John Weidler

This past Saturday Troop 220 arrived home from 10 days(I know it is technically 9 days, but I'm an old-timer) at the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation. If an army travels on its stomach, a scout troop travels on its checkbook. For the past 28 "10 days" one man, John Weider, has taken care to see that that checkbook is sufficient for Troop 220.
In August of 1982, Barry Morris, the new troop committee chairman, recruited John to replace the current treasurer, Sid Pulse, who was resigning from that position. John willingly stepped up. His boy Jeff had transferred to 220 within the past year and John was fairly new to scouting. Jeff earned his Eagle Scout and became a Tom-tom Beater in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say, before moving on from the troop, but John continued in his position.
For the past 28 years from that date, John has served as the treasurer for Troop 220. He has worked with 5 committee chairmen, 4 scoutmasters and countless senior patrol leaders. He collects the dues from the boys, keeps camp fees and fundraising income organized and keeps the committee aware of the financial state of Troop 220. During his tenure, John was saddened by the passing of his wife Judy in September of 2002. This did not deter him from his dedication to the boys and adults of Troop 220.
Through his tenure he has also seen his son Jeff Weidler and daughter Jackie Ballard grow to adulthood; Jeff, working as a manager at Home Depot and Jackie a special education administrator for the Hickman Mills School District.
In addition to his service to scouting, John, just like many in Lee's Summit, has also been active in his church. In 1999 the Weiders became one of the founding families of Saint Margaret's Catholic Church in Lee's Summit. For about the first 5 years, John would drive a trailer full of church artifacts to Prairie View Elementary for the 8 am and 10 am mass on Sundays.
At a Court of Honor in 2008, John was recognized for serving 25 years in his position. He continues to be the person who has served the longest in any troop or pack job for 220. By continuing to serve, he is not going to make that record any easier to break and I would not want him to. John is like many of the leaders of Troop 220, he is reliable and he makes the extra effort to serve. Scouting has become a major part of his life and I'm sure he cannot imagine doing anything else in his spare time. According to his son Jeff, although John was not a scout as a boy, he truly enjoys his time in scouting and appreciates the values it instills in the boys.
As I share stories with fellow scouters about recruiting and training volunteers, I hear the common theme of "how do you get volunteers to commit time to scouting." I would tell them it is very simple. Just recruit a John Weidler.
Warrior Watchful Quiet Stalking Bear, thank you for your service to Troop 220 and to Scouting.

IYDYW