Tracy Grogan helps coordinate registration activities at the Boy Scouts "Camporee" in South Berwick, Maine.
Photo by Andrew Moore
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Tracy Grogan helps coordinate registration activities at the Boy Scouts "Camporee" in South Berwick, Maine. Photo by Andrew Moore |
By Beth LaMontagne
SOUTH BERWICK, Maine - More than 300 York County Boy Scouts gathered in South Berwick this weekend to honor the men and women serving in the U.S. military.
Hosted by Troops 338 and 340 from South Berwick and Eliot, the Boy Scout Spring Camporee was an active weekend of camping and community service for Scouts all over York County. Coinciding with U.S. Armed Forces Day, Scouts and their leaders participated in team-building activities, a flag retirement ceremony and a series of demonstrations presented by the U.S. Coast Guard and Army.
The Eliot Revolutionary War re-enactment unit was also on hand to show Scouts what military service was like hundreds of years ago. To support American soldiers, the Boy Scouts gathered hundreds of items for the 152nd Maintenance Battalion of the Maine National Guard, now deployed in Iraq. Items included pens, paper and envelopes for writing letters, phone cards, toothpaste, brushes and "comfort products" such as golf balls and clubs.
Jeffrey Koch, a Camporee coordinator, said the Scouts chose the 152nd Maintenance Division, of Augusta, in order to support local troops deployed overseas.
Koch said the event was inspired by former Eliot Boy Scout Geoff Berg who recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan. During his son’s service in the Army, Berg’s father spoke with Eliot Boy Scout troop leaders about what Berg was going through. The York County Scout leaders decided to hold an event honoring the military as a tribute to one of their former members, Koch said.
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