(This week’s Person of the Week, Shane Serrao, is a Scouting Lifer!)

By Cathy Miller

So much dedication and so much heart for an organization that has captured the attention of so many boys for over 100 years. Meet Shane Serrao and share his enthusiasm for the institution known as Scouts BSA.

GROWING UP
Shane grew up in Trinidad & Tobago, a two-island nation in the Caribbean. He recalled, “My uncles, my mother’s older brothers, were Queens Scouts (UK version of Eagle Scout). The secondary school I attended didn’t offer a Scouting program, so I was a cadet in the Trinidad & Tobago Cadet Force, very similar to Scouting.”

FAMILY MAN
In 1993, shortly after their wedding, Shane and his wife Carolyn put down roots in Washington Borough.

Their son and a daughter attended Taylor Street School, Memorial School, and Warren Hills Middle School, and now are enrolled at Warren Hills High School. Sarah is a member of Future Farmers of America where she studies horsemanship. She is deeply involved with Casey’s Equestrian Center in Washington. Gabriel finished his Eagle Scout project, a nature trail behind St. Luke’s Church in Washington, which became a place for reflection named “The Sabbath Trail.” He is preparing for his Eagle Court of Honor in June and plans to attend college in Ohio.

Shane works in cybersecurity. At his current job since 2016, Shane has been employed in the field of technology since 1992. He warns, “You always have to be concerned about protecting data,” lamenting “It’s crazy how quickly bad actors devise techniques to attack your way of life and monetize it.”

VOLUNTEERISM
Shane coached youth soccer, then worked with Warren United travel soccer in various capacities, including New Jersey Youth Soccer District Commissioner. He was on the Washington Emergency Squad from 1995 to 2000. He and Carolyn volunteer with the Musconetcong Watershed Association, along with the Karen Nash Memorial Butterfly Garden. He’s involved with 4-H archery. With Boy Scout Troop 157, they worked Washington Celebrates America from 2015 through 2019 selling funnel cakes and clearing the fields. He retired from Troop 157 in 2017. Shane is a member of the Ironheart Foundation, where cardiac patients regain a healthy lifestyle through sport and other activities.

He’s a Bingo caller at St. Joseph’s Church in Washington. It’s a very sophisticated computer system, so Shane was called in to train everyone. He noted, “I actually had to write a guide on how to call bingo at St. Joe’s.”

BOY SCOUTS!
“I started as a volunteer dad with my son Gabe’s Cub Scout Pack 145 in Washington Borough in 2012. In April 2015, that Cub Scout Den crossed over to Boy Scouts, and re-established Washington Borough Troop 157, which had been dormant since 2005. I received adult leader training and became one of their Assistant Scoutmasters in 2015. I retired from scouting for a short period after the BSA summer camp in 2017.

Shortly thereafter, he was at Casey’s Equestrian Center chatting with one of the parents while watching their daughters ride. Anita Smith mentioned that her husband Al was an adult leader with Belvidere Troop 141 and was always looking for adult volunteers.”

He spoke to Al a few days later, attended a Troop meeting in October 2017 and began volunteering for outdoor campouts. Since he had the training from Troop 157, Troop 141 soon recognized him as an Assistant Scoutmaster.

“In Fall 2018 I enrolled in Wood Badge Training, advanced leadership training for scouter adults and scouting professionals. I completed the class and the five required projects, then earned the Wood Badge in November 2019. A huge accomplishment, it’s like the Eagle Scout Award for youth scouters.

“While on a business trip, I was able to visit Gilwell Park, the camp in London where the first Wood Badge class was held. It was like a pilgrimage and validation that Scouting is a worthwhile endeavor. I decided to commit to Scouting.

“When Covid hit, then Scoutmaster Jeff Losco asked me to assume the Scoutmaster role while he focused on his business and all the COVID restrictions. I became the Scoutmaster of Troop 141 in June 2020 after specific training in youth protection, safe scouting techniques, and outdoor leadership.”

Most memorable experience? “I’d say it was the recognition ceremony I’d planned for earning Wood Badge. It was on a Sunday and that weekend we had a campout with Troop 141. After everyone went home Sunday morning, I took a short break, then started preparing the Scout House for the ceremony. Scoutmaster Jeff Losco and Assistant Scoutmaster Guy Bunn arrived in their full Class A uniforms to help set up and attend the ceremony. The Program Training Staff not only attended, but led the ceremony. It was humbling to have their support.”

Ever have a harrowing experience? “One of the best adventures happened at Northern Tier High Adventure camp at Atikoken in Canada in July 2019. We had to canoe and portage over 50 miles in the Canadian wilderness in Ontario, in a Canadian National Park called Quetico Provincial Park.

“It’s a six day, five night trek with basically no contact with any other groups or humanity. Day one and day six, while near the base, you saw other people, but the rest of the time, it’s your crew and nature.  

“On day four, we’d just completed a portage to hike around a hydro-electric plant and we put in down river of the plant. We encountered a series of swifts. We had three canoes in our party. The lead canoe with our Trek Guide went first and demonstrated the line to follow. Our three adults, me included, decided to go second to give the all-scout canoe a second demonstration of the line to take through the swift.

“I was at the bow, providing instructions to the skipper at the back of the canoe. At this section of the river, the center line was very quick and down the center of the river, but unknown to us, there was a back current on both the left and right of the river. We followed the lead canoe, in dead center of the river, but then I see the lead canoe on my left, going up river. I gave the command ‘Hard Left’ while we’re in the center of the swift. Our skipper, Al Smith, put the blade of his oar in the water to steer left, but as soon as the blade steered left, we were going so fast that the front of the canoe extended into the back current going up river, while the back of our canoe still in the current going down river meant our canoe pivoted to the left and capsized. Mr. Smith washed out to the right. The current took him up river leaving me and the other leader, Mr. Bunn, with the canoe and our gear. I confirmed Mr. Bunn and the gear were OK. Then the third canoe is racing through the swift on our tail, narrowly steered to our right, and safely sailed through that swift.

“The scouts then asked if we, the adults, needed help. We said, ‘We’re good, we just wanted to show you what not to do.’ We’ve marked that spot on our trek map hung in the Scout House as the ‘Hard Left’ swift.”

Still Scoutmaster of Troop 141, Shane may consider bringing in another Scoutmaster, allowing him to do more work in the Warren District to help those troops. For now, he said, “I have a huge group of assistant scout leaders that help provide continuity in our troop, especially with my work and travel. They help me tremendously so I’m able to manage administrative activities.”

Scouting experiences can differ from one troop to the next. As Warren District Advancement Chair, Shane insures that all the troops have programs that provide opportunities for the scouts to be recognized and advance through their ranks.

Shane added, “We want to enjoy the experience with the boys because now is when you teach by example. The boys look to us – how we’re dressed, how we speak to each other, how we work together as a team. At the end of the day, we want the boys to be better than us.”

Troop 141 performs regular service projects and campouts, along with an extended summer camp. Their classroom is the outdoors and it’s a great experience for them. The older scouts participate in more challenging outdoor adventures, gaining self-confidence in problem solving. A big reason reason why Scouting matters is because it teaches young people that they’re capable of handling difficult things.

The camping experience gives Scouts a chance to escape all the noise and distractions. Shane advises them, “Have a good attitude, keep your spirits up, help one another and have fun.”

Fundraising is very important to scouting. Based on the activity of the boys, they earn money for their scout account. Shane explained that working with generous sponsors guarantees a successful fundraiser, thanking Harmony Greenhouse, Dutch Valley Farms, and the Somerset Patriots, to name a few.

Troop 141 was founded in 1912. The Belvidere Scout House, where the Troop has always met, was dedicated in 1943. Shane noted this House might be only one of four or five in the nation. Working on upgrades, the rustic wooden structure could be around another hundred years.

Illustrating what Scouting is all about, the history exhibited by the relics in the House is extensive. It’s Troop 141’s museum with photos, awards, plaques, newspaper clippings, banners, flags, and sundry memorabilia.

Shane is certain there’s a future for scouting despite dipping membership. He noted, “It’s slowly getting back to the numbers we used to have. This year’s campout sign-ups have increased every month. There’s signs of life. We definitely have a future.” He closed, saying, “We just have to do our best to give our youth the complete Scout experience.”

(Photos by Cathy Miller)