Troop 117 Reaches Golden Fun For Third Straight Year

For the third year in a row, Elmhurst Boy Scout Troop 117 has earned the gold level of the
Journey to Excellence Award of Boy Scouts of America, the only Troop in Potawatomi Trails District to achieve this accomplishment during this timeframe.

Chartered by Christ United Methodist Church on Swain Avenue, Troop 117 excelled in all categories of the Journey to Excellence Scouting recognition program that measures the activities, planning, training, advancement, retention, service projects and other factors.

Troop 117 scored 1575 points to earn the gold level of the Journey to Excellence Award, needing only 1000 to reach this level.

The Troop is currently lead by Senior Patrol Leader James Clohessy, an eighth grader at Timothy Christian. Greg Gley is the Scoutmaster, succeeding former Scoutmaster John Lothian in 2016. John Fabry has served as Troop 117’s Committee Chair since 2010.

Activities during the year included seven Boy Scouts and one Venturing Crew Member attending the National Jamboree during the summer in West Virginia. Additionally, the Troop, Crew 711 and Exploring Club #1, collaborating units chartered by Christ United Methodist Church, joined for a canoe trip down the Wisconsin river. The group also overcame adverse weather and held a Turkey Feast for the families of the Troop and local Webelos in November and attended the 100th year of the Feast of the Hunter’s Moon in West Lafayette, IN.

The Troop took a week in June to zipline inside a Southern Illinois cave, explored Mammoth Cave, went horseback riding and outdoor ziplining and had fun at an adventure park. They also attended Grant’s Pilgrimage in Galena, IL and took a ski trip in Wisconsin. Most other Troop 117 Scouts, those not attending the National Jamboree, attended Camp Freeland Leslie in Wisconsin over the summer.

For more information about Troop 117, visit www.elmhurstscouts.org.