Simpson Creek Baptist Church has been our Chartered Organization since April 1966. There is much more info about our CO
at the Links Section of our menu on left.

• Our first Scoutmaster was James Kelley
• Dr. Walter Williamson Jr took over as SM in 1969
• Joseph Gray took over as SM in 1971
• Faris Coffindaffer took over in 1975
• Henry Hatfield took over in 1977
• Eugene Decker took over in 1980
• David Morrison took over jn 1983
• Vaughn Ritter took over in 1987
• Manuel Alvarez III took over in 1991
• Mark Carder took over in 2001
• Dave Brewer took over in 2002

My scouting life started in the mid 70s with Troop 40. We met at the same church that Troop 40 meets at today, only it was in the basement of the original building. My Scoutmaster was and still is (at least in my mind) Mr. Bud Coffindafer. I have a tremendous amount of respect for this man. He was a leader of leaders. He was full of discipline but yet calm. He was energetic but reserved. I have to think some of the traits I have acquired are a direct result of his leadership. Being in the scouts is not the same as other youth organizations, Being a scout is a way of life, not just a club to have fun in. The skills I learned as a youth have equipped me to be able to tackle situations with confidence. One time on a backpack trip in Otter Creek we had crossed the stream four times on Saturday. We had one more crossing to go on Sunday morning to go back to the vehicles. Saturday night it came a heavy rain that lasted most of the night. By the morning the small stream had become a raging river. He taught us to be prepared and have a plan. Thru his leadership he allowed the troop to secure a rope and wade the waist-high water to the other side. Once the line was stretched across the stream, each scout crossed one at a time. Picture this: an entire troop stripped to underwear crossing a swollen stream. I hope everyone there that day learned what I did. Be prepared and be confident and sure of yourself. Or how about that first campout I went on; to light of a sleeping bag, no pad, and no raincoat. Well guess what; it was cold, rocky, and rained all weekend. He did not allow me to freeze or get to cold; but he did allow me to learn from my mistakes of being unprepared. (not much sleep that weekend) My assistant scoutmaster was Mr. Glen Burr. I owe it to him for introducing me to one of my favorite hobbies. On the campout on Seneca Creek at Whites Run he worked with me all Saturday afternoon trying to learn to fly fish. Finally by the evening, I was able to land a small native brook trout on a fly rod. Since that day I have caught many trout but there is not a day goes by that I fish that I don't think about that first one. Thank you Mr Burr. I will talk about one more campout which was Klondike in approximately 1974 or 75. We slept out in tents with no floor in them with temperatures at 18 below zero. Some would say that is crazy but I beg to differ. You go prepared mentally, physically, and with the proper gear. My scoutmaster seen to it we did that and we survived in good fashion. I am not going to say anyone got to hot but no one had frostbite. Thank you Mr Coffindafer for allowing us to have confidence in ourselves. If you would have sent us inside or taken us home we would never have had the experience to cherish the rest of our life. After talking about my life as a scout, I turn my thoughts to now and today. Troop 40 I feel is the greatest troop of all. Not just because of my past with them but now it is my sons troop also. I am sure he does not see all the little things that take place in order to do an outing but some day he will also be able to look back at his leaders in much the same way as I do now. How lucky we are to have leaders such as we have that are willing to spend time and energy to make this troop work! I urge you to keep up the good work. It does pay off and is worthwhile in the long run. Don't second guess the ambition or stamina of the boys. I urge you to not become passive or hold back on the troops adventures. You are in a great position to help mold these young men into outstanding adult leaders and citizens of good character. Some of the most memorial outings won't be the ones with perfect weather or ones that take place without a hitch. The trips that stay in the troops mind are the ones that are difficult, inconvienent, or require extra effort; for the simple reason of thats the ones they learn on. Once again I would like to express my graditude to Troop 40's past and present Scoutmasters and assistant scoutmasters and all the adults that work spending countless hours to make this troop operate. Yours in scouting, Brian Hatfield