Scouting has meant a lot to our family. Both of our sons, Benn and Andrew, are Eagle Scouts.
Mamchachwelendam, Ktschillachton and Machen Lekhiket
(Andrew, Bob and Benn Vincent)
Saturday, November 15, 2003,
the night that I completed my Vigil for the
Order of the Arrow within the Ouxouiga Lodge.
The Vigil Honor Certificate Signed by
National Director of the Order of the Arrow,
Clyde M. Mayer, on August 14, 2003
For some years I was the Scoutmaster of Troop 119, but Gary Speyrer now has that responsibility. After serving as a scoutmaster, I served as Vice-President of Relationships, then as Council Commissioner and lastly, in 2003, as Council President of the Attakapas Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In order more effectively to serve the youth of Central and Northeastern Louisiana, the Attakapas Council merged with the Ouachita Valley Council, becoming The Louisiana Purchase Council.
Below is a photograph of the presidents of the two former councils, Dr. Ralph Armstrong and myself. Dr. Armstrong is the President of the new council, and I am Vice-President of Relationships.
A lot of time and effort went into making this decision, including many Scouters travelling back and forth. Here are four Scouters standing in front of the Tree House Village at Camp T. L. James, operated by the Ouachita Valley Council in Monroe, Louisiana, on the afternoon of January 4, 2003.
Jim Melancon, Scoutmaster of Troop 12 in Alexandria; Bob Vincent; Dianne Lemoine, District Commissioner; John Coleman, Scout Executive of the Ouachita Valley Council.
Here I am on the night of January 10, 2003, getting ready to present the Founders' Award to our Council Commissioner, Randy Worcester, at the Order of the Arrow Banquet. The Ouxouiga Lodge of the Order of the Arrow honors its Advisor, Glen DeVanie, Deputy City Marshall for Alexandria, Louisiana, who was killed in the line of duty Wednesday afternoon, April 2, 2003.
I have had many wonderful experiences in the Boy Scouts. In 1994 I participated in Walking Woodbadge 19 at Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron, New Mexico. I served as Scoutmaster for my council’s troop, 1602, at the National Jamboree at Fort A. P. Hill in Virginia, July 28 - August 5, 1997. Andrew was one of the scouts and Benn was an assistant scoutmaster along with Mike Wiley and Wayne McConnell. On Saturday, November 15, 2003, I completed my Vigil in the Order of the Arrow and now bear the name Ktschillachton (K’chkil LAHK ton), “Speaker of the Truth,” in Lenape, a dialect of Algonquian, spoken by the Delaware Indians. The Delawares were also called the Lenni Lenape (LEN nee LEN ah pee) and lived in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In becoming a Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow, I joined my sons, Andrew and Benn. Andrew, First Vice-Chief of the Ouxouiga Lodge in 2000, became Vigil on November 11, 2000, as Mamchachwelendam (MAM chach WEH len dam), “He Who Endures Pain.” Benn became Machen Lekhiket (MAH chen LEH kihk keht), “Great Writer,” on September 14, 1996; he served as Lodge Chief in 1995.
Troop 1602 at the National Jamboree in 1997
Assistant Scoutmaster Wayne McConnell is standing on the
extreme left; next to him is Benn Vincent. On the extreme right is
Assistant Scoutmaster Mike Wiley, and I am standing next to him. Andrew is
dead center, down front, sitting on the ground, the third from the left,
sporting his mother's reddish hair.
Walking Woodbadge 19 at Philmont Scout Ranch
The Tooth of Time is the most famous Philmont landmark.
It is worth the climb -- the Tooth can be seen in the distance.
This is the Chief Scout
Executive, Wayne Brock's letter to the
Evangelical Presbyterian churches that operate Scouting units.