Earlier this week the Boy Scouts celebrated their 100th anniversary at the Hotel Roanoke with a special visitor – a baby T-Rex. The dinosaur “guest” was an anniversary gift courtesy of the upcoming show “Walking with Dinosaurs,” playing at the Roanoke Civic Center January 8-10.
Marla Baker, local community specialist, said that the Boy Scouts still uphold the virtues established 100 years ago and continue to create individuals with character. “The Scouts are not a virtual reality; [they are] a virtuous activity that teaches morals, character and leadership,” commented Baker.
The Southwest Virginia chapter of the Boy Scouts encompasses 21 counties and 8 cities. The program is for boys; however there is a special unit for girls 14 and up. Another program, the Explorers and Venturers Club, and is a coed group, where teens participate in team building activities like rappelling down cliffs, caving, rock climbing and white water rafting.
The Southwest chapter of the Boy Scouts has opened a new center at Claytor Lake, servicing 10,000 campers from 25 states across the country. Baker is “really excited to start a new century, celebrate the adventure and continue the journey.”
A two-year veteran of the scouts, Houston Hays, dreams of being a paleontologist one day. The Walking with Dinosaurs preview at Hotel Roanoke was right up his alley. Hays said that he likes the Scouts “a real lot – and we get to do a lot of fun things.” He enjoyed planting 400 trees recently to help the environment and also participating in the venerable Pinewood Derby, a yearly scouting event. “I made mine into a truck,” noted Hays.
On Monday, the Walking with Dinosaur’s “Baby T-Rex” entertained the Boy Scouts and allowed them to pet his nose. This weekend the dinosaurs at the Roanoke Civic Center will feature the mechanized breed, done on a much larger scale, not a man dressed like a T-Rex. That didn’t matter at Hotel Roanoke on Monday, when Boy Scouts and other invited children cheered on and played with the ancient creature. The century-old Boy Scouts organization thus began the next 100 years with a growling dinosaur at their side.
For more information about the Boy Scouts or the Co-ed Explorers group, call the local counsel office at 540-265-0656 or visit bsa-brmc.org. (See roanokeciviccenter.com for more on Walking with Dinosaurs.)
By Alice Shook [email protected]