By TAZLER SMITH
Boy Scout Troop 122
Los Alamos

My name is Tazler Smith and I’m a Boy Scout in Troop 122 in Los Alamos. I’m writing this letter to encourage the community to support and learn about scouting.

I first became involved with scouts when I was in first grade and became a Tiger Cub with Pack 22. I stayed in Cub Scouts until February of my fifth grade year, when I crossed over into Boy Scouts at our Blue & Gold
ceremony. Cub Scouts was a great experience for me, and I hope parents with kids in grade school consider joining Cub Scouts with their boys.

I’m still involved in Boy Scouts three years later and plan to continue through adult-hood. I’ve stayed in it because it’s fun. I get to camp, there is good food at most events, it’s good for general life skills, I learn new expertise in areas such as knot tying and camping, even in the winter and snow, and I can explore possible careers, too. In scouts, I meet lots of people including kids younger and older than I am. I look up to the older boys and help to mentor the younger boys. I also get to spend time with a lot of adults who are sharing their free time and knowledge with this troop and other troops.

One of my favorite things to do in scouts is the service projects. I have over 100 service hours in my three years with the troop, and try to attend every project I can. I hope that boys working on Eagle Scout projects in our town take the time to write letters and send pictures to the Los Alamos Daily Post so the community knows what that particular Eagle Scout project was all about. We do make a positive influence here and it would be good for people to learn about the various boy scout projects. I hope to attain the Eagle Scout rank in the next few years, but still have to complete many merit badges and other requirements before even considering what project I’ll do.

I encourage adults with talents they can share to contact one of the Boy Scout Troops in town to become a merit badge counselor, volunteer with the troop, or give an interesting talk. I encourage boys who aren’t in scouts to go with one of their friends who is in scouts to a troop meeting and see if they might like to join, too. If someone is involved, it takes a lot of time and effort, but it’s worth it.