at the
Hayes home of Waldorf. The original five boys were Jimmy Chaney, Josh Meador,
Alex Hays, Ned Raffelt, and Tyron Ross. As the boys began their journey through
the scout ranks of Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, and Life,
they began to grow and mature into young men. The Troop continued to meet at
the boys’ homes, and then Westlake High School in January 1998 until
Lakeside Church opened in April 1998. Attendance on the monthly campouts and
meetings continued to grow. The first campout was in November 1997 to
Cedarville State Forest and it rained. One of the boys was working on a weather
project and determined when troop 1778 was in the field that there was an 87%
chance of rain and thus earned the troop the nickname of “The Rain Makers.” At
the troop’s second summer camp at Camp Rodney, in the middle of the worst
draughts on record, someone asked the scoutmaster about the “Rain Makers” logo
on the troop T-shirts. “What does it mean?” he asked. Venton looked the man
calmly in the eyes and said “Just wait and you’ll see.” On Wednesday of that
week, the draught officially ended. The troop produced their first two Eagle
Scouts on August 28, 2000.
From 2002 to April
2003, the troop searched for a permanent Scoutmaster that took about 11 months.
Bob Sherouse and Ron Berger traded off Scoutmaster responsibilities while Venton
Chaney transitioned into an Adult Leader Training on the Southern Maryland
District staff. Although the troop was in transition, eight boys received their
Eagle Scout award! The Lakeside Church displays our Troop 1778 Eagle Scout
plaque to honor each Eagle Scout with their name and the date of their award.
Jay Thompson became
the second Scoutmaster on May 1, 2003 until February 2005. Jay worked hard to
recruit more scouts and guided the troop into a camping unit. Still today,
Troop 1778 Scouts plan a camping weekend at least once a month. While Jay was
Scoutmaster, two boys finished their merit badges, rank, and citizenship efforts
to earn the Eagle award. Scoutmasters are usually invited to local Cub Scout
Packs’ award dinners each year, called the Blue & Gold. Jay was a memorable
invited guess to the Cub Scout Pack 1771 Blue & Gold in February 2004, when he
not only came as an invited guest of honor but unexpectedly served as Grand
Judge for the evening’s theme contest. Jay delighted the crowd with Boy Scout
history, customs, and traditions as he presented the winning ribbons. During
this time period, the Southern Maryland District split into two districts and
Troop 1778 came under the new Zekiah District. The scouts and leaders of
Charles County choose the name after our local Zekiah Swamp.
Serving since
February 2005, our current Scoutmaster and the Troop’s third leader is Robert
(Bob) Westhead. Troop 1778 continues to carry on the tradition of being a
camping unit with 22 boys. One Scout earned his Eagle award in March 2005. The
current Senior Patrol Leader is working on his Eagle project and another Life
Scout will soon start his Eagle project. Troop 1778 scouts plan many exciting
and fun activities each year. For example, each January the Troop goes skiing
for a weekend; every June, the Troop goes on a 1-week camp, usually to a BSA
camp to work hard on merit badges and rank; and every July they canoe in
Virginia. The scouts plan and conduct the weekly meetings that include
activities such as skating or rock wall climbing at the Capital Clubhouse,
swimming, campfires, games, and merit badge work. Troop 1778 is proud of their
campfire and wooded area next to the church and regularly has campfires for
training, cooking, camping, and Court of Honors. With Bob Westhead’s
leadership, he has guided the scouts to try new camping locations or different
BSA camps. For June 2006, the scouts are attending a BSA camp in central
Pennsylvania to specifically work on merit badges and rank.
|
