Emma Wright reports to the Lions Club on recent activities by Boys Scout Troop 5 of Hope.

At today’s Lions Club meeting, Emma Wright presented club members with a report, accompanied by a slideshow on Boys Scout Troop 5, whose headquarters is in the Harlan Scout Center near Huckabee Lake in Fair Park.

“We meet every Tuesday from seven to 8:30,” Wright said. “We have both boys and girls from ages 11 to 17 in our group, and our scout masters are Dr. Lester Sitzes and Karen Smith.”

Seven scouts from Troop 5 went to Summer Camp 2022, Wright said.  She then described why scouts go to summer camp: “We earn merit badges [for] kayaking and rowing, basketry, [learning about] reptiles and amphibians, canoeing, archery, and so forth.”

The earning of merit badges, Wright said, requires that the scout be educated in the skill the badge stands for, then demonstrate their ability to use this skill.  One of the life skills Wright learned about during the recent summer camp was cooking. She was part of a group of scouts faced with a particular challenge. “They did not tell us what we would be cooking with or anything. I think we had some ground beef, some bell peppers, onions and potatoes. And we came up with a meal with that,” Wright said.

Another reason summer camp is important to scouts is the chance to meet and talk to scouts from other troops. Wright said on one of the nights the scouts play games together and work to produce skits.  She described one picture taken during the latter activities. “We're doing a skit called the Pirates and the Mermaids. We swap the roles, as you might be able to tell. And that was our skit. You have a lot of fun stuff like that.”

The summer camps, Wright said, have scouts from around 50 troops in the area and are not just about earning badges but about building friendships.

Being in the scouts, Wright said, also helps youngsters determine their future paths. “There's a very high percentage of kids our age who figure out what they want to do for their career for the rest of their lives,” she said.

During a short question and answer period, Wright was asked what her Eagle Scout project would be. She said it was to build a large decorative trellis to be installed at the Hope Pocket Park, which will be located in the lot on East 2nd Street that used to be Dox Sporting Goods.

She thanked the Lions Club for its support and then gained more of the same when she was presented by the club with a $750 check for Troop 5’s future activities.