Scouts get the call to Ford Field

[fgoodwin]

Scouts get the call to Ford Field

 

http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/020406/loc_scouts%20help001.shtml

 

Troops place cushions on seats.

 

PUBLISHED: February 4, 2006

 

By Robert Selwa

Macomb Daily Staff Writer

 

The official volunteers of metro Detroit helping out at Super Bowl XL and festivities in Detroit include about 1,000 Boy Scouts.

 

They're involved in a seat cushion project. For eight days, from Jan. 28 through Feb. 4, troops of Scouts have been equipping, section by section, the 66,842 chairs established for the game with seat cushions with pouches of souvenirs.

 

Paul Ruzinsky of Shelby Township, chairman of the seat cushion project and a longtime leader of the Clinton Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said the boys and their parents and troop leaders are thrilled to be part of the great event.

 

"We're doing this because it's a great opportunity for us to help our community," he said.

 

"We are part of the greater metropolitan Detroit area. There is a pride factor for all of us as citizens. This year we have an opportunity to help Detroit look good. We're going to make a difference as part of the 8,000 volunteers with our 1,000 Scouts and leaders and parents giving a helping hand."

 

Ruzinsky, 58, is married with three children and has served as an adult leader in Scouting for 22 years. He said that in the pouch of each seat cushion are several gifts for those coming to the game -- a mini radio, a mini flashlight, Michigan postcards, and coupons.

 

Ruzinsky said that more than 3,000 extra seats were added to Ford Field for the Super Bowl because the demand for tickets was so great.

 

Bob Finta, 47, married with a son in Scouting, serves as scoutmaster of Troop 156 which was chartered by Peace Lutheran Church of Shelby Township and which meets Monday evenings at Morgan Elementary School in Shelby Township.

 

"It's a great opportunity for the kids. They get to go down to Ford Field and be a part of this. The kids are excited, and they eat it up," he said.

 

A special National Football League patch is being given to each Boy Scout participating in the project.

 

John Sinshack, 14, of Shelby Township, a member of Troop 146 for five years and now a Life Member aiming for Eagle Scout, said Scouting "is a great experience. You enjoy the outdoors. You get to help out. And you get to meet people."

[scoutldr]

And I'm sure the NFL made a nice FOS donation to the local council in honor of the scouts' service?

[acco40]

I know Bob and Paul - good people but ...

 

We have a pet phrase in my area when things get screwed up - we just look at each other and say "Scouts."

 

A few months ago they asked local troops to participate in this event. We were given a handful of dates to choose from. Well, at the last minute, after the boys were really salivating to help out we get a notice that those who signed up to help on Thursday and Friday could not due to "security issues." Why wasn't this worked out before hand? Did they not know that security would be high? I had to address a few hot headed parents and a troop full of disappointed boys (we were scheduled to help out on Friday).

 

I noticed the Macomb Daily left that out of their story.

[fotoscout]

I second Scoutldr's sentiment.....What did the NFL do for Scouting in exchange for the free labor they received?

 

The NFL is the wealthiest of all the professional sports leagues, even wealthier than the NY Yankees franchise! Certainly they could have paid to have the souvenir pouches placed at every seat.

 

I am quite sure that the boys and leaders had a great time doing this, but were they taken advantage of?

 

I think that this kind of effort, done for an organization like the NFL, bears no reasonable facsimile to a service project and is simply opportunistic on the NFL's part. So, what did the NFL do for Scouting?

[acco40]

The NFL is one of the biggest (maybe THE biggest) corporate sponsors of the United Way which donates a ton of money to the BSA (local councils) every year. Please don't bite the hand that feeds you.

[EagleDadx3]

I agree. As scouters we have to be very careful volunteering the boys. I have found this at church as well. Many times people have taken for granted my sons' abilities to tote things or provide manual labor or be "Good Deed Doers". The boys are willing, but don't yet know how to say no.

We live in a different time. The boys have very full schedules. They have more homework than I can remember and more involved in extracurricular activities. Adding more volunteer projects could push them over the edge.

The NFL is not a Not for Profit organization, so this could not be counted as a service project. It could be considered an outing though.

[t158sm]

Might not qualify for a service project - but did the Scouts that took part have fun? Isn't that the reason for all this anyway?

[fotoscout]

Not for the NFL, or the players, or the sponsors. Not even for Joe Montana who wanted $100,000 for a 20 yard walk. It's ALL about money.

 

As for the United Way.....let's not forget that the UW is not everyones best friend anymore. There are Councils who receive not one red cent from the UW, and there are other Councils, like mine, who saw the UW change it's distribution formula, with a resultant moderate loss of funding to the Council.

 

I do have to agree, this was probably a lot of fun for the kids. But were we taken advantage of?

[SR540Beaver]

Acco,

 

In this day and age of high security, that is the way it goes. I don't recall if you were at the Jambo or not, but IMHO it was security that got so many boys sick. We were getting different security instructions every five minutes. It is an honor to have the President come and speak at Jambo. It is also a huge headache. Due to security, we had to be at the arena a couple of hours early. That meant marching some boys (like ours in subcamp17) more than 3 miles on blacktop, shoulder to shoulder, front to back with 40,000 of your closest friends in a 121 degree heat index. Because we had to march mid-day, there was no lunch and no dinner. A meal was served in the early afternoon to replace the two normal meals. On top of that, after spending $585 to come to Jambo, the boys missed out on all of the various activites because they had to be in camp to march. Some activites like the water activites had to be scheduled. That was the only time you could do them. Our session was during the time we were expected in camp. Our boys missed out on getting one of their rocker patches because they couldn't do the activity. I won't even go onto the well documented fiasco that occured once the march began in record heat and then retreated into a storm. All of that for security of one man. A very important man to be sure and that kind of security is required to ensure his safety. As much of an honor as it is to have the President speak at Jambo, I'd prefer that he didn't and instead sent a video address. It is just too disruptive.

 

All of that to say, I understand that you had disappointed boys, but those responsible for high security situations feel that their needs will trump every time......and do.

[SR540Beaver]

PS What I meant to say in all of that and didn't really spell out is that security plans change from minute to minute. It is not always possible to get advance warning.

[acco40]

SR450Beaver - If "security" allowed close to 1,000 virtual strangers to go the Ford Field to rehearse for the Rolling Stones on Friday evening, why not 75 Boy Scouts that they had names and addresses for and who had gone through background checks?

 

Yes, I was at Jambo and do you know that the US Army informed the BSA as earlier than the Saturday before the Scouts arrived (most arrived on that Sunday) that their, the BSA, plans for the opening and closing ceremonies were a disaster waiting to happen. The weather conditions were not a surprise. The weather service had predicted the temps a week in advance. The military knows a little about crowd control. The BSA ignored the Army's concerns and went ahead with their original plans (for political reasons in my unsubstantiated opinion).

 

Security should not be used as a blanket excuse to do whatever the authorities want to do.