Post 1910 at their recent inaugural banquet.
Gerson Cruz participated in Scouting as an Explorer in Prince George’s Police Department. After he graduated, he was hired by the neighboring police department in Mount Rainier, where he founded an Exploring Post.
“Being an Explorer for Post 600 in Prince George’s County really showed me what it meant to be able to help the community and reach my goal of being a police officer!” said Gerson Cruz. “My goal had always to give back to the community that gave me so much when I was an Explorer and living in a very low-income family. To now be in charge of Mount Rainier Post 1910 and have 40+ Explorers is surreal to me and makes me realize I finally made it. Without Explorers I don’t believe I’d be where I am in life today and for that I will give this program everything I possibly can!”
In one year, Officer Cruz has recruited 40 youth to the program which demonstrates an extremely successful recruitment effort. In our Council, he is our youngest Exploring Advisor to date.
Austin Snip teamed up with Gold Star Post 191 to meet a need in his community. He had a prior relationship with the Post, which is the Chartered Organization for Sea Scout Ship 1191, and they shared that they had a surplus of U.S. flag donations. Since they wanted to retire the flags but didn’t have the time to do so, Austin found an opportunity to provide service for his Eagle project. At first, the estimate started with around 100 flags in the proposal steps but that number then jumped to about 1,000 during the planning process.
To start off the project, a few volunteers met at the Post to move the flags from the Post’s underground storage to a trailer for transportation. Once they arrived at the incinerator, volunteers from three different units (Troop 1450, Troop 447, and Ship 1191) as well as non-scouting volunteers worked to unload the trailer and begin folding flags.
The Gaithersburg High School Navy Junior ROTC color guard was kind enough to provide their services in the opening and closing colors. Multiple military veterans working at the incinerator came out to watch the ceremony. The total number of flags we retired came out to be 2,171 U.S. flags. Afterward, any volunteers who stayed till the end were treated to pizza and were able to tour the flag incinerator.”
Last month Troop 279 of Point of Rocks, MD had the opportunity to volunteer with a wonderful organization named Sleep In Heavenly Peace which builds and delivers beds to children in need in the area. The Scouts assisted with the transportation of new beds from the workshop to the storage facility. They also got to learn about SIHP’s mission and how they built the beds.
