100 Years of Scouting Banner Yankee Clipper Council - Boy Scouts of America
Northeastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire		 Waving American Flag
filler image

Scouts in Action

Boy Scouts Help Rescue Injured Hiker
By Kathleen Kirwin/Staff Writer  Jan 02, 2008 Westford Eagle

Members of Westford Boy Scout Troop 437 lived up to the Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared” while rescuing an injured hiker in New Hampshire this fall.

In October, while on a monthly hiking trip to Mt. Lafayette in the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire, the group of older boys decided to take the harder trail. After separating from the group, the boys and two adults hiked for several hours. On their way down to the Appalachian Mountain Club hut, they noticed a group of people standing around a woman, who was lying on the ground.

The woman, who chaperone Craig Martin described as in her 20s, had a severe back injury and was being helped onto a stretcher. Even though the boys were exhausted volunteered to help.  “It was just the right thing to do,” said Dan Vegeto, 17.

 
  Full Story >>>

February, 2008 - Marblehead - In keeping with tradition that began four years ago, this year’s Yankee Clipper Council Eagle Scout class has a namesake, and this year, the honoree is a Marblehead resident, Alan Rieper.

Past Eagle Scout classes have been named in honor of Bernard M. Gordon of Manchester-by-the-Sea, George Fisher of Boxford, Mass and Richard Preble of West Newbury.

The Yankee Clipper Council will gather tomorrow night to honor 200 new local Eagle Scouts – the largest class in the Council’s history — at a banquet at the Windham Hotel and Resort in Andover. More than 500 people are expected to attend.

Rieper is an Eagle Scout, charter member and president of the Yankee Clipper Eagle Scout Association, a Council board member and treasurer. His own experience as a Scout was as a member of Pack, Troop and Explorer Post 24 in Staten Island, N.Y.

“Scouting has meant a great deal to me,” Rieper said. “Particularly as an adult, to give back to a program that meant a lot to me in my youth, I value it highly.”
  Full Story >>>

Boy Scout Honored for Saving Little Brother
May, 2007, Haverhill, MA  — He could have yelled for help. Or maybe he could have panicked and become frozen with fear. But instead, 11-year-old Matthew Currier kept a cool head and acted without hesitation to save the life of his little brother Nicholas.

Matthew has received the National Medal of Merit by the Boy Scouts of America for his act of courage.
  Full Story >>>

Scout Receives Prestigious Heroism Honor
By Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl  Lowell Sun Article  11/07/2007

WILMINGTON - It had long been a ritual for the Barry boys and their father to explore the sandbars off Plum Island during low tide. On July 16. 2006, Mike Barry ran down the beach and dove into the water. Almost immediately, he lost all feeling in his arms and legs.

"We don't know if things had shifted in the channel or if it was a tragic miscalculation," his mother, Kathy Barry, recalled yesterday. "Mike had missed the channel and dove straight into a sandbar." The 17-year-old Wilmington resident broke two vertebrae in his neck.

He managed to keep his head above water long enough to cry out for help. His 16-year-old brother Tom heard the yelp and swam over. Then, his Scout training kicked in. Tom dove down and brought his brother up by the shoulders, stabilizing him until his father could reach them. "The way he did it probably saved Mike's life, or at the very least his mobility," Barry said. "But Tom is very matter-of-fact about it. He doesn't act like he did anything huge."

The Scouts' National Court of Honor disagrees. The Yankee Clipper Council last night surprised Tom, now a Wilmington High School senior, with a Heroism Award at the Wilmington Congregational Church.
  Full Story >>>

December 2005 - As a member of the Boy Scouts of America 64 years ago, on October 25, 1941 he became an Eagle Scout; and

Whereas, as an Eagle Scout he has continued to serve his country and other people by following the principles of the Scout Oath and Law; and Whereas, he has achieved distinction as an inventor, scientist and entrepreneur; and ...

Whereas, he has given distinguished service to his community and nation as Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Analogic Corporation; Cofounder and President, Neuro-Logica Corporation; Member, National Academy of Engineering; Founder, Gordon Institute at Tufts University; Board of Directors, Cedara Software Corporation of Mississauga, Ontario; Chairman of the Board, Lahey Clinic Medical Center, Burlington, Massachusetts; Executive Board, Yankee Clipper Council, Boy Scouts of America; he has received the National Medal of Technology and the Benjamin Franklin Award; and having received numerous other awards and recognitions; and

  Full Story >>>

The Life Saving Heroism Award was presented by Fred Cummings to Keith Lucas Gagne, 17 from Lynn, Massachusetts.

This lifesaving award is given in recognition that this Boy Scout saved a life under circumstances that indicate heroism, skill and risk of his own life.  The award is issued by The Boy Scouts of America-National Court of Honor.

  
   

Raytheon Corporation Presents ScoutReach Grant

June 2005 - Recently Raytheon Corporation presented the Yankee Clipper Council with a $10,000 renewable grant to support Scoutreach programs in the city of Lawrence. Randy Larson explained; "The Boy Scouts have long been committed to bringing Scouting to inner cities. However, urban-based Scouting requires a stronger support base and partnership than Scouting programs in suburban and rural settings."

The council is currently working with Iglesia Evangelica Hispana and Centro De Adoracion, and through the Raytheon grant and our existing community partners, the council will recruit a Spanish-speaking staff member who will work with the council staff and community leaders to help build the support base necessary to establish a Scouting program within Lawrence’s Hispanic community.

  
   

Honor Medal with Crossed Palms Presented

June 2001 - James Webb of Beverly, MA, received the Honor Medal with Crossed Palms at the Yankee Clipper Council Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet Thursday evening.

Mr Webb received the award for demonstrating unusual heroism and extraordinary skill or
resourcefulness in saving or attempting to save life at extreme risk to self. This is the most prestigious heroism and meritorious action award bestowed by the National Court of Honor of the Boy Scouts of America.

Since the award was first established in 1938, fewer than 150 individuals have been honored with this award . Mr. Webb was critically injured by downed electric wires in October 2001 while trying to save the life of the victim of a car accident on Bridge Street in Beverly.
  Full Story >>>