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Andrew Alman, who completed the
requirements for Eagle and passed his board of review on October
14th, 2002 (his late Mom's birthday, of all days) came home that
day back in August of 1992 from Range Elementary with a flyer in
tow and wanting to join Cub Scouts. Since his two uncles and I
were both in Scouts (and all earned Eagle, by the way) and my
parents were very heavily involved in both Cub and Boy Scouts, I
was glad to hear of his interest.
We went up to School Night for Scouting
that night and as we walked to the school, I thought to myself,
"We'll go ahead and sign him up and there's no way I want to be
involved right away or either of us become leaders." Whoa, were
Lori and I going to be eating our words in the future! Little
did we know. He managed to
get signed up in Pack 855 and was assigned to Judy Johnson's den
(her and her husband later went on to Troop 90 at St. Mark's).
At one of Andrew's first Pack meetings at Range, his
grandparents (my parents) were in town visiting from north Iowa
and talked to Andrew's then Cubmaster, Charles Jordan, who later
went on to become Scoutmaster at Troop 138 and Andrew's SM for
three years. His grandpa mentioned to Charles, "to find
something for Mark to do as he loves this Scouting stuff!".
"Gee, thanks Dad!", I thought. I was content to stay in the
background and help out, as needed, as I was involved in
coaching Andrew in soccer and thought my plate was plenty full
at the time. One thing led to another and I later became
Assistant Cubmaster and then Cubmaster when Charles moved on
(our own Ricky Ray stepped in to assist me as Assistant
Cubmaster and later Cubmaster at Pack 855. Our own Ken Miller
became his assistant).
Andrew stayed in Judy's den as a Wolf and a Bear Scout and all
the way through two years of Webelos before crossing over to
Troop 138. At this time, dear old Dad also got "volunteered" to
be an Assistant Scoutmaster there, in addition to his duties as
Cubmaster at Pack 855. At this time, Andrew's brother, Alex, was
a member of their Mom's rather popular Den. It usually
maintained between 10 and 14 Scouts at one time. They would all
cross over to Troop 67, but I'm getting ahead of myself here!
During Andrew's stay in Troop 138, he
and his Dad enjoyed many trips and experiences together. His
first summer camp was at the hilly and humid Camp Pyrtle in east
Texas near Nacogdoches (without his Dad). Here he got to
experience for the first time that creeping malaise called
"Homesickness" and his Mom and I weren't sure if he'd ever be
interested in another summer camp or not. Fortunately, his
fervor for Scouting didn't wane and he went on to many other
campouts and summer camps: the next year at Camp Cherokee (near
Athens) at the nicest campsite in Circle 10, in my humble
opinion, Hickory Hill campsite (where now a pavilion and plaque
reside in his Moms' memory), a hot and dusty summer camp at Camp
Constantine at Possum Kingdom Lake, tubing trips on the Ouachita
River in SE OK, caving trips to the Hill Country, numerous
Camporees, and other trips.
While at Troop 138, Andrew held every
conceivable position, from Assistant Patrol Leader to two terms
as Senior Patrol Leader. He also took great pleasure in working
with the younger Scouts and made many friends with some of the
older Scouts of the Troop, including Anthony Drake (our own
Beverly Langford's son), Matt Sanders (who will be in next
month's Eagle COH), Matt Tramel (son of Dennis and Cindy Tramel
and Kyle's brother), Brian Davis, Danny Willet, adult leader
Steve Leake and Bob Willet.
It also was during his time at Troop 138
in February of 1998 that Scouts and leaders, including Dusty
Wood, David Kirk, Matt Sanders, Chris Gandy, Richard and Chris
Haas, Matt Patrick (also joining Troop 67 later on) and Andrew's
Dad assisted him in completing his Eagle Project down at
Colorado Bend State Park. In the 1940's through the 70's, this
area was used as a remote fishing and hunting camp and, since
there was no garbage pickup in an area like this, trash was
disposed of into the numerous caves in the area. A certain cave
named Icebox Cave (an old ice box was pulled from it, hence the
name) was targeted for cleanup. After three to four monthly
trips down to the area, only to experience very high and
unhealthy levels of carbon dioxide that prevented access to the
cave, a whole weekend was finally spent hauling out several
truckloads of trash, bottles, and the occasional scorpion. The
Ranger and Texas caving project working at the park was very
pleased with the final result and the groundwater and animal
habitat, in and around the cave, has improved in the process.
The highlight of his tenure at Troop
138 was his first Philmont trip back in July of 1998. This was a
Cavalcade horseback trip with his Dad, Matt Sanders, Matt
Tramel, Bob and Danny Willet, Chris and Charles Jordan, Josh and
Clark Allen, Larry Carter, and Chris Gandy.
That same year, District Executive Dale
Draper, along with Wayne Rudd and Scott Simmons of Pack 93 of
Motley Elementary asked Andrew's Dad to help start a Troop in
north Mesquite. After much discussion with Andrew and his Mom,
we accepted and Andrew worked double duty as Senior Patrol
Leader at Troop 138 and worked with Matt Sanders, Anthony Drake,
and Chris Gandy to help get Troop 67 started at Vanston Middle
School in April 1998. After spending an arid summer camp at Camp
Constantine at the aforementioned Possum Kingdom serving as SPL,
Andrew and several Scouts from Troop 138 made the affiliation
with Troop 67 final and transferred Troops.
One of Andrew's thankless tasks was in
assisting before and after every campout in stowing equipment,
drying tents, etc. in the attic of the Alman's garage. This was
before we were blessed with a Troop trailer, a full-time
Quartermaster, and ample storage space (thanks, Betty!).
Some of the highlights of his Troop 67
life were more cave trips, with the Troop and with the Venture
Patrol/Crew. Often times, trips would find Andrew and fellow
Scout and Eagle Cris Hicks and Chris Kirchner escorting other
Scouts from various local Troops into the dark confines of caves
in Quanah, the Austin and San Antonio area, and at Colorado Bend
State Park. Other highpoints were summer camp again at Camp
Cherokee (yes, the Hickory Hill campsite, yet again), summer
camp at Tom Hale in eastern OK, backpacking at Elkhorn High
Adventure base in northern Colorado and serving as crew chief
(just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park and next door to
Delatour Scout Camp), winning best overall Troop at two
consecutive Camporees, Schlitterbahn trips, serving as SPL
during our stay at the U.S.S. Lexington in Corpus Christi, and
trips to Galveston.
History again repeated itself when Troop 67 was blessed with
three Philmont treks in 2002. On the backpack trek he attended,
he was elected Crew Chief and served admirably for his Dad, the
Head Advisor for Crew 621-F1 in a variety of "interesting"
circumstances. Since
switching Troops, Andrew again served a term as Senior Patrol
Leader, served extremely well as Den Chief to his brother's and
Mom's Cub Scout Den, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader to several
SPL's, served as Instructor, Venture Crew Chief, Junior
Assistant Scoutmaster for the Troop and the 2002 Philmont Treks,
and now, finally, in an adult role as Assistant Scoutmaster,
where he has been a great help to his Dad while he was
Scoutmaster. Even though
in the last few years, Andrew's interests has widened to areas
such as jobs, college, cars/trucks, and the occasional girl and
lessened with the Troop, Andrew has been a great son and Scout
and has been great help to the Troop and Scouts in Mesquite, his
siblings and me during his mother's all too short life and
unsuccessful battle with cancer in 2001. He has done a
remarkable job of persevering and keeping his "eyes on the
prize" and what it means to be a great Scout and a shining
example of a son and, all the while, having a boatload of fun
and some great adventures along the Scouting trail.
Congratulations, Andrew, for all you
have meant to the Troop, your Mom and I!!
Submitted lovingly and with pride by his
Dad and one time Scoutmaster, Mark Alman Troop 67 is very proud of Andrew's achievements -
Congratulations, Andrew!
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