Troop 99 Brings Home Coveted West Point Scoutmasters Council Camporee Saber

Troop 99 has been chasing down the dream of bringing home a saber for over 10 years. They’ve come as close as 3rd place in previous years. Last weekend, at the West Point Scoutmasters Council Camporee they took first place among the over 200 units attending and brought home the coveted saber.

Senior Patrol Leader Evan Kownurko led a group that included Andrew Cabo, Jimmy Curtis, Tyler DeKorte, Chris Farese, Matt Haleman, Brandon Heese, Ryan Heese, Kyle Jaggard, Dylan Klevan, Jordan Koseki, Chantz Kouveras, Ethan Marshean, Cameron Pursel, John Roache, Jr., Tucker Smith, Finn Thompson and Ken Thorburn in the three day event. The scouts competed against over 6000 other scouts and venturers in tasks that challenged their fitness, teamwork and problem-solving skills. The scouts from Troop 99 were each awarded the Lightfighter Tab for hiking with their gear over Bull Hill to enter and exit the camporee. Brigadier General Diana Holland, U.S. Commandant of Cadets, gave each of the scouts a rare “Blue Brass” in recognition of their performance at the invitation-only event.

“I’m very proud of these boys. This group of scouts was special in that they were all 100% committed to doing their very best at West Point. They worked as a scouting troop should by taking advantage of the individual strengths of each and every scout. They prepared, encouraged each other and leadership was exhibited at every level” said Assistant Scoutmaster Syd Heese who had attended the event in his youth.

This saber is not the first to come to Newtown; Troop 29 has placed first at West Point an unprecedented nine times. There has been a friendly competition over the years between Troop 29 and Troop 99 which has elevated the performance of both to establish a “Newtown Dynasty” according to Tamanend District Chairman Bill Pitts.

Troop 29 Scoutmaster Dave Clark, upon learning of their win, said “This is fantastic and says a lot about the Newtown and the Tamanend troops and the programs we have in our area. My sincere congratulations to the scouts and leadership on their accomplishment! This is certainly a job well done.”

About 30 members of the American Legion Morell Smith #440 Post attended a ceremony on Monday evening during which the scouts presented the saber to the Legion for display and safekeeping. The Legionaries have allowed Troop 99 to meet at the Legion Hall since their founding in 1999.

“We are proud of the scouts and all their accomplishments” said the Post Commander Ed Hackett. “But this is top of the line- the icing on the cake.” -