The township’s Boy Scout Troop 61 held an open house for the community at Our Lady of Good Counsel’s Parish School gym on Oct. 5 to encourage membership.
Troop 61 welcomes boys ages 11 to 17 who have an interest in scouting. No previous experience or affiliation with a Cub Scout pack is necessary and members need not be Moorestown residents or have a particular religious affiliation.
Scoutmaster Leo Greaney has led the troop for 15 years, along with assistant Scoutmasters Dr. Ed Fernandez and Dr. Jim Guevara. Other troop leaders include Nancy Handlon, John Glowacki, Trish Callahan, Pete Romano, Christine Masterson, Jim Murawski and Maggie Ladik.
“In recent times, I was happy,” Greaney said. “I was there to help out through COVID and keep things rolling the best we could. As soon as things got locked down, we started doing Zoom meetings and it was to help keep the boys, even though they were all isolated.”
“Even during COVID, quite a number of the boys were able to go ahead and finish up and reach the highest rank of Eagle Scout.”
Troop 61 engages in several outdoor adventures and meets once a week at the parish school between September and June.
“We try to get out once a month to do something, whether it be camping overnight or a day trip,” Greaney noted. “ … In the summer, we go away for a week to a resident Boy Scout camp and spend six nights there, so the Boy Scouts can participate in different activities with other troops and other boys from other areas and work on some of their achievements, merit badges and rank advancements at camp.”
“It’s a good bonding opportunity for the Scouts to spend a reasonable amount of time with their new friends.”
Scouts have the opportunity in Troop 61 to move up through the ranks and achieve Eagle Scout status, accomplished after completion of all required merit badges and fulfillment of a service project to benefit the community. Troop 61 has supported 17 Scouts in achieving the Eagle Scout award in the past 15 years, including Life Scout Xavier Ladik, who recently helped build an outdoor classroom for the parish school.
“ … It was a fantastic example of what a young man can do when they set their minds to it,” Greaney said of the outdoor classroom. “That’s the backbone of being in Scouts, to learn some of the background (information) – planning and leadership – to really go out and put that all together and recruit helpers. And the sounding part is to give direction and leadership to their parents and other adults when there is a challenge (that) they have to overcome.”
Greaney shared what he hopes the community learns about Troop 61.
“ … People who know little about Scouts, I don’t think they recognize the other benefits of the character building, the leadership opportunities and the building of independence and self-confidence for their boys.”
