Boy Scout Troop 91- (founded 1959)

The Bloomington Kiwanis sponsored troop has produced 15 Eagle Scouts since 1999, and currently has 6 Life Scouts (the rank before Eagle) set to start working on Eagle Projects. Troop 91 currently has 36 scouts, and 22 active adult volunteer leaders. We continue to meet at Oakdale Elementary weekly during the school year, and at Maxwell Park during the summer months. The troop has been designated a “Quality Troop” annually for at least the last ten years. Past Senior Patrol Leader Matt Wright, Eagle Scout, and president of the Junior Class at BHS, recently sang the National Anthem at the Distinguished Citizen Dinner in Peoria; a very proud moment for our troop. Byron Blotcky has been scoutmaster since 1999. Other past illustrious scoutmasters have been Steve Nelson, Larry Shapiro, Dan Wilcox, Forrest DeVore, and Wally Crouch.

Eagle projects: The most recent Eagle project was a rest area with benches and tables on an overlook at Merwin Nature Preserve near Lexington (Josh Davenport).

Troop 91 provided over 40 volunteers to help the Kiwanis club for Pancake Days 2005, several working all day. The troop’s help has been great, and is a relationship that is mutually beneficial – Kiwanis gets some needed helping hands for work projects, and the troop gets expanded opportunities for meaningful community service. The troop has also been the lead troop with Nicor Gas Community Volunteer Day for the last five years, and helped expand the event to all troops and packs in the area, which has really expanded the event. The last couple years the event has benefited house bound senior citizens through PATH in the Miller Park area, and other areas in town, with landscaping and spring clean up work. Bloomington Kiwanis has also been a big supporter and volunteer with this event. The troop has been involved in approximately 1000 hours of community service via assistance for the Friends of the Normal Public Library various book sales, the local MADD chapter, McLean County Parks and Rec, WGLT-FM (Blues festival event), the Red Cross, and Oakdale Elementary.

• Kiwanis organization representative - Wally Crouch
• Scoutmaster - Byron Blotcky
• Committee Chairman – Ron Sparrow
• Senior Patrol Leader – Chris Peterson
• Troop motto - "Gets the job done while having fun"

The troop is planning a high adventure trip to Cache Lake, in the Boundary Waters area in Canada this summer, and camps monthly through the year.

For more information on Troop 91 contact Byron Blotcky at 309-823-7251 or visit their website at http://crossroads.wdboyce.org/~troop91c/