Malverne Salutes Its Boy Scouts

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, the Malverne Board of Trustees honored the village's troop on Nov. 3 for its impressive record of service to its young people and the rest of the community.

Since its creation in 1958, Malverne's Troop #24 has had over 3,000 scout members and in the past 30 years, it has turned out 30 Eagle Scouts.

"I recently overheard someone say that you don't see many Eagle Scouts anymore," said Malverne Mayor Patricia Norris-McDonald. "But I jumped right in and said that's not true in Malverne."

During the November monthly meeting of the village's board of trustees, Mayor Norris-McDonald, presented a citation to the troop's scout master, Joe Resch, his assistant scout master, Tom Salmon, and scouts Matthew Bifulco, Phil Incontro and James Palmer. Bifulco is a Star Scout, and Incontro and Palmer are both Life Scouts.

Palmer watched his brother achieve the Eagle Scout rank in 2009 and Bifulco's older siblings also achieved this honor. Christopher Bifulco became the latest member of Troop #24 to join the ranks of the Eagle Scouts earlier this year, and the oldest Bifulco brother, Jonathan earned this prestigious title in 2004.

"Troop 24 is one of the most cherished experiences from my childhood," Jonathan Bifulco recalled. "Looking back now, I see that it not only taught me the obvious staples of scouting such as camping and first aid, but it also played a huge part in my personal development." 

He added,"The leaders imparted me with good values and respect for others and...myself, Bifulco added. "These values translated into helping me navigate life as a teenager and also as an adult." 

He attributed his Eagle Scout award to the great leadership of the scout masters and the older scouts that came before him who helped him work toward this goal. The complete Eagle Scouts Honor Roll for Troop #24 can be viewed here.

Since its inception in 1910, Boy Scouts of America has served over 114 million young people, but only about 2,000 scouts have earned the Eagle Scout award. On the national level, enrollment in BSA has declined. In 1999, there were nearly 3.5 million scouts. A decade later, this number has dropped to just under 2.8 million.

John Aresta, of Malverne, said Troop #24 had a positive impact on his son, James, who became an Eagle Scout in 2009 during his senior year of high school. 

"It taught him leadership, self reliance and it was very good at helping him get into college," said Aresta, whose son is currently attending SUNY Binghamton.  "This is something he'll be able to carry with him for the rest of his life."

Aresta, whose son first became involved with the program as a Cub Scout, said he believes Malverne has one of the best scouting programs around. He credits the program's success to its scout master, Joe Resch, and his fellow troop leaders.

"They're all great role models," Aresta said. "They have a lot of respect for the kids and in turn, the kids have a lot of respect for them."

If you'd like your child to join the ranks of Troop #24, fill out the contact form here. The troop meets Tuesdays at Our Lady of Lourdes Church Hall from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. (with the exception of the last Tuesday of the month, when the room is reserved for committee meetings.)