The August 14th Court of Honor and 35th Anniversary with 120 Scouts, Scoutmasters, Former Scoutmasters, Eagle Scouts, and Scout families in attendance, was a proud occasion. We were honored by the presence of 5 Former Scoutmasters, Eagle Scouts from Troop 700, and members of our sponsored organization, The Westerville Civitan Club. The Civitan members were, Flo Holland, Ernie Morris and Mr. & Mrs. Sam Lantz.

We were all welcomed by our current Scoutmaster, Mr. Ron Leonard and led in prayer by Chaplain's Aide, Dusty. We then enjoyed a great buffet of food with enough left for seconds!

The Masters of Ceremonies, were Andrew, SPL, and Tim, ASPL. They both presented the 85 Merit badges to the Scouts in our troop. Presentation of Rank were presented by the Assistant Scoutmasters. There were 11 Scouts who received rank advancements: Mike & Dusty received Scout, Jared received Tenderfoot, Sam received Second Class & First Class, Omar, Doug, & Alex received First Class, Matt received Star, and Tim, Travis & Andrew received Life. Scoutmaster, Mr. Ron Leonard recognized the special guests.

Mr. Pete Madison, former Scoutmaster (1980-1985) was the first to share his memories of Troop 700. He shared his memories of collecting neighborhood recycling items in wagons with the troop and being Den Leader of the Webelo Den for Pack 770. Mr. C.F. Carlson, former Scoutmaster (1986-1987) told of his memories as a Scout when his Dad was Scoutmaster and also as a Scoutmaster just 2 years after his Dad. His father, Mr. Tom Carlson, former Scoutmaster(1979-1980) reminisced of his days as Cubmaster and Scoutmaster at the same time. Former Scoutmaster, Tom Moore (1991-1994) shared his fun-filled memories and continues to share those as an Assistant Scoutmaster. Also, former Scoutmaster John Shoemaker (1987-1991) was in attendance, and Kathy Shoemaker, but had to leave early due to a previous engagement. Mr. Ed Howard, former Troop 700 Committee Chairman and representative of the Simon Kenton Council was also there to share his thoughts on scouting and Troop 700. Mr. Joe Igel, former Troop 700 Committee Chairperson was also in attendance.

Eagle Scouts that attended the Court of Honor were, Mr. C.F. Carlson, Bryan Eschbach, Courtney Shoemaker, Eddie Madison, Les Linard, Benjamin Cipriany, Benjamin Roush, Eric Leonard, and Geoffrey Ringle. There have been a total of 27 Eagle Scouts from Troop 700 since 1964.

Service year pins were awarded to Committee Members, Scouts and Scoutmasters. Two special awards were given to Edwin Lantz and Jon Nichols for The World Conservation Award. A Scout can earn this award by completing the requirements for the following merit badges: Environmental Science, Citizenship in the World, and either Soil and Water Conservation or Fish and Wildlife Management.

Some of the former Scoutmasters and Committee Chairpersons, have continued to serve in the District and Simon Kenton Council in many ways over the years. Among those are: Mr. Tom Carlson and Mr. Ed Howard who have served as District Commissioners and have received the District Commissioner Award. They have both earned the highest award that an adult leader can receive, The Silver Beaver Award. Mr. Howard is still serving the District as the OA Advisor and is the Charter Organizer for Troop 560 and Pack 560. Mr. C. F. Carlson has served as District Commissioner for the Circleville area. Mr. Pete Madison served as the Unit Commissioner of the Arrowhead District for 2 years. Mrs. Kathy Shoemaker is serving as District Commissioner for Simon Kenton Council and is on the Pow Wow staff. Mr. John Shoemaker & Kathy Shoemaker are both on the District Awards Committee and are Camp Visitation Specialist for the Region. Mr. John Shoemaker is Pow Wow Midway Chairman, District Camping Chairman, Commissioner for Venturing, and is on the Council’s Outdoor Program Committee and the Simon Kenton Council Venturing Committee. Mr. Tom Moore is still serving as Assistant Scoutmaster for the Troop today and enjoys the camping memories. Mr. Ron Leonard is also an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 700. He is serving as a District Committee Member, and District Chair of Camping & Camp Promotion for the Arrowhead District and is also a Rappelmaster.

We are proud of all present and past members of Troop 700 and hope to continue a rich history of all people involved in Troop 700 for many years to come.

A special thanks to Mr. Sam Lantz for all the research of our past leaders of Troop 700, used in this article.