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Scoutmaster Dennis Bogan started his tenure as Scoutmaster of Troop 264 in September 1992. By 2014, more than 100
scouts had achieved Eagle rank, the highest rank in Scouting. Many scouts and scouters independently thought that this was a
milestone that could not be allowed to pass unnoticed. And so, bringing these people together, the 100+ Eagles Celebration was hatched.
Right from the beginning, our goal was not just to focus attention on Scoutmaster Bogan, but to recognize all the Eagle Scouts. Nationally,
only about 2% of scouts achieve Eagle rank. And most boys are never scouts. That makes each Eagle worth recognizing by himself
(as indeed they are in the Eagle Courts of Honor). The rank of Eagle is well recognized in business and the community at large an
an indicator of potential success: it says that here is a person who can motivate himself to start and finish a project lasting several years,
overcoming the innumerable distractions along the away and keeping the final goal in mind. It also says a lot about the moral character of
the Eagle rank holder.
The planning group quickly determined that the most local venues were not large enough to host the number of people expected. So we
arranged to use the Heritage building on the Montgomery County (Maryland) Fairgrounds. This proved large enough to host the event without
crowding.
Most of the food was provided by the Delaney family (John Delaney, Eagle 1992), and they were assisted by the Robbins family and
Venturing Crew member Elizabeth Justus during the final preparations. Food included such yummies as meatballs,
pineapple chicken, fruit and veggie trays, cookies, bagel bites, and chili. While this was being set out, others arranged
tables and began greeting guests about 1 PM in the lobby area.
The gentleman in the red jacket in the center of the previous picture, is
John Fuch, who was
Troop 264's scoutmaster between 1969 and 1975 and is a member of the American Legion. Mr. Fuch saw the small article in the
Gazette newspaper about the event and contacted the troop (as did other Eagle scouts and scouters).
After everyone had a chance to eat and socialize with people who thay had not seen in years, the presentation
began at 2 PM. Nearly-Eagle William Santos was the Master of Ceremonies, as SPL Peter Barth had come down with the flu the night
before and could not attend. Mr. Halsey Smith of the American Legion Post No. 68, the troop and Venturing Crew's sponsor, presented Mr. Bogan
with a certificate expressing their appreciation for all the work he had done with the scouts over the years. Assistant
Scoutmaster Rick Justus made a similar presentation of a plaque on behalf of the troop. Mr. Rick Justus then called up
the first Eagle Scout under Mr. Bogan (Sean Bogan, 1992) and the most recent Eagle Scout (Joshua Fowler, 2014) and asked them to say a
few words.
 
The microphone was opened to Eagle scouts who wanted to say a few words about Mr. Bogan and there experiences inside and outside the troop. Six
did so:
Joseph Matyas (2008)
 | Gerad Sherman (2011)
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Steven Ramsey (2002)
 | Kevin Carr (2014)
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Michael Mercado (2005)
 | Sean O'Lone (1995)
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And of course Mr. Bogan had his say:
Assistant Scoutmaster Jim Kirk then used his camera equipment to take group photos of the Eagles and the scouts in attendance. (When the high
resolution photos he took come back, a link will be posted here for download.) This was the opportunity for others to swoop in
under his elbow, as it were, and take their own unofficial photos:
And here are Mr. Kirk's final, edited pictures. First the attending Eagles:
The Eagles (543 KB)
(For Printing:
20.6 MB TIFF for 8x10 or
35 MB TIFF)
The Scouts (522 KB)
20.6 MB TIFF for 8x10 or
35 MB TIFF)
This was followed by the sheet cakes and desserts:
The photo loop on the screen at the far end of the hall can be viewed here as a PowerPoint file (use the arrow keys to
move forward and back): Photo loop, 44.5 MB.
Give it a few minutes to download.
About 240 people attended the special 100+ Eagles Celebration, including about 55 troop Eagle scouts. All
who attended were given a special 3" by 5" patch that was commissioned for the event:
And for the record (in response to a few questions), Mr. Bogan is not resigning his Scoutmaster position, but plans to continue as Scoutmaster to Troop 264.
It already has been suggested that we do this again when Mr. Bogan reaches his second hundred Eagles. Thank you to all of you who
were part of this special event!
Lastly, a big thank you to the many who thought this was a Great Idea and lent your thoughts and support. Special
thanks to the core planning group who, through several meetings and their own initiative, brought the details together:
the Delaney family (all the great food), the Justus family (plaque and the arrangements for the hall), Josey Simpson (arrangements
and tickets), the Sherman family (cake, promotion), Pete Kregloh (planning), SPL Peter Barth and Al Barth (ceremony and accounting, respectively),
and the Bickel family (promotion, patches, and organization).
More Troop History
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