Troop 94 Avoyelles Boy Scouts attend National Jamboree

By: PATRA M. COCO
Six local Boy Scouts of Troop 94 attended the National Jamboree and toured our nation’s capital and surrounding areas this July.
Cameron Riviere, 15 of Hessmer, Lane Gagnard, 16 of Marksville, Nick Mayeux, 17 of Moreau-ville, Sawyer Coco, 16 of Simmesport, Martin Vanderlick, 16 of Mansura and James Desselle, 17 of Plaucheville were led by  Scoutmaster, David Boe of Mansura. Assistant Troop Leader Tom “Tex” Reed, and daughter Allyson of Marksville attended as part of the Venture Scouting Program.
Over the course of 10 summer days in July, once every four years, the Boy Scouts of America come together in one place. The result is the National Scout Jamboree. Over 40,000 scouts from across the globe gather at the state-of-the-art 100 million dollar Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve. It is nestled on nearly 11,000 acres on the border of the New River Gorge National River overlooking the Appalachian Mountains of southern West Virginia. 
The Avoyelles Scouts 15-day excursion began with meeting the Bunkie and Monroe Area Troops prior to departure. From there, the group traveled via chartered bus, across the south to visit Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello just outside Charlottesville, Virginia. Then onto Washington D.C., where the scouts toured the Capital Building, Smithsonian, Holocaust Museum, Iwo Jima Memorial, FDR Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, Korean War Memorial and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial. Day three and four included touring Arlington National Cemetery and the Air and Space Museum, along with George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon, near Alexandria, Virginia.  
The scouts set up their base camp at the National Jamboree in tent communities and prepared for ten days of scouting’s elite adventures. 
Those included the infamous patch trading activities, whitewater rafting, welding workshops, rock climbing, bouldering, scuba diving, zip-lining, the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Program.  Highlights were BMX Bike track and Walkabout Skate Life Park.
A Catholic Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Bishop Richard Spencer (overseer of all military priests) and Bishop Bob Guglielmone, (National Catholic Committee on Scouting) along with 18 additional priests and 40 Eucharistic Ministers.
Troop 94‘s “Day of Service” off site consisted of the “Messenger of Peace Program” to install signage, improve landscaping and organize library books for the WV Rainville Public Library. Evenings involved large capacity stadium headliner shows. Of particular note was the Presidential address to the National Jamboree Scouting crowd Monday, July 24.
The United States President serves as the Honorary President of the Boy Scouts of America. This is the largest contingent of Avoyelles Scouts to attend the National Boy Scouting Jamboree on record.