Troop 40 Bridgeport (West Virginia) Scouts recognized for top service hours in council

Scout leaders submit information throughout the calendar year through an online portal before all hours and projects are tabulated at the end of the year.

“We take pride in the fact that we do a lot of service hours and projects,” Scoutmaster Charles Gerhart said. “That’s part of Scouting, cheerful service. We try to teach these boys to be good leaders and being involved in the community and a good citizen. It’s not all just tying knots and camping.”

About 40 Scouts are part of Troop 40, according to Committee Chair Jason Hosaflook. Three Scouts are also expected to join the troop this weekend.

“Each boy tracks their own service hours, but we also track their service hours and advancement online for the local and national councils,” said Hosaflook, who was Scoutmaster for three years and assistant Scoutmaster before that.

“We do a variety of service projects throughout the year, especially in fall before the holiday season via food drives, helping our charter Simpson Creek Baptist Church with (Operation Christmas Child), making blankets for veterans in the nursing home or other things like that. Citizenship and service to the community are key values of Scouting that we try to instill in the boys.

“As a troop, we’re always looking for opportunities for the boys to give back to others and the community. There’s always someone in need.”

Hosaflook’s Eagle Scout son Brady began collecting and retiring American flags starting in 2011. Brady unveiled his project to the community at the city’s Armed Forces memorial downtown on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Ben Gerhart, assistant senior patrol leader, hopes to complete his Eagle service project — updating Civil War trail signs in the city — this summer.

“A lot of the signs are run down, so I figured we could replace them,” the younger Gerhart said.

A pair of other Scouts are eligible to prepare for their Eagle Scout projects this summer as well, according to Charles Gerhart, Ben’s father.

“We’re working on projects for probably half a dozen boys during the next six months to a year,” Charles Gerhart said. “We give them ideas, but it’s got to be something they’re passionate about. As long as they’re the leader of it — bringing forward an idea, getting helpers to do it, getting beneficiaries to help pay for it.”

Senior Patrol Leader Drew Hastman also will be working on his Eagle Scout project soon.

Service hours are a requirement for the top three ranks of Scouting.

“We let the Scouts determine what they want to do for their Eagle Scout project,” Assistant Scoutmaster Dave Lunsford said. “We let them go out and ask community leaders, churches, etc. things that they need. We encourage that leadership initiative before they come to the leaders of the troop to give them feedback.

“We have several Scouts who are just about to (the rank of) Eagle. We’re an extremely active troop.”

Scouts are also responsible for fundraising for materials.

Lunsford’s son Zachary completed his Eagle Scout project last year, adding trees and benches to Compton Park, and son Matthew will complete his in the next few months. Matthew hopes to rebuild archery targets in Bridgeport City Park.

“The Eagle Scout projects are often the first real adult things they do, from beginning to end. They are at a point in their growth in Scouting where leaders take a step back and we follow what the Scout does,” Dave Lunsford said. “There’s a whole booklet of plans to fill out before it goes to council for them to sign off on it. It’s a long process to prepare for before work days, so Eagle Scout projects represent a lot of work and effort on the scouts’ part.

“(Scouts) ask us for advice and guidance, but we don’t do it for them.”

Dave Lunsford, a Scout volunteer with either Pack 39 or Troop 40 for at least 12 years, was also a Boy Scout part of the then-Troop 20 in Clarksburg. He commits to helping at most Eagle Scout projects.

“There’s always plenty of projects to do; people always need help,” Dave Lunsford said. “It’s all about growth in the community. There are literally dozens of projects Scouts have done in this area, and I’m sure you see them every day and don’t even realize it.”

Scouts will also be cleaning Deegan and Hinkle Lakes Park with Pack 39 Scouts this Earth Day in April, as well as place flags at graves in Bridgeport Cemetery before Memorial Day in May.

Troop 40 Scouts and leaders will also try to impress the importance of community service during a camping trip at Lake Stoney in Lumberport this weekend when a trio of Pack 39 Scouts graduate to become part of the troop.

Troop 40 Scouts also recorded 285 service hours in 2021 — the second-most in the council — amid 137 projects, according to Council records. The troop was founded in 1964.