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New lodge beckons

| April 20, 2015

COSHOCTON COUNTY – Dozens of area scout and scout leaders gathered  at the Muskingum Valley Scout Reservation in Coshocton County on Saturday, April 18 to have the official ribbon cutting for the newly expanded Central Lodge with an investment of half a million dollars.

Ten year old Zackary Andrews, who was a Cub Scout and crossed over to the Boy Scouts in March, was chosen to cut the ribbon opening the lodge. He is the son of Thad Andrews and Molly Andrews and is a member of Troop 158 – the Thundercats – from Zanesville. He said of the experience, “It felt really nice and it was a pleasure to do it. I’m looking forward to spending time with my friends and family here.”

Ed Romito, who is the Council President of the Muskingum Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said, “This was multiple years in the making. We had a group of dedicated individuals that determined we needed to make a change here at the camp – and the council as a whole – this is the first investment that we made. It is through the dedication of a lot of people to raise the funds to make this happen.”

“The Ariel Corporation of Mount Vernon was one of the leading contributors to this project. Our scouts and leaders have all had a sense of awe when they walk in compared to the old lodge – which was a great facility, but it had seen its days and it was time for a change. Now we’ll be able to have all of the scouts under one roof. This will hold 300 to 350 scouts.”

“I would like to say a big thank you to the community and all those that made this possible. A lot of time and effort went into this by a lot of great volunteers – from people that saw the vison and really helped us deliver on this.”

“We’ll be having another fundraising soon to raise funds to replace the council office in Zanesville. We’ll be starting that soon.”

“We have also built some cabins out here and we will be building some additional cabins out here – camp improvements to improve scouting and the scouting experience.”

Romito reflected on the scouting experience today, “It’s critical that today’s youth get out into the outdoors. My son is an Eagle Scout, I was a troop leader in scouting pretty much since he was a Tiger Cub and we watch boys develop into young men and then into future leaders of the country and their communities and dedication to serving the community. It’s everything the Boy Scouts is about whether they make it to Eagle Scout or not – they’re going to develop a set of skills and character that is going to serve them well for the rest of their life.”

“This lodge is an investment that will be paying forward for years to come.”

The Muskingum Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America serves nearly 2,000 scouts, 1,000 adult volunteers in over 100 different units. The Council office is located at 734 Moorehead Ave. in Zanesville. You can follow the council on Facebook.

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Category: Clubs & Organizations

About the Author ()

I live with my beautiful wife Nancy on a small farm just outside Coshocton. We have been married for thirty two years and have two grown children, Jessica and Jacob. Jessica is married to Aaron Mencer and they are employed with Coshocton City Schools. Jacob is a sophomore at Kent State University. I graduated from River View High School, have a Bachelor’s Degree from North Carolina Wesleyan University and am actively involved with the Roscoe United Methodist Church, serve on several local committees and am a member of the Coshocton Kiwanis Club, having served as Past-President. I love reading, especially military thrillers, the Civil War and history in general. My goal is to write a novel. My wife and I are also AdvoCare distributors and encourage anyone wanting to lose weight, gain energy and better health to explore AdvoCare at our website; www.fortunes4advocare.com. I love the media field, innovative technology and have worked in newspapers for over 30 years – in fact, my first job was delivering newspapers. The Beacon is a dream made possible by the support of this community and a great team. I hope to continue serving Coshocton County for many years.

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