Lutz Couple To Be Honored For Longtime Commitment To Scouting

TAMPA, FL — Two longtime Boy Scout volunteers will be honored by the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council of Boy Scouts of America at a Sept. 8 fundraising event.

Mark and Fifi Rose of Lutz will receive the Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award at a breakfast at 7 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, in the Gwazi Pavilion at Busch Gardens.

The award recognizes outstanding service by an adult or by an organization for demonstrated involvement in the development and implementation of Scouting opportunities for disadvantage youth. It is named for the late African-American civil rights leader who served as executive director of the National Urban League and worked to end employment discrimination in the United States.

The Roses have been married for 42 years and have lived in Lutz since 1995. They have three children — Emily, Evan, and William — with both sons earning the Eagle Scout rank, like their father. Emily Rose earned the Silver Award through Girl Scouts. They also have three grandchildren.

Jeremy Twachtman, Fort Brooke district director said they have volunteered at the unit, district, council, regional, national and international levels. They are receiving the Whitney M. Young Award for their commitment to Scouting, particularly their work with underprivileged kids in Lutz.

“They ran, for several years, a pack for foster children out of the Joshua House and led every aspect of the unit, including providing uniforms and equipment out of their own pockets,” Twachtman said.

Mark Rose retired in 2018 after 36 years at Busch Gardens as vice president of design and engineering. He has been the Scoutmaster of Troop 212 in Lutz since the 1990s and has had 61 Eagle Scouts. He is a past council president and a Venture Scout leader.

He joined Scouts when his parents escorted him into the basement of the First Presbyterian Church in Connersville, Ind. He progressed through Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts to the rank of Eagle Scout, Fifi Rose said.

“Mark stayed in Scouting to give back to the organization that has given him so much,” his wife said.

Fifi Rose has served as the district chairman and in other Ccout roles. She describes herself as “a retired volunteer and my primary job now is being an ATM, Assistant to Mark.”

“When I was 7 years old, my brother, an Eagle Scout, put his uniform on me and hung his canteen around my neck, adjusted his hat on my head, and we were off on a hike. I’ve been loving Boy Scouts and the outdoors ever since," she said.

As a family, the Roses have been to 16 national and world jamborees and all five Roses have been to the Philmont Scout Reservation, Florida Sea Base and Northern Tier Canoe Base.

Fifi Rose said she stayed in Scouts as an adult volunteer “because I love the Scout oath and Scout law. They align with the values that my parents taught me. Every time I recite the oath and law, I think of my parents, my husband, my brother and my children. We share and honor the bond that Scouting has given us."

There is no charge to attend the breakfast, but attendees will be asked to make a financial pledge to the Scouting program. All proceeds will assist Scouting in the Tampa Bay area. The Roses have announced they will match up to $35,000 in donations.

To register by Sept. 2, click here.