Boy Scout Troop 715 held its annual Winter Awards Banquet Dec. 9 with 129 merit badges and six Eagle Palm Leafs earned by the group, plus 14 Scouts advanced in rank. Several of the merit badges were earned on the summer trip to Yellowstone National Park. The staff of Raccoon Run Golf Course helped with the golf merit badge. Members of Kosco Gun Club assisted with the shotgun merit badge. Warsaw Detective Joe Hawn helped with the rifle merit badge, and several adult 715 leaders taught other merit badges. Fourteen Scouts attended the Dec. 16 Warsaw City Council meeting as part of the citizenship in the community merit badge. The banquet was held at the Trinity United Methodist Church on Center Street, where the troop meets each Monday evening. The families provided a carry-in dinner and the awards ceremony was held upstairs in the sanctuary. Senior Patrol Leader Chase Madsen was the master of ceremonies, while Scoutmaster Dick McCleary and Troop Advancement Chairman Scott McClintock presented the awards. Following the awards, Jean Bibler, representing the Bibler Foundation, presented the troop with a check to aid the troop’s general fund. Next summer, members of Troop 715 are planning on hiking the Grand Canyon from “rim to rim.”
