Fort Myers Power Squadron
and Scouting America -
A 10 Year Partnership
The Boy Scouts of America officially began their service to America in February of 1910. Just four Februarys later, in 1914, our United States Power Squadrons-America’s Boating Club was formed. And in 1912, just two years after they started, the BSA (now known as Scouting America) formed their Sea Scout program, wanting to retain older scouts in a maritime format; making our partnership a perfect fit.
Today, dozens of power squadrons around the country charter scout troops-including Sea Scout troops for boys and girls. This marks the tenth year that my Fort Myers Power Squadron has been supporting Sea Scout Ship 263. I’ve been our Charter Representative since the beginning, and my squadron colleague and friend Dan Deml stepped in to help me a few years ago. Jody Sanders is the Committee Chair of two area troops, and she has been a stalwart adult leader of our Ship 263 Sea scouts as well.
“We got into scouting many years ago when I was looking for role models for my then 12 year old son. A year later my other sons joined him in Troop 18 (Cub Scout) Pack 18. That year we saw a brand new group-Sea Scout Ship 362 (now 263) at a scouting expo/fair event. My kids were already active sailors with the Edison Sailing Center so that was a no brainer.
River, my youngest, is currently in 263, and the fifth of my kids to be in the Ship,” Jody recalled. Three of her sons are Eagle Scouts, and her youngest son is soon to follow. Her daughter Mia was also very involved in Sea Scouts, even sailing to the Dry Tortugas with another local Ship. She’s now in Venturing (a co-ed Scout division for high school and young adults up to age 21). They engage in more high skill adventures, including scuba diving.
“Scouting gave my children an appreciation of the outdoors. They learned welding skills, shooting sports, advanced knot tying, and navigation skills, thanks in large part to (Ship 263 leader) Stu Pullen,” Jody recalled.
They are the consummate scouting family-their children developing the skills necessary to become successful adults, and now joining their mom as adult scout leaders.
Charles Vonderheid is the Scout Executive/CEO for the seven counties in our area-The Southwest Florida Council. They service 3,853 scouts, and have worked with schools and other youth organizations to prepare youth for life’s challenges. “We’ve faced some pretty substantial headwinds, largely from the Covid era; two years with no recruits. But we’ve deployed our spinnaker and things are taking off. Since 2021, we’ve seen a 28% increase in Cub Scouts.
Increasing our older scout population will take a little more time. Parents are looking for the advantages scouting can bring to their children, and we deliver that. Character and citizenship training, and mental and fitness training, providing a fun and safe learning experience to enable our scouts to make the right ethical choices throughout their lives,” he explained.
“It’s harder for parents to become scout leaders; many are single parents working multiple jobs. We need to find a way to make scouting work for them. We focus on our Cub Scout program because the vast majority (98%) of our older scouts started as Cub Scouts,” Vonderheid added..
Vonderheid is right about the enormous benefits they provide to our youth. I’ve seen it during our 10-year partnership with the scouts. Want more proof? Recent Scouting America studies by Harris Interactive and Tufts University revealed that 84% of scouts reported becoming more honest, and learning to be stronger team players.
79% said scouting helped them understand and sympathize with those less fortunate. 87% said they became more goal oriented, more confident, more respectful of others, and better able to care for their peers. Does anyone think we need more of that in our country?
My squadron has hosted on the water training for our Sea Scouts on Dan’s boat, including anchoring and docking. A certified instructor, Dan Deml has taught our award winning ABC boating course to our scouts, allowing them to receive a (mandatory) Florida boater’s ID card, Everyone pays $60 or more for this course, but not our scouts. We do this for free. We’ve also provided professional tutoring by a skilled boat and fiberglass repair expert, and helped with outer workshops.
Parents of of scouts would have to pay $113 to $179 annually for an individual’s membership in our organization and $169 to $262 for a family membership. But not our scouts. Annual membership for them is just twelve bucks. And there’s this-over the past few years, our squadron has covered every scouts membership fee for our squadron for the past few years; so membership is free for our scouts.
In my March 2023 column, I described my squadron’s creation of a stand alone Clubhouse for our scouts behind our squadron building on Royalston Ave. in Fort Myers. What’s it in for us? Well, a central tenet of our squadron Charter is community service. It’s a great feeling to watch these fine young boys and girls, and men and women (our Sea Scouts, Venturing and Exploring units support youth up to age 20) grow up right before our eyes. They love learning. Their scout leaders, Jon Bailey, Stu Pulllen, Jody Sanders and others are devoted to their growth and development. And our scouts know it. The bonds are deep and obvious to all.
Stu Pullen was the venerable Skipper of Ship 263 for years, and now he assists Jon Bailey in that role. “We lost our previous Charter, and approached the Fort Myers Power Squadron for a new home, Stu recalled. “Mr. Bob Moro, then Commander, made that happen. Our Ship has higher ranked Scouts, both male and female, with a high percentage of Eagle Scouts.
The Sea Scout Program is predicated on youth run/youth led principles, and having older Scouts makes this possible. The adult leaders need only provide a safe environment and to follow "The Guide to Safe Scouting" to make it happen.
The Power Squadron provides a place to gather and, luckily for our Sea Scouts, a ready to use training regimen. Their ABC, Seamanship, and Piloting courses are in place to make our Sea Scouts excel. We are so grateful to Mr. Moro, Dan, Commander Sam Bonilla and his wife Millie, and all their members for welcoming and supporting us for the past 10 years. Thank you for the opportunity to allow us to make you proud,” Stu said. Right back at ya Stu.
Each January, my squadron hosts a formal “Change of Watch” dinner, with 40 or 50 guests. Our scouts run the show-cleaning and preparing our hall, setting up tables and chairs, serving the food, and then cleaning up and breaking down the event. Our members and guests are constantly expressing their appreciation and respect for our scouts.
They are trained to serve their community, and as part of their Eagle Scout Project they have repaired and painted our building, inside and out, and performed other projects to help support our organization. When I broke my foot in a scooter accident, the scouts arrived and tended to my gardens to help me out. We love our scouts.
One of the barriers to recruitment, in my view, is social media, and the ubiquitous phones our youth are drawn to. Scouting helps them put down the phone and explore their world, If you’re reading this and you have children, or nieces and nephews, or if your friends and neighbors have children, ask them to consider doing something meaningful for their kids. Something that will prepare our youth for the world ahead of them. Become a scout!
Past Commander Bob Moro AP
Fort Myers Power Squadron-America’s Boating Club
