Jump to content

We're losing our Scout Exec to Capital Area in Austin


Recommended Posts

JT Dabbs has served Pine Tree Council for several years and has accepted the SE position with Capital Area Council in Austin, TX effective July 1.

 

He's been one of the better execs we've had in a while. Good luck to him. They've already got an "Ask JT" section on the CAC website, so I had to rub it into him. We'll see if he responds. My Q's:

 

So, where the Maine Winters too much for you? ;) (He's originally from Alabama and had not been through a "real" winter until he moved here to the Maine Wilderness.)

Since you won't need it in Austin, can I have your snowblower? ;)

 

 

Of course, I proceeded to wish him luck in his new position and told him he only needs to drive to Dallas if he craves that "Maine Experience" known as Moxie, as there is one shop in Dallas that sells it.

 

 

Search hasn't started for his replacement up here in the Maine Wilderness, but the council board hopes to have a new exec in place before fall.

 

We'll see.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Moxie, let me point out that it's "Capitol" Area, here in Austin. The National "Capital" Area is in Washington D.C. A common mistake! Anyway, I'm glad to hear that our new SE is a good fellow. Let me know of any inside jokes we can kid him with...~!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Trevorum: Capitol...capital...it's all the same when there are politicians involved. ;)

 

I did not know him that well. We have met a few times. He's not a sit-behind the desk kind of guy. He's out and about. He was one of the first SE's we've had in a while who was willing to travel to our neck of the woods a good 2 hours north of the service center, though I don't think he ever made it up to the north end of our district on the Canadian border another 2 hours north of where I'm at (completely by back roads). When I see our DE next weekend, I'll see if there is any 'skinny' on JT I can pass on.

Link to post
Share on other sites

We are also losing our DE here in twin rivers district of WCFC maybe it is because our whole council has been left off the Florida roster here at Scouter.com. Actually it is because he has posted the best numbers in the southern region he having "milked us for all we are worth" is moving to be closer to his aging parents in another Florida council. We will stumble along without him and hopefully open a door for one of my friends who though he is short in some of his qualifications has a big spot in his heart for scouting.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Trevorum: I am an avid patch collector, but I don't take it as seriously as the 'baseball card types', for I 'desecrate' mine by sewing them onto patch blankets. Yes, I have been chewed out for this in the past by a few who take it way too seriously. My collection of roughly 2,000 patches and growing (from around the world) is worth over $10K as is and would probably be worth a lot more if I had kept them in sleeves and never 'raped' them with thread and needle. But what would be the point then? I wouldn't be able to easily display and share my collection with others if I hid them in plastic sleeves rather then sew'em on blankets...but that's another topic for another time in a different area within these forums. :)

 

 

eagle90, this past SE was the first one we've had in the past decade that last more then a year. SE's like the ones you'd like to send us don't last very long up here. We're a LARGE, RURAL, SPARSELY populated council. People don't realize how big Maine is. Maps of Maine are depicted on a smaller scale in most travel atlas then other similar-size states. Why? 'Cause there's hardly anything up here--why waste all that paper. :) We're probably one of the few states east of the Mississippi River where distances are still measured in hours rather than miles. (chuckle)

 

Yet, we're the smaller of the two councils in Maine. Pine Tree Council only occupies the southwestern third of the state. My district alone (three counties in size) occupies an area larger then two of the other five New England states (CT & RI--provided just my county is larger then RI and it's the smallest of the three counties in the district).

 

So, if you want to send us some of those SE's, we'll gladly chew them up, spit them out and take another...and another, provided they don't go running and screaming in the other direction the moment they hear they're being 'exiled' to Maine. :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

So, um... Moxie ... got any patches you want to trade? :) (a collector never lets an opportunity like this slip by!) I'm light on Maine ...

 

I tell ya, there will come a time that JT fondly remembers Maine (the state, that is). Probably later this summer when the high temp will hover above 100 for weeks on end.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I tell ya, there will come a time that JT fondly remembers Maine (the state, that is). Probably later this summer when the high temp will hover above 100 for weeks on end.

 

JT was born and raised in Alabama. Give him more credit when it comes to East Texas Heat/humidity. He'll probably be able to handle it as he's probably got a set of gills in addition to lungs. :)

 

No, if he really wanted to be tormented, he would have had to move to South Plains Council over in Lubbock where I lived in "exile from Maine" for 30 months while in graduate school. "Dry" followed by Humid followed by Dry followed by humid (repeat ad nausea) for at least a month with day time temps at least 100 if not 110 and night time 'lows' in the mid-90's. When it's dry, you get dust storms (and the resulting dust-damaged paint car sales at the dealerships) and when it's humid you get T-storms that dump 6 inches of rain at a time and flood the city, if you're lucky. If you're not lucky you get golf ball to softball size hail with those 6 inches of rain. And within an hour or so of the downpour, it's just as hot as if it hadn't rained at all.

 

Never got down Austin way, but I'm sure you have some idea how flat the Lubbock area is. Brings a whole new meaning to our local term for tourists: Flatlandah. Lubbuck is roughly 15 miles across from east to west. Elevation change over those 15 miles is three feet. (seriously)

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Well, talked to our DE this past weekend at our 2nd Ordeal of the spring. Now we're losing our DE. He got promoted this past week to Council Field Director. He'll fill in as DE for the rest of the summer (until a new Scout Exec comes on board, then they'll advertise and fill the DE position).

 

Anyway, he knows of no "in-jokes" as far as JT is concerned.

 

However, JT loves BBQ (not the 'sissy-style' grilling we do up this way, but slow-cooking BBQ) and he's a Star Trek Fan.

 

Have fun with that and if/when you meet him, ask him if he brought his snowblower to Austin with him just in case. :)

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...

I worked in the Capitol Area Council for 3 1/2 years as a D.E. and loved it (except for the awful South Texas Humid Heat). They have come so far in their camping program over the past 10 years.

 

I understand the new SE is a published author of Edible Wild Plant books.

 

Frankly, I have a real hard time imagining why anyone would want to leave the awesome summer temperatures of Maine for a Texas summer. Although the summer of 2007 has been anything but typical. Parts of the Capitol Area Council has been hit with floods (Marble Falls & the Hill Country expecially).

 

There are many wonderful people down there in that council both among the professional staff and the volunteers.

 

"Big Ed" Henderson

CAC D.E. for Pioneer & Green Dickson Districts 2002 - 2005

 

Now the Webmaster here at SCOUTER.com

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ayuh, I got the word this past Wednesday. Pine Tree Council's new SE is Tony Rogers, moving up heeya from Pennsylvania. Anyone got the 'skinny' on him?

 

We also are "losing" our district's DE. He's getting promoted to Field Director. Good for him....not so good for us. At least they're not sending us a greenhorn to replace him. We're "stealing" a seasoned DE from the next district over.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...