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05/17/2017 08:30 AMIt started when her son, Joseph, was in first grade and came home with a flyer for Cub Scouts. Now, Stephanie Inzero is very involved with the Boy Scouts of America organization, and wants to show the positive values and experiences scouting can give to kids.
“We’re all very together, we get along great, these kids call each other brothers, and it’s a good feeling,” Stephanie says.
When her son joined the Cub Scouts as a tiger scout, Stephanie became a den mom for the group. As her son continued to progress through the ranks, so did Stephanie. She became the Wolf Den leader, which she had to go to training for, when her son got to that level.
“The next thing you know, you’re all in,” she says.
Stephanie’s roles currently include being cubmaster and committee chair for Troop 408 based in East Haven, and she is vice-chair of membership for the scouts’ Connecticut Yankee Council.
“I cover scouting from East Haven all the way up to Madison,” she says, “So I’m not just responsible for the scouts in my own unit.”
She recently held a recruiting event at the Connecticut Sportsplex in North Branford, and recruited scouts not only for her own group in East Haven, but for neighboring towns as well.
There have been some challenges that Stephanie has faced during her time with the scouts. Her troop had lost its previous meeting place, the Foxon Recreation League Community Center, after it was closed down.
Stephanie reached out to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Portia Bonner, who allowed them to use the high school for meetings and activities. The Foxon Recreation League and Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr., were eventually able to secure the troop space in the old Hays School on Maple Street.
“The Foxon Rec League gave us our own room to decorate however we wanted, and it’s cool,” she says.
She also recalled a time when she first became committee chair. There were only two scouts, one being her son, in the troop at the time. She went on a “recruiting tear” and built up the numbers in the group.
“Now we are 10 boys strong, with a cub pack,” Stephanie says, “And we’re getting our name out there as much as I can.”
Her daughter, Kyla, is also involved in scouting. She is a Girl Scout member, in addition to being a part of a Venture Crew, a coed program Boy Scouts of America offers, in Branford. In addition to her other roles, she is also the leader of her daughter’s Venture Crew.
“It’s all high adventure—rock climbing, shooting, archery,” Stephanie says, “You name it, they do it, and these kids are fearless.”
If all of that wasn’t enough, Stephanie also runs her own cleaning business. Stephanie says it’s the kids who make all the effort worthwhile.
“I know that I’m helping the kids in this town,” she says, “I see it on their parent’s faces, I see their faces light up when I walk in the room and how proud they are to show me what they’ve accomplished in their different ranks.”
Stephanie says that her scout troop has a great relationship with many people, groups, and organizations in town, among them Owen Little, the town’s animal control officer.
“We bring these boys down [to the animal shelter] every spring and summer to make sure they’re cleaning up the yard, we installed the flagpole down there a couple of summers ago, the older boys will play with the dogs and get them to socialize with kids,” she says.
Another good relationship the group has is with the East Haven Fire Department’s Foxon Company No. 3. The pack plans to clean the Fireman’s Memorial in time for the upcoming parade.
“We participate in their parade on Memorial Day,” Stephanie says, “They march from the fire hall over to this memorial, so it’ll be nice and cleaned up and we’ll plant some fresh flowers for them, just as a way to show our appreciation for everything they do for us.”
Stephanie even dedicates her vacation time to scouts. She’ll take the kids to places like Camp Sequassen in New Hartford.
Stephanie says that all of her friends are leaders in the group, and that makes the scouts feel more like family than just friends.
“If we are not at scouts, we are at each other’s houses, watching each other’s kids. Our kids all play together, we barbecue together, we camp together,” she says, “It’s not just a scouting unit, this is a family.”
Anyone interested in joining scouts can call Stephanie at 203-809-6265 or email her at stephanie06512@aol.com.