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Troop 665 earns blue ribbon at Scout Camporee
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Boy Scout Troop 665 earned a “Blue Ribbon” for outstanding performance at the 100th anniversary of Scouting’s International EXPO Camporee.

The Camporee was held at the Eisenhower Drive National Guard Armory in Savannah. More than 900 people were registered for this event, which was one of the biggest campouts for the year for Troop 665.

The troop represented the country of Austria during the weekend. They had four big things to plan for — a Scoutmasters Cook-off, games to be played that represent Austria, Setting up a booth inside the Armory that represents the country of Austria, and stamp passport books of the Cub Scouts that came to visit. They tackled all four tasks and completed them.

First, the scoutmasters’ cook-off was a tough problem. What could you cook that would represent Austria? How could the troop, in general, cook an Austrian supper?

They thought about bratwurst and the vegetables that go with it. But, while searching the Internet, they found a recipe for an Austrian Christmas cookie. The troop tried cooking the cookies at a Scout meeting. They made two dozen of them, with hazel nuts or almonds. The cookies were a big hit. Their recipe came in as an honorable mention for the camp as a whole.

The games were simple. They set up bocce ball and marbles. There games lasted until 4 p.m. and were a big hit with all the scouts and scouters. Their games were the last to leave the field and had a constant flow of visitors.

The booth set up inside the armory was outstanding. The Troop had flags of Austria, and representative flags of each of the states of Austria. They also had the history of how Georgia was settled by the Salzburgers.

Prior to the weekend, the troop was visited by Julian Heyman. He presented the history of the Salzburgers from their persecution in Austria to their migration to America. His presentation included the daily life of the Salzburgers in Georgia and how they supported the city of Savannah with vegetables and other food items. The booth was heavily visited and was an outstanding presentation of Austria.

Lastly, the stamp that represented Austria, was a special stamp. The stamp color ink was green, but the stamp had a special “secret” handshake between scouts in Austria during the occupation of Austria by Germany in World War II. Scouting went underground in Austria in WWII and when scouts met each other, they had a special three fingers clasping the hand, representing scouting. Those three fingers, like today, represent “Duty to God,” Duty to help other people,” and “Duty to yourself.”

The troop received the blue ribbon for excellence during the camporee. Quinton Mcloud is the senior patrol leader in charge and kept the troop focused on the weekend. It was a great performance of troop members and adults, in support, that resulted in a superior performance.

Troop 665 is sponsored by the Rincon United Methodist Church, and meets on Monday nights at Rincon United Methodist Church’s Crystal Anderson Youth Center.