West Milford Scouts BSA Troops 44B and 44G remain active during the pandemic
West Milford. Troops host two Eagle Scout Courts of Honor as well as a summer Pioneering Merit Badge session for the girls.
| 23 Sep 2020 | 03:09
The first physical meeting of West Milford Scout Troops 44 since the national shutdown was the Eagle Court of Honor for Connor Collins. Photos provided by Will Cytowicz, Committee Chairman of Troop 44 B and Troop 44 G.
Former Scoutmaster of Troop 44 B (boy program) William Cytowicz awards Eric Lippe an Eagle Scout neckerchief.
Pictured from left to right are members of Troop 44 G: Julia Schnibbe, Bella Rupprecht, Ella Durland, Lillian Bobrowski and Annie Krukis displaying their Pioneering Badges.
Sean McNally, Senior Patrol Leader, and Shawn Moore, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, at the Court of Honor for Troop 44, was held outdoors beside the West Milford Presbyterian Church's Fellowship Hall in July.
Troops 44, which constitutes a separate boy and girl troop, has been active since the national shutdown in March.
From March to the end of the school year in June, both troops hosted weekly virtual meetings. The troop’s first physical meeting was an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Connor Collins.
What follows is a summary of some of the troop’s activities.
Eagle Scout Connor Collins
Conor Collins, 19, a resident of Boonton, N.J., graduated from Mountain Lakes High School in 2019 and now attends the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
Here’s a description of his community project from his ceremony script:
“In a world that is becoming more and more dependent on computers and automation, it is necessary to begin computer science education at a young age.
“The purpose of Connor’s eagle project was to provide an early foundation to computer science learning. He designed, developed and led a robotics summer camp through my town’s recreation department, which gave elementary school aged students an opportunity to begin learning about computer sciences and robotics.
“The goal of the project was to provide the students with a foundation of computer science and robotics, specifically in regards to what happens when you give a computer a command.
“With that in mind, the final project of the class allowed the students to use the sensors built into the robots, along with other user inputs, to develop a program that they then presented to their parents on the last day.
“From start to finish, the project involved 146 community service hours.”
Pioneering Merit Badges for members of Troop 44 G
Due to the closing of New Jersey’s scout camps during the summer of 2020, members of Troop 44 G conducted their own summer program. Part of the program consisted of completing the Pioneering merit badge.
During this part of the program, Julia Schnibbe, Bella Rupprecht, Ella Durland, Lillian Bobrowski and Annie Krukis each built a scale model of a monkey bridge that they built full scale the following day.
Eagle Scout Eric Lippe
Eric Lippe, 19, of West Milford, graduated from Morris Catholic High School in Denville and now attends Gettysburg College. The description of his project from his ceremony script:
Here’s a description of his community project from his ceremony script:
“In Eric’s community of High Crest Lake, community members would leave their kayaks on gravel ground. This, combined with the plastic hull of the kayaks were leading to permanent damages to the kayaks.
“He saw that the community had a need for Kayak racks. The new racks allowed for a new area for members of the community to dry and store their kayaks, free of the damage, mold, dirt and insects of the ground.
“After presenting the idea to the troop committee and the High Crest Lake Community board members, Eric raised funds, managed, and lead the project to its completion.
“From start to finish, the project involved 92.5 community service hours.”