“Be prepared” is the official motto of the Boy Scouts of America. A motto that people like J.D. Mirto and Herman Miron take very seriously as they ready themselves for a 50-mile hike or a winter camping trip.

In America today, there are over 1.23 million Boy Scouts between the ages of 11 and 17 in 53,000 scout troops. Overseeing them are 508,000 adult volunteers, including J.D. Mirto, vice president of Rhiel Supply of Youngstown, Ohio, and Herman Miron, national sales manager for Ettore Products Co., Oakland, Calif.

Herman Miron has been in scouting for 30 years. Before becoming an adult volunteer during college, he was a Boy Scout, then an Eagle Scout by age 17, the highest achievement rank in the Boy Scouts. As a young man, he worked at a Boy Scout camp for four summers.

J.D. Mirto is on the board of Ohio’s Greater Western Reserve Council of Boy Scouts, and also volunteers at the local level. While his board role is focused on fundraising, the volunteer work he does with his sons’ troops is a little more adventure-oriented “They’re always looking for dads to go on Boy Scout campouts,” J.D. says. Then there’s the unofficial part of being Boy Scout parents: the Mirtos built a fire ring at their house so the boys can practice their campfire cooking.

Though J.D. is still very involved as a Boy Scout volunteer, as a youngster, he quit before he even qualified as an Eagle Scout. “Now that I’m older, I wish I had stuck with it. When I see what our boys learn and do in the Boy Scouts, I’m sorry I quit when I did,” he says. “We have three boys, and all of them are in scouting,” he says.

“Our two oldest boys — like most brothers — fight all the time. Now that they have the Boy Scouts in common, their relationship is changing. They seem to enjoy and respect each other more and fight less. It has brought our boys closer together and they’re becoming better friends.”

The Boy Scout program stresses the importance of leadership. Herman Miron says, “The program provides lifelong benefits. The skills I have gained in scouting have definitely helped me in my professional life. And as a volunteer, I have learned a lot of skills that make me a better parent.” His 13-year-old son has also experienced the leadership benefits of the program. Herman’s son, after participating in a week-long leadership program, talked for two hours about objectives versus goals.

“It was as if he had attended a little management school for 13 year-olds,” says Miron.

J.D. often participates with his boys on their monthly Boy Scout camping trips, even in the winter. They usually sleep in a tent and eat food cooked outdoors by the boys.

“Part of being a Boy Scout is taking a turn at being in charge of all meals for an entire camping weekend,” says Mirto. “My wife is thrilled about the boys learning culinary skills, but she was so nervous the first time our oldest son had to cook.” Asked about the best meal he’s had on a campout, J.D. says, “Believe it or not, one boy made the finest lemon chicken I’ve ever tasted.”

Herman Miron recently had a memorable adventure as an adult leader. He and four other dads were the adult leaders of a group of 11 Boy Scouts who took a week-long hiking trip on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai. They hiked 50 miles and carried their equipment, plus all of the food they ate on the trip.

What was the most notable part of the Kauai trek? Was it the beautiful and pristine ocean cliffs and deep green valleys? Or the quart of orange sherbet “inhaled” at the end of the trip? Neither. Miron says: “Each one of the boys was challenged in a different way. To see the boys work hard and overcome challenges — both as individuals and as a team — was the best part of the trip.”

Gretchen Roufs, a 14-year janitorial supply industry veteran, owns Auxiliary Marketing Services of San Antonio, Texas. To suggest someone you think should be featured in “freetime,” contact her at (210) 601-4572.




POSTED ON: 2/1/2001