This is my last message as Scoutmaster. The past three years have been quite memorable for me. I have seen my son receive his Eagle Scout badge in a wonderful four-way Eagle Scout Court of Honor. I, along with the other adult leadership -- Bob Dow, Roy Lyman and Mark Banno most especially -- have turned the running of the troop over to the junior leadership with only a few bobbles and bumps in the road along the way. The troop, thanks mainly to strong junior leadership, has taken Fred Troop of the week (the Program Commissioners' choice for Point Troop) two out of the three summers and taken Point Troop of the Week (the top troop at Camp Three Point) the other summer. We have begun training our junior leaders at White Stag (the Boy Scouts of America's National Youth Leader Training). All in all, we as a troop have accomplished a lot. Many thanks to all the other adult leaders who have made this possible: Brenda Vecchio, our outgoing Troop Committee Chair; Sue Hay, our incoming Troop Committee Chair; John Miech, our Advancement Chair; Lori Miech, our Treasurer; Mary-Alice and Scott Conklin, Dennis and Marjjorie Chace, members of the Troop Committee, and Bob Beer, Danny Friel, Mike Pereira, Adam Banno, Alex Dow and John Weber, all Assistant Scoutmasters. If I've left someone out. I apologize.

I now pass the baton to Mr. Bob Dow. Mr. Dow brings many years of Scouting experience to the troop and has been a part of Pack and Troop 183 for 12 years. Long before that, he was in Scouting as a youth in West Warwick, where he advanced to the rank of Life. As such, he is the only member of the adult leadership who weren't members of Troop 183 previously to have attended Yawgoog as a youth. He started his adult leader career as a Den Leader, along with Mrs. Hay and Mr. Banno, for Alex, Adam and Matt's Cub Scout den. He then came on board to the troop's leadership as an Assistant Scoutmaster when his younger son, Ben, crossed over from the Cub Scout pack. When I took over as Scoutmaster, I looked to Mr. Dow frequently for advice and assistance. Since Eric has "aged out," I have felt that someone with a boy in the troop should be the "head honcho."

You're not rid of me that easily, though. This summer, while at camp, I learned of a new position within the adult leadership corps called "Eagle Coach." This is an Assistant Scoutmaster position whose primary responsibility is to keep track of the advancement of the older boys of the rank of First Class and above and make sure that they are staying on track to become Eagle. Being an Eagle Scout myself, I feel that this job was meant for me. I'll still be coming to meetings and on camping trips but my main responsibility will be to have frequent meetings with the older boys to keep them on track with their advancement since much of the merit badge work can be done at home.

I'll sign off by saying that I feel as though I'm finishing my tenure as Scoutmaster almost the way I started it, overseeing an Eagle court of Honor at which more than one boy will be receiving his Eagle Scout rank. This brings a wonderful sense of closure for me. Thank you all.

Yours in Scouting,

Curt Abbott