The Observation Deck

Thanks to Jim O'Bryan, Peter Grossetti, and Betsy Voinovich from The Lakewood Observer for visiting with all our Bear Cub Scouts at Pack 68 tonight!

The scouts had a blast!

Folks like Jim, Peter, and Betsy make Lakewood great!

And Jim really did an amazing job by the way. The scouts loved that big Wookiee.

Thanks, again.

Matt

Matt

I can assure you the pleasure was all ours. Betsy Voinovich is just spectacular with kids,
and Peter Grosseti has really caught on to the "Community Outreach" part of his job title.

It is nights like tonight that make it all worthwhile.

Thanks again for the invite.

.

That is just a wonderful image !

Hillary Clinton was right when she lifted the old African proverb to use in title of her 1996 book: "It takes a village to raise a child." It does!

What a joy it was to spend time with these young men!!

Hats off to Pack leaders Steve Popovich and Matt Markling ... and all Lakewoodites who volunteer their time in order to provide guidance and love to Our City's greatest assets ... Our Kids!

Here is an interesting Deck discussion between Lakewood Advisory Board Members Steve Ott and Kenneth Warren on Eagle Scouts ... from the dusty archives ... http://lakewoodobserver.com/deck/viewtopic.php?t=530.

Steve Ott and I ran into each other at the airport a year or two ago. As we waited to catch our planes to meet our respective clients, Steve shared with me all the wonderful aspects of Scouting. Steve Ott knows a lot about Scouting! What I know about Scouting is that it really does enrich the lives of young men and women, as well as their families.

If you and your sons are interested in Cub Scouts, please contact me and I can connect you with Pack 68 Cubmaster Steve Popovich, who does an excellent job with leading our pack.

Matt

As registered Scout leaders, Dad (Backwoods Bob) and I (Tenderfoot Gary) both feel that there is no finer youth organization on the face of this planet. I started my Scouting experience down there at Lakewood United Methodist Church in what was then Pack 80, and is now Pack 68.

Somewhere in the attic, I still have the Pinewood Derby car that Dad and I made and raced when I was there.

A few years back. I had the pleasure of entertaining Pack 68 on the musical saw and banjo at one of their Blue and Gold events. Dad sometimes accompanies those sorts of events on the fiddle. Unfortunately, it's been awhile since we're been out on the Scouting trail, due to some health stuff, but Scouting is never far from our hearts.

In fact, here's a link to a Lakewood Observer column that I wrote honoring my former Lakewood Scoutmaster, and my life-changing fond memories of Scouting...

http://lakewoodobserver.com/read/2008/2 ... e-among-us

Glad to hear that the Lakewood Observer Project is supporting Scouting in Lakewood. Now if we could only get the Observation Deck to understand the meaning of "Sign's up!" once in awhile.

Back to the banjo...

What a wonderful event! Clearly you and your scouts had fun. Looks like you have followed Baden Powell’s description of Scouting: Scouting is a game with a purpose. To the scouts, Scouting is a game--a wonderful game, sometimes outdoors, keeping them busy and happy. Scouting is 'learning by doing' things that are enjoyable--exciting things! That's the strength of Scouting! A boy becomes a Scout because of the fun. To the parents and adults, Scouting is a game, also -- but it is more than game of fun. To us, it is a game with a purpose--the purpose of helping the scouts to become men by placing a few bricks into the scout’s foundation of life. There is a “trustworthy” brick, and “loyal” brick, a “friendly” brick, etc. There is a brick for “on my honor, I will do my best…” The Scouts learn the universal values found in the Scout Oath and Law by doing, not by lectures. Clearly Pack 68 continues with this effort. Nicely done!

Last Sunday the Greater Cleveland Council recognized the Eagle Scout Class of 2012. These outstanding young men, through the completion of their Eagle Scout Projects, contributed over 27,000 hours of service to their communities last year.

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