Troop 179 History
Dave Zuchegna took over for Phil McGinnis while Phil was on a Navy cruise i n Jan-Jun 1991. Phil got back in June/July and took back over Troop 791 and took the boys to camp, etc. They never changed the SM registration back to Phil's name and when they formed the new troop, Troop 179, Phil and Dave transferred to it. Dave followed him and a new SM for 791 was named. Also, the committee chair of Troop 791 at the time was Pam Vickrey and she stayed with them until recharter/January but dual registered in 179. All three stayed with Troop 179 until at least the late 2000s.
Phil McGinnis started Troop 179 Sep. 1991 when Troop 179 split off from Troop 791 due to 791's large size. Troop 179 was formed on paper on Tue, Sep 03 and first met on Thu, Sep 05, 1991. Troop 179 is sponsored by St. John The Apostle Catholic Church but after a few years began meeting at the Knights of Columbus because of of the need for a larger meeting room. Then in November 2003, the Troop changed to meeting in the cafeteria of St. John's school due to a situation at the KOC. Troop 791 is sponsored by the Nimmo United Methodist Church which was founded in 1791. Phil McGinnis chose the number 179 so new numerals would not have to be purchased. Troop 14 is closely tied to both these troops. In fact, Troop 14 split from 179 about 1993. Troop 7 split off from Troop 14 about 1994, then merged with Troop 179 about 1996 and split off from 179 about 1997. Phil is the only Scoutmaster Troop 179 has ever had. Dave Zuchegna, who was with Phil at 791, has been the only Committee Chairman of 179 since 1995. The troop has been very active and has many adults who stay involved even after their own sons have grown up. In Dec 2001, SM Phil McGinnis was awarded the District Award of Merit and the Silver Beaver Award for his long term and outstanding service to Scouting. In Feb 2003, Phil won Scoutmaster of the Year for 2002. Way to go Phil! Troop 179 has won the Quality Unit Award every single year.
The troop got a huge influx of graduating Cubs in Feb 2002 when it picked up 8 new boys from Pack 179 alone in Feb 2002 and several from other packs, inclucding Pac 392, in Feb-Mar too. The total was 22 new Scouts. It had to form three new patrols just for these boys. The Troop's size increased by about 250% during those two months.
In June 2002, the Pavab District had become too large and it was split into three new districts; a south, west and north one. We are in the southern one. Suggestions for names were taken and Chowanoc, the name of a local Indian tribe, was chosen for the Pavab South District. Chowanoc was submitted by two of Pack and Troop 179's own Scouters: Kathy Lull and Jessica Kolb.
The Scouters of Troop 179 sure made a good showing at the District Awards Dinner on 08 Feb 2003. We won 6 District-level awards: Don Collins, Sandy Tainter, and Dave Zuchegna won Sparkler Awards; Randy Everette won the Hooked On Scouting Award, John Klemenc won the Boy Scout Leader of the Year Award, and Phil McGinnis won the Scoutmaster of the Year Award! With Randy, John and Phil winning their respective awards, that means Troop 179 won every Troop-level award available to an individual! These awards are for 2002. Congrats to all six of these dedicated Scouters! The Sparkler Award is for people who add pep to a program and/or deserve some type of recognition. This was the first year for the Hooked On Scouting Award. It is for people with a dedicated passion for Scouting. A new plaque was created for this award to be mounted at Council that will show who won it every year. One Scouter and one Cubber get it each year from within Chowanoc District. Randy's name was engraved above the Cubber's name, so that means his name will forever be at the the top of the Council's Hooked On Scouting award plaque. SM Phil McGinnis said of this ".. I am so proud that your name is the first on the permanent award. In my view, every person who receives that award in the future will have their commitment to the program measured by your example...". We are proud of all these Scouters receiving their awards, but we were especially proud to see Phil get his much-deserved Scoutmaster of the Year Award -- it couldn't have gone to a finer Scoutmaster. On 07 Feb 2004, the Scouters of Troop 179 did well again: Scott and Kathy Lull were both named Legends of Tidewater Council, Anna Mauch and Helen Haight received Sparkler Awards, and Ed Hotel received the Hooked On Scouting award. This means Troop 179 got the Hooked on Scouting award two years in a row!
On 27 Feb 2004, the troop presented SM McGinnis with its "troop grown, custom made" HONORARY EAGLE SCOUT AWARD (see photo index section). On 02 Dec 2004 SM McGinnis was presented the NESA NATIONAL PRESIDENT'S SCOUTMASTER AWARD OF MERIT. As you can see, he is very highly regarded and resepected by those who know him.
Up to 2002, 18 Scouts made Eagle Scout in the troop. No one made it in 2003; but the year 2004 saw more new Eagles in one year than any year in troop history when 6 Scouts made Eagle Scout. In 2005, 5 Scouts made Eagle Scout, bringing the total 20 29 as of the end of 2005...the early 2000's were a very active and productive time for the troop.
At the end of 2006, 35 young men had attained the rank of Eagle Scout in Troop 179 -- 17 of them during the yearss 2004-2006.
The Chowanoc District Awards Dinner for 2006 was on Feb 3, 2007 at FOP. Troop 179 leaders did well again...Ed Hotel (Boy Scout Leader of the Year), Randy Everette (Chairman's Award), and John Klemenc (District Award of Merit). For the year 2007, awards dinner Feb 2, 2008, we did even better with four recipients: Randy Everette (District Award of Merit), Jody Harp (Chairman's Award), David Zuchegna (Committee Chairman Award), and Tom Warren (Boy Scout Leader of the Year). The year 2007 is also the year Troop 179 had its 40th Eagle Scout, the first unit in Chowanoc to do so.
Ship 179, the first ship in Chowanoc, was formed in late December 2007.
In Feb 2009 BOTH Chowanoc District Award of Merit recipients were from Troop 179: Ed Hotel and Kevin Kennedy. 2009 was another great recruiting year when 23 new Scouts joined.
Crew 179 History
Crew 179 was started in Sep 2004 by Renee Wert as part of her Wood Badge ticket. The initial members came mostly from Crew 490, which had already included many members of Troop 179. Many leaders also came from Troop 179. Despite the Crew being only about 5-6 months old, on 05 Feb 2005, Renee Wert was named Crew Advisor of the Year at the District Awards Dinner.
Pack 179 History
Pack 179 was started in late 1993. Phil McGinnis, who started Troop 179, was instrumental in starting the Pack too. Kathy and Scott Lull were there in the early days too. Kathy started at a school recruiting night in 1995 and she and husband Scott have been with both the Pack and Troop ever since. She has been the Committee Chair since then. The Pack started slow with one mixed-level den in 1994, then two dens (Wolves and Bears) in 1995, and finally the full spectrum of Tigers, Wolves, Bears, and Webelos in 1996. The Pack has averaged 40-60 boys ever since. The Pack first met at St. John The Apostle Catholic Church, but by 1999 it had outgrown available space and moved to having meetings at the KOC Hall but switched to meeting in the cafeteria at St. John's parochial school in late 2002 in an effort to attract new members from that school. St. John's is still the sponsoring organization. Unlike the Troop, the Pack is not an offshoot of any other unit.
Marie and Jerry Kane have been active since they moved to the area in 1996. They have 3 sons at various levels of Scouting. I myself got involved in 1999 when my son Ben first joined Cubs as a Bear. I had not started him earlier because I was on sea duty when he was Tiger and Wolf age. I've wondered if that was the right decision or not, but it's the one I made. I asked why he wanted to join Scouting and he said it was because I'd been in Scouts. I responded that I did not want him to join for that reason, but rather I wanted him to join because it was something he wanted to do. He said it was, and has loved it from the beginning. Let's all try to make it so for all boys. None of us are perfect, but we can all DO OUR BEST to make the lives of children better. Debbie Kennedy did advancements, year pins, and attendance and it took three people to replace her when she moved to the troop with her youngest son in Feb 2002. She'd been active in the pack since her older son was in the pack. Marie was presented the District Award of Merit in January 2002.
The year 2001 saw the pack essentially double in size. In the preceding years, the youth membership was in the 30-60 range, but by late 2001 it had grown to 87 due to tremendously successful Spring and Fall recruiting drives. This is the first time the Pack ever had 11 dens. Eleven of these boys earned their Arrow Of Light in Feb 2002 when they crossed over to Boy Scouts at the Blue and Gold banquet at the Clarion Hotel on Friday, 8 Feb 2002. This was one of the best scout banquets I'd ever seen and the fact that my son was one of the eleven boys ending their Cub career that night made it extra special for me. Eight of these boys moved on to Troop 179 and three to Troop 14.
In June 2002, the Pavab District had become too large and it was split into three new districts; a south, west and north one. We are in the southern one. Suggestions for names were taken and Chowanoc, the name of local Indian tribe, was chosen for the Pavab South District. Chowanoc was submitted by two of Pack and Troop 179's own Scouters: Kathy Lull and Jessica Kolb.
St. John The Apostle Catholic Church finished building a parochial school on church grounds in late 2002. In late 2002 the Pack began meeting in their cafeteria so they would have good contact with the young students. Prior to that, the Pack had met at the Knights of Columbus like the Troop did for many years.
Cubmasters:
1993-1998 Phil McGinnis
1998-2000 Charles Schirra
2000-2001 Robert Hunt
2001-2003 Carl Black
2003-2004 Fred Kirschbaum
2004-2007 Jamie Ehlers
2007-200? John Flavin