As a 16-year journey comes to an end, a family legacy continues
By MICHELE BURRIS
Adrian Cub Scout Pack 238 and Boy Scout Troop 238 have helped numerous youth grow to their fullest potential. and it stays with them for a lifetime. It is widely known right here in Adrian that the Enos/Elmer family has been an active part of scouting and has dedicated countless hours, resources and money to a program that has benefited many.
Last Saturday, February 9, 2013, Cub Scout Pack 238 held its annual Blue and Gold Banquet Crossover Ceremony. It was a time to celebrate the achievement and success of every cub scout. This year, the banquet signified more than just the accomplishments of the youth, it also represented the end of a journey that lasted 16 years. Mark and Melinda Elmer have been an integral part of Cub Scout Pack 238 - Mark as Cubmaster and Melinda as the “All-Around Coordinator” (a.k.a. Cubmaster’s right hand). Their sons have all been cub/boy scouts and as of this year their youngest son, Carson, will be advancing to Boy Scouts Troop 238. Melinda said, “We have excellent leadership within the Pack, and strong parental participation, so this will be our official announcement of stepping down from leadership in June, 2013. We aren’t going anywhere, though, and have given our word to remain active within the Pack Committee. We have too many years of information and lessons learned not to share it with the new upcoming leadership.”
Reflecting on their leadership years in Cub Scouts Pack 238, Melinda shared this about the closing of a Troop scout meeting last month. “I looked at each of the Boy Scouts standing at attention. It occurred to me that nearly every one of them had been through the Cub Scout program under ‘the Elmers’. As leaders we taught these boys to stand at attention and to properly salute the flag. For a moment they were all little boys again, wide-eyed and expectant, hoping to one day become like the ‘big boys’ (boy scouts),” Melinda said. “Now, there they were, most of them taller than me, standing erect with eyes sharp on the flag as they ceremoniously and reverently put the American flag away for another week. In recent years, a handful of ‘our’ former Cub Scouts have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. We are so very proud of each and every one of them.”
The journey in Cub Scouts Pack 238 may be coming to an end for Mark and Melinda, but scouting will always be a part of their lives. As for the Elmer family, Mark and Melinda’s oldest son, Hayden, is an Eagle Scout - the eighth one in the (Enos) family. Their middle son, Landon, will soon be the ninth. Their youngest son, Carson, along with his cousin Ashby Bays, will be numbers 10 and 11, followed by Thomas Amos, 12, and Parker Hill, 13, not to mention the other little boys in the family waiting in the wings who are not yet old enough to join Cub Scouts who will hopefully carry on a family legacy. Somewhere down the road, Mark and Melinda’s first and brand new grandson, Derrick Francis Elmer, will be proudly sporting his first blue Cub Scout uniform. Melinda, a proud Grandma said, “Maybe he will be like his Dad, who, when asked in kindergarten what he wanted to be when he grew up, he answered ‘an Eagle’. But first he’ll be needing a Tiger Cub leader...but not until 2019.”
Pictured: Hayden Elmer receives his Eagle Court of Honor in June, 2009. Front: Mary Enos, Frank Enos, Melinda Elmer. Back: Landon Elmer, Hayden Elmer, Carson Elmer, Mark Elmer. (submitted photo)