On May 29th, 2016, the Scouts from Troop 219, met at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery located on Joint Base Elmendorf/Richardson.  About 30 Scouts and 10 Adults participated in this service project where we placed American Flags approx. 6 inches in front of fallen servicemen’s Grave stones. 

Our Troop was given 2 areas to place flags.  We finished our allotted areas quickly, so we decided to place flags on additional sections of graves.

One of the boys in our Troop showed us where his father and grandfather were buried.  A first year scout named Nick often visits his father’s grave site in this cemetery.  It reminded us why we should not take our families for granted.  The total time spent on this service project was approx. 1 ½ hours. 

On the weekend of May 13th, through the 15th, our troop attended and actively participated in the Great Alaska Council’s Spring Camporee.  We had 18 Scouts and 5 Adults attend this campout.  We spent most of our time outside competing in various Lumberjack events, so it was great that the weather was bright, sunny and warm the entire weekend.

We arrived on Friday evening where we set-up our campsite, had snacks and met campers from the 10 other Alaska Troops.  On Saturday, we woke early, had a pancake breakfast, sang songs, and participated in a costume contest. After lunch we competed in the Lumberjack events, followed by a Cast Iron Chef cooking competition that some of the troops and patrols competed in.  Participants in the Cast Iron Chef competition made Lasagna in a Dutch Oven.

Our troop won 3 of the 13 events we competed in.  Our troop won awards in the Nail Driving competition, Caber Toss, and Log Leapfrog.  Sam Strickland was awarded the Lumberjack award.  When we weren’t competing in the events, scouts from our troop worked on our accuracy and skills in throwing knives and axes.  We learned that Troop 219 worked great as a team in the Nail Driving competition.

Overall, we had great weather, good food, and proved that we work well in team competitions.  The 2016 Spring Camporee was a great success.