Boy Scouts Sit in on Council Meeting

The dais inside the Gloucester Township Council chambers at the municipal building was a bit more crowded than usual Monday night.

That's because four members of Blackwood-based Boy Scouts Troop No. 126 joined Council members for their bi-monthly public action meeting.

The four Boy Scouts to join Council were Chris Craven, Greggory Gladis, Daniel Lubicky and Luke Parrish.

The four scouts, all of whom are fourth-grade students and currently at the Webelos level in scouting, attended Monday's meeting to attain credit toward their citizenship badges.

They were accompanied by Troop No. 126 leaders Amy Craven and Brian Duke.

"I think they loved it," Amy Craven said as the Boy Scouts left for the night.

Council members had the four Boy Scouts "vote" for them on each measure the governing body took action on during Monday night's meeting.

Chris Craven said he enjoyed sitting up on the dais, between Council Vice President Orlando Mercado and Councilwoman Tracey Trotto, but he might not be heading toward a future as an elected official.

Asked if he wanted to be a councilman someday, the young Boy Scout shook his head and uttered a very quick, "No!"

In addition to sitting in on the first hour-and-a-half of the Council meeting, the four Boy Scouts earlier received tours of the police station and Mayor David Mayer's office.

"I hope you learned a lot about government. ... I hope you found this to be educational. I appreciate you caring enough to see what's going on in your community," Mayer told the boys shortly before they left the meeting.

Boy Scouts Troop No. 126 is based at Blackwood United Methodist Church.