Community service focus of 11th annual Celebration of Scouting breakfast

June 29, 2016 at 12:07a.m.

BOARDMAN

For most of us, starting a fire in the fireplace represents little more than a routine attempt to keep warm on a cold winter morning.

For 16-year-old Ben Burkey, however, the simple act was an epiphany.

“When I was 12 or 13, I got up early one morning and built a fire and my Scoutmaster asked, ‘Why are you up so early?’

“So I [went back to sleep and] woke up a second time around 7 a.m. and realized many adults were sitting around the fire I made,” recalled Ben, a member of Boardman-based Boy Scout Troop 60.

That experience was a catalyst for solidifying his interest in Scouting, Burkey explained. It also clearly demonstrated to the teen that one’s actions – regardless of how small – can have far-reaching, positive effects on others, which ties in to some of the character traits such as leadership and service that Scouting tries to instill in its members.

Ben shared his recollections and discussed some of his experiences as a Boy Scout during Tuesday morning’s 11th annual Celebration of Scouting breakfast at the Boardman Holiday Inn, 7410 South Ave.

Hosting the fundraiser was the Whispering Pines District Greater Western Reserve Council Boy Scouts of America.

Money raised will go toward maintaining the district’s programs and repairing and improving some camps.

Also, interest in Scouting continues to grow in the Mahoning Valley, yet it has lost some funding, noted John Brkic, Whispering Pines District’s executive.

“Nearly every Boy Scout has done something to better their communities,” said Ben, whose major goals after high school are to serve four to six years in the Air Force Reserves while in college, then move to active duty.

Ben also discussed with his audience of about 70 several community-service projects in which his Troop and others have taken part. Those include the annual Mill Creek MetroParks cleanup as well as removing litter from and beautifying the Market Street corridor in Youngstown.

The keynote speaker was Brkic, who noted that area Scouts completed about 3,032 service hours last year.

In addition, an estimated 5 percent of local Boy Scouts earned their Eagle Scout rankings, compared with roughly 4 percent nationwide, Brkic said.

He also talked about a ScoutReach program in which Scout leaders visit boys in first through fifth grades in Mahoning and Trumbull county schools. The idea is to expose them to what Scouting has to offer, Brkic explained.

Specifically, an effort is made to instill Scouting values, which reinforces discipline, good study habits in the classroom and positive behavior while promoting strong attendance and the ability to be recognized for achievement, noted John Barkett, the Greater Western Reserve Council’s vice president of community services.

In addition, teachers and school administrators strongly support the program, and many have requested it be taken beyond fifth grade, said Barkett, who added that 1,140 boys in the two counties have joined Cub Scout packs during the 2015-16 school year as a result of the effort.

Also during the breakfast, Brkic handed a plaque to Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel for his and the university’s support of Scouting.

In addition, plaques were given to Boardman Rotary and Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley for the same reason.