Pictured left to right: Owen Markus, Eric Gordon, Brain Coletta, Diego Murillo, Ryan Ferrer, Jack Onufer, Nick Christian, Matthew Mota (not pictured)
Dunellen American Legion Post 119 is the proud sponsor of Boy Scout Troop 119, Venturing Crew 119, and Girl Scout Troop 876. The scouts, of whom many are children or grandchildren of veterans, are honored to be part of the Legionnaire family and work together to support our community, schools, and veterans.
Every year, our scouts visit the Menlo Park Veterans Home, volunteering for BBQs, Bingo and the Christmas party. On Memorial Day weekend, they will place flags on the grave sites of those who served our country and will march in Dunellen’s Memorial Day parade. In June, the Scouts will join Post 119, for a few days of “fun in the sun” at NJ American Legion Convention in Wildwood and march in the 2 ½ mile parade side by side with our honored veterans.
The scouts, who have completed many community service projects over the years, are most proud of their Beautification Projects to improve the Post’s grounds and buildings. The Girl Scouts broke ground in May by cleaning up, weeding, planting flowers, shrubbery, and laying mulch. At the same time, the Boy Scouts repainted the Sherman M5 tank and flag pole which sits prominently in front of the Post. Other projects are in the works!
Our scouts have an extremely busy year! Our program offers one camping trip a month and many outdoor activities, such as hiking, geocaching, climbing or just sitting around a campfire during our meeting observing the evening sky. Over the past three years, Scoutmaster Mike Markus and ASM Geoff Onufer have guided our boy led troop to placing at First Aid Meets, Klondike’s and Camporee events. These young scouts are also fortunate to have amongst their leadership, two Eagle Scouts, Zach Jaglowski (Trp. 127) and Rian Markus (Trp. 119) who, when home from college, mentor these young men to the rank of Eagle.
Our Senior Patrol Leader Owen Markus and Asst. Senior Patrol Leader Eric Gordon are Life Scouts, who also serve as a Troop Guide and Instructor, working exclusively with first year scouts. Since we are small troop, many of our scout wears two hats, which they are very proud of! Diego Murillo (Patrol Leader), Jack Onufer (APL/Historian), Nick Christian (Scribe/Grubmaster), Brian Coletta (Webmaster /Quartermaster), Matt Motta (Librarian) and Ryan Ferrer (Chaplain Aide). We are also proud of our two Den Chiefs, Brian Coletta and Eric Gordon, who work with a Cub Scout Den.
To highlight our year, in the fall, we attended the prestigious West Point Orienteering program, where the scout ran courses designed by the Orienteering Team. During the winter months, we camped at Camp Glen Gray, and participated in the Patriot Path, Raritan Valley District’s First Aid Meet and Klondike competitions. Throughout the year, we camped at Camp Glen Gray, where we participated in Pioneering, Outdoor Cooking, Scout Skills, and Merit Badge events. We were invited to West Point Scoutmaster Camporee in May, which we attended along with over 7,000 scouts from the east coast. Next up, the highlight of every scout’s year – summer camp in July! In August, the scouts will hold a PLC Campout, which consists of leadership training and planning another exciting adventurous year of scouting!
Our doors are always open, if you interested in our Scouting program, please drop by for a visit. Troop 119 meets every Wednesday 7: 30 -9 pm, at the American Legion Post 119. If you want more details about our program, please contact: SM Mike Markus 732-227-7212 or ASM Geoff Onufer 908-507-0558
If you are interested in renting the American Legion Post 119 Halls for your next event, to become a member, or for information on the Post’s next event please call 732-968-9899
