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East Stuart Boy Scout Troop Started

Contributed by: Jason Cuozzo/The Firefly Group on 8/8/2009

Six years ago, Tony Hester moved to Martin County from Miami with his wife and three children. His two sons had been involved in the Boy Scouts of America programs in Miami and were looking to continue their involvement in Martin County. During their participation with the Scouts in Martin County, Mr. Hester noticed that not many minority children were involved in the Scouting programs. He discovered that the African American and Hispanic children were not signing up for Scouts in schools because for the most part they had nobody to encourage them to do so. Mr. Hester decided he needed to take action, so he set out with an unconventional recruitment method and the goal of "getting the entire community as a whole involved in Scouting."

With his philosophy of not waiting for the children to come to Scouting, but to bring Scouting to the children, he set out to bring Scouting to the community of East Stuart. Tony, along with his wife, Tina, went door to door asking if there was a need for Scouting in the community and looking for boys who were interested in becoming involved.

On April 1, 2009, with Tony as Scout Master, Tina as Committee Chair, and Tony's mother-in-law, Ms. Patricia McLaughlin, as the Charter Organization Representative, Boy Scout Troop 825-East Stuart, Florida was brought to life. Troop 825 started with only five boys, but currently that number has risen to 17, and even more boys have shown an interest in becoming a part of the Troop. Since there is no Cub Scout troop established in East Stuart, boys of any age are welcome to join and be involved with the Boy Scouts.

In addition to the new Troop in East Stuart, troops in Indiantown and Hobe Sound, two other under-represented minority areas in Martin County, are currently in the works and are getting together their Scout Leaders. These new troops are scheduled to begin on September 1, 2009.

Mr. Hester has dedicated much of his time and effort, and pushed the Boy Scouts of America and several local districts to bring Scouting to the less privileged boys of these minority communities. He describes Scouting as "one avenue that these kids can take to learn values and morals and have fun at the same time while staying out of trouble." He also adds that in these difficult economic times "scouting is the most inexpensive activity around, and doesn't require a lot of money to learn and have fun."

Since the beginning of April, Troop 825 has been involved in various activities, including camping trips and community service projects. This summer they have been on three camping trips. A week was spent at Camp Lanoche in North Florida, which was made possible by donations from the Gulfstream Council and the United Way. Two weekend camping trips were enjoyed at Disney's Fort Wilderness and at the Fort Pierce Inlet, in exchange for a one hour community service project of cutting sea grapes to make passage ways for emergency vehicles to reach the beach areas.

Troop 825 has also been involved with Keep Martin Beautiful, Martin County's non-profit, volunteer-based beautification and restoration program. During Keep Martin Beautiful's Great American Cleanup this past June, the boys helped to paint and remove weeds during the restoration of a historic home in Golden Gate. Also during the Great American Cleanup, the boys worked to repair the leaking roof, apply a fresh coat of paint, repair the classroom floors, and spruce up the landscaping at the non-profit Gertrude Walden Child Care Center, located at 601 SE Lake Street in East Stuart. The Troop is also scheduled to participate in the International Coastal Cleanup on September 19, when they will help with the cleanup efforts at Boy Scout Island. Mr. Hester and Troop 825 are also involved in Keep Martin Beautiful's Adopt-A-Road program. He has adopted Palm City School Road in Palm City through his and his wife's business, TnT Realty & Associates in Palm City, and Boy Scout Troop 825 is currently in the process of trying to adopt East 10th Street in East Stuart. When asked about their involvement with Keep Martin Beautiful, Mr. Hester said "everything has been great, the boys like the community involvement because it is something they have never been exposed to before."

Mr. Hester has not only done a remarkable job of getting Scouting programs started in minority communities, but he is also the Second Vice President of the Martin County chapter of the NAACP. The NAACP supports the Boy Scouts and Scouting opportunities in minority communities, and has seen their efforts pay enormous dividends over the past year. According to Mr. Hester, Martin County only had two or three scouts last year from the under-represented minority communities. This year, that number has risen to between 40 and 50 scouts. The NAACP strives for the children in these minority communities to be taken care of and represented in the entire community.

In closing, Mr. Hester presented a challenge to all parents and adults in these communities. He encourages them to "take out time, not just with their kids, but with other kids in the community, and teach them and give them a way to learn morals and show them a way for a brighter future because they will be our future. If we don't pay attention to these kids, then our future will be dismal." He states that the new Boy Scout Troop 825 is working and doing what it is supposed to do as far as helping these boys stay off of the streets and out of trouble and helping them to a brighter future.

For anyone who is interested in becoming a part of Boy Scout Troop 825-East Stuart, Florida, you are encouraged to come out to the weekly meetings and fill out an application. There is no charge for becoming a member. Over the summer, meetings are held every Wednesday at 6PM at the 10th Street Recreation Center in East Stuart. Starting in September, meetings will be every Tuesday night, also at 6PM at the 10th Street Recreation Center in East Stuart.

Donations of money and supplies are always welcome and greatly appreciated. Donations can be made to Sailfish District/Troop 825, or contact Tony and Tina Hester at 772-419-5055.


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Submitted By: kristina hester
posted on 8/20/2009 @ 3:38:29 PM
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Jason Cuozzo/The Firefly Group has posted 9 stories and 0 comments since joining on 6/16/2009. Jason Cuozzo/The Firefly Group 's average story rating is 5.
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