Boy Scout Troop 20/20's History
Troop 20/20 was chartered in June 1980 and began with seven Webelos
"graduates" from Pack 382 in Vernon. Since then, the Unit's membership has
grown to its present level of 23 Scouts. The Troop's first sponsor was the
Lion's Club of Rockville/Vernon. Our distinctive unit number, "20/20",
is directly related to the Lions' service to the community in recycling old
eyeglasses to the needy. The next sponsor of the Troop was the Skinner Road
PTO. The present sponsor is the Elks Lodge.
Troop 20/20 began its existence with no equipment, other than five old,
leaky tents donated by Troop 96 of Ellington. Aided by several generous,
timely and much needed contributions from the Lion's Club, Aetna Life and
Casualty, Vernon Health Care Facility, The E.W. Burke Trust, the Moose
Lodge, and Skinner Road PTO, the Units membership has worked hard to raise
funds necessary to acquire sufficient camping equipment to provide a sound
Scouting Program. Fundraising activities by the Scouts have included the
assembly and sale of first aid kits, telephone directory deliveries, sale of
light bulbs, Jeannie kits, candy sales and Dunkin Donut Certificate sales.
As the newer Scouts enter the Unit, it is now equipped for them through the
hard work of Scouts from previous years. It is now their responsibility to
continue to help raise funds to sustain the Troop.
Community Service Work: Troop 20/20 is proud of its service
to the community. The Unit has devoted many hours of personal growth
enriching service to Vernon Health Care Facility. They visited with elderly
residents, shined the residents shoes and planted/tended the flower gardens
for the residents enjoyment. Other examples of service projects include
grounds work at J.N. Webster Scout Reservation, road side rubbish cleanup,
leaf raking, Skinner Road School cleanup, Taste of Vernon cleanup, Moose
Lodge dinners, Christmas in April and other projects for various scout
camps.
Eagle Scouts: Sixty-three Troop 20/20 Scouts have reached
the rank of Eagle Scout. See a complete list of our Eagle Scouts
here.
The past forty-three years have been active ones for the Troop,
with each year shaping up to be even better.