Monrovia Troop 66 Year in Review

As the year draws to a close, I reflect upon all that our Scouts have accomplished this past 2019. Monrovia Troop 66 has grown leaps and bounds; not just in size but in the growth of our young men and their own personal accomplishments. Isn’t that what Scouting is all about? That is ALL what this is about. I call them the “Ings’s of Scouting” watching, furthering, mentoring, educating, advancing self-motivation, cultivating high standards, instilling and solidifying confidence, re-enforcing optimism & positivity, engaging in accountability, fostering courage and passion, embracing integrity, loyalty and ethical behavior. None of this could have been accomplished with our the dedicated leadership within our Troop, ASM’s Rhonda Aponno, Sam Kurutz, Peter Vierheilig, David Gallivan, Ranger Anthony Villalobos, Frank Villegas, Christopher Cordoba, Lynette Ratkovic, our COR Mike Haubner, our dedicated Committee members and parents; Diana Juarez, Anthony Lara, David Mari, Christine Caudillo, Alma Flores, Mike Koon,, Cindy & Chuck Richardson, and our beloved Chartered Organization American Legion Post 44.

This past year our Troop was fraught with “Ing’s”. The experiences our Scouts had will be forever embedded in their memories. Some of the memorable highlights of 2019 were spent on the road, traveling between campouts, eating at every In-N-Out we could find, working with mechanics at the El Monte Toyota Dealership on our automotive merit badge, exploring our mouths at Citrus College Dental School, lurking in the depths on board of the USS Pasadena Nuclear Submarine, touring a nuclear reactor site for our Nuclear Science merit badge, digging up old pottery shards at La Sierra School of Archaeology, learning finger printing and crime scene investigation at LAMC, honoring our veterans by being of service to them, leading the Pledge of Allegiance for 36 newly sworn in American Citizens of the United States and having our Life Scout Will Aponno represent our Troop at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with a wreath placement.

One area that many of our Scouts have dove into is Sea Scouting with the starting of our Ship out of the Long Beach Neptune District, SSS Sea Wolf 66, as this form of Scouting is a hidden gem within our community. We have organized our new leadership/committee and new crew and will be chartering with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 05-12. Our Charter will be going in at the end of the month. We are very excited with this new partnership. This will allow our Scouts/Sea Scouts to have hands on instruction by our nation’s finest. Many from our Troop have taken the USCG’s ABS boating course to obtain their boaters license. This is an intensive 8-10-hour safety course and once you have passed the exam you are able to legally pilot a boat with adult supervision while under 16. One aspect our Scouts enjoy is sleeping on the ship. Instead of sleeping in tents our Scouts sleep on ships and being a part of both programs, these are counted as camping nights that go towards your merit badges and Eagle rank. You can even finish your Eagle rank by being a part of a ship. Our Scouts have had many adventures this past year with several 3-day cruises to Catalina and working with their shipmates to hone their skills. We have been very blessed to work side-by-side with the SSS Conquest 564 crew under the skilled leadership of Skipper Bradford and Boatswain Katie Madland.

With the closing of the year we have already booked a busy 2020 season…Troop 66 & Ship 66 will for sure be making some new memories in the year to come.