Brick Man On A Mission To Build Up Eagle-Rich Boy Scout Troop

BRICK, NJ — For the last several years, Boy Scout Troop 33 in Brick has had a number of young men achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.

And with those Scouts reaching Eagle status, the troop finds itself in something of a dilemma: Its ranks have been depleted, so much so that it is in danger of losing its charter.

Richard Dlugosz is working to change that.

He has been involved with Troop 33 for several years, while his son Dominic worked on his quest for Eagle, which Dominic just achieved. But when it became apparent that the troop was in danger of ceasing to exist, Dlugosz said his son asked him to step in.

"He asked me, 'Dad, can you save the troop?' " said Dlugosz, the new Scoutmaster.

So that's what he's trying to do. The troop currently has four active members, and Dlugosz said some of the recent Eagle Scouts come to help and provide support. One of the four members is about to start his Eagle project.

So they're looking to bring in boys who want to take part in Boy Scouts. They can be boys who were Cub Scouts and were looking to move to the next level of scouting, or they can be teens who've never been in Scouting but want to join the program.

Taking on the troop and trying to keep it going isn't a huge leap for Dlugosz; scouting is a big part of his family. His father was a scout and his grandfather was heavily involved with scouting and was part of the committee involved in a land deal that led to the establishment of the Quail Hill Scout Reservation in Manalapan and of Camp Sacajawea, the Girl Scout camp in Farmingdale.

In addition, Dlugosz's wife, Heather, is a Girl Scout leader and earned the Gold Award, Girl Scouts' highest honor, as did their daughter, Elizabeth. Their younger daughter, Anna, has earned the Silver Award and is working on her Gold Award.

Dlugosz said the program is open to kids whether they want to become an Eagle Scout or not.

"(Eagle Scout is) quite an achievement but scouting is about learning to be able to survive for on your own and about becoming a leader," he said.

Leadership is one of the biggest things Troop 33 works to teach, operating as a scout-led troop, where the boys come up with ideas of things they want to do and the adults help them work out the details, whether it's a sleepover at the Franklin Institute, which the group is doing soon, or embarking on a fire safety lesson prompted by a discussion of the bush fires in Australia.

The troop meets at St. Paul's, which offers them meeting space for weekly meetings, full kitchen use, and a sanctuary for ceremonies.

"We have a 15-foot troop trailer filled with our camping equipment ready with tents, chuck boxes, cooking equipment, turkey fryers, dutch ovens," he said. "We have garage and shed storage available to us as well. The church allows us to use the outdoor BBQ facility, camp on the grounds and hold family holiday feasts. They also grant us use of their passenger van for outings and trips."

"We're just looking to grow and help other families," he said.

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