Wellesley Boy Scout Troop 185 held their winter Court of Honor on Monday, February 4, at the Italo-American Club. The masters of ceremony were Ben Lussier and Russell Hornung, Troop 185's co-Senior Patrol Leaders, assisted by Henry Boyd, Sage Lapides and Cameron McKeever. They introduced the other leaders in the Troop and coordinated the awards ceremony.
Since the previous Court of Honor in June 2018, the boys have earned a large number of merit badges; 36 Scouts earned a total number of 95 merit badges. Three boys earned five badges each, and are listed as follows, with those marked with an asterisk being Eagle-required badges: Jonathan Chiu (Archery, Canoeing, Chess, Family Life* and Rifle Shooting), Ty Cronin (Camping*, Citizenship in the Nation*, Cooking*, Entrepreneurship and Environmental Science*), Grayson Houghton (Archery, Citizenship in the Nation*, Environmental Science*, Orienteering and Robotics).
The Troop was pleased to welcome five new Scouts, all crossing over from local Cub Scout Packs: Charlie Edmonds, Cotter Healey, Seth Janchar, Will Lorion, and Reid Sumner. After taking the Scout Oath, they received new red neckerchiefs, slides and the Boy Scout Handbook.
Parents presented the new rank badge to their sons who advanced in rank, including: Scouts Will Bonnette, Gabe Goodman, William Goggin; Tenderfoots Spencer Brown, Gabe Goodman, William Goggin, Ben Keiper, Alex Ma, Andrew Martin, John McCurley, Nika Shabestari, Jake Velyvis, Cole Wieland; Second Class Noah Goldman, Robert Perron, Hayden Sumner, Cole Wieland; First Class Jonathan Chiu, Noah Goldman, Mac Munro, Cole Wieland; Life Scouts Ty Cronin, Houghton Grayson, Aidan Ulian.
Scouts who advanced to the First Class rank received certificates from Scoutmaster Lavin. Scouts earning ranks of First Class pinned their mothers with special rank pins to thank them for their support. They also replaced their red neckerchiefs with a new green Troop neckerchief, signifying that they are now able to instruct the lower ranking Scouts and sign off on advancement requirements for them.
There were several special awards given. Ty Cronin received the Camping segment for the National Outdoor Award and the Den Chief Service Award and Noah Janchar received the National Outdoor Award Gold Device for Camping, requiring 50 tent nights.
Scoutmaster Yvette Lavin also thanked the Assistant Scoutmasters, all the adults serving on the Troop Committee, and those who volunteer as merit badge counselors, on boards of review, at courts of honor, at fundraising events or at summer camp. She made a request of the parents of the new Scouts to become involved with the Troop, as the Troop relies on the parents to help with the running of the many activities enjoyed by the boys. She then outlined some of the upcoming activities such as skiing, camping, a “shooting, fishing and cook-off” weekend on Cape Cod, a sea kayaking trip and several hikes, including the Memorial Day Weekend backpacking trip to the AMC Mitzpah Springs Hut on the Appalachian Trail. Summer trips to Alaska and camp weeks at Camp Resolute in Bolton, MA and Cape Richard on Nantucket, and a 2020 trip to the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico are planned.
The Troop meets on Monday evenings from 7:30-9:00 p.m. at St. John’s School in Wellesley. Boys currently in fifth grade to age 18 are welcomed to join. Boys and girls age 14 or in 8th grade through age 21 are welcome to join the Troop’s associated co-ed Venture Crew 42, which meets monthly on Thursday evenings. To join, contact Scoutmaster Lavin at mikenyvette@msn.com.
