Court of Honor spotlights Scoutmaster’s achievement

SHOHOLA — In the Boy Scouts of America, a Court of Honor is a special ceremony where the entire troop comes together to celebrate individual scout achievements, including but not limited to rank advancements, merit badges, and other special awards.

At their recent Court of Honor, conducted by Thomas Seltzer, Senior Patrol Leader, and Joey Loughney, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Shohola Troop 76 celebrated the 83 merit badges and 11 rank advancements their members earned since last spring. Each award was personally distributed to the scout by their own Patrol Leader.

There was also one formal acknowledgement and a congratulatory letter for Eagle Scout Ricky Miller, who received his Eagle Scout in August.

Star Scout Rob Riccio was awarded with a Service Cord and Certificate of Appreciation for his Service as Den Chief. This award was presented by Gary Albaugh, Cubmaster of Dingman’s Ferry Pack 1007. The Service Cord, explained Albaugh, is awarded to the Scout when his service to the Cub Scout Pack has been completed.

Joseph Loughney, Eagle Scout Candidate, was awarded with an Angler Patch for completion of three fishing-related merit badges: Fish & Wildlife; Fishing; and Fly Fishing.

A special feature of the Court of Honor was the ceremonial presentation of the Wood Badge to their Troop’s Scoutmaster, Herb Rinkel, near the conclusion of the Court of Honor. The Wood Badge is a premier leadership course, developed by the Boy Scouts of America, for its adult leaders. This course has four objectives:

View scouting globally as a value–based program that provides age-appropriate activities for the youth;

Recognize the leadership concepts utilized in corporate America and leading government organizations that are relevant to values-based movement;

Apply skills from participation as a member of a successful team; and

Revitalize commitment by sharing in an overall experience

Five central themes of the Wood Badge are for the participant to live the values; to bring the vision to life; to recognize models for successes; to work with tools of the trade; and to lead to make a difference.

RInkel said he learned a great deal from his participation in the Wood Badge program. In order to accomplish his goals, RInkel worked with a “patrol” comprised of Scouting Staff and other leaders. Jessica Brighton, Scoutmaster of Troop 77, served as his “guide” or “ticket counselor.”

From start to finish, completing this goal successfully took him an entire 18 months. As he acknowledged the fact that the program consumed a large amount of time and commitment, he noted that it is a very valuable asset to adult training. He smiled proudly as he gestured to the scouts in his troop.

“Watching the scouts mature and slowly take on leadership roles effectively, within the troop, make it all worthwhile," he said.

The leadership skills learned within the troop can be carried a step further, and will last a lifetime.

For more information about the Wood Badge, visit woodbadge.org.

For more information about Shohola Boy Scout Troop 76, visit troop76events.com.