Den leader Pat Bott dressed in her uniform was at Wolf Den meeting on Wednesday Nov. 1, 2023.
BRIGHAM CITY – Pat Bott, 75, of Brigham City has been helping young boys in her community as a Cub Scout leader for 44 years. Over the years she has interacted with hundreds of boys and taught them how to make friends, be helpful, and try their best no matter what the outcome.
“I’m the Cubmaster and den leader for the Wolf’s,” she said. “There are about 30 Cub Scouts in our Pack. I also try to do advancement for the Boy Scout troop.”
The Boy Scout Troup 589 has about 26 boys enrolled, and there is a girls troop with only three girls enrolled.
“The girl’s troop meets separately from the boys,” Bott said. “The boys meet Thursday and from 6:30 p.m. to about 8 p.m. We could use more girls.”
The Cub Scout’s Pack number is also 589, they all meet at the Boys and Girls Club at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. There are separate areas for the five different groups to do their activities.
“I am in charge of the monthly pack meeting and all the awards,” she said. “I’ve been doing scouting for a lot of years.”
Bott and her husband Dave started with one of her boys who was struggling so they got involved in the program to help him. Dave passed away seven years ago and she stuck with it.
“I had a boy that was in trouble and that’s when we started doing Cub Scouts,” she said. “We saw the benefits the program could offer boys and we just kept going.”
Bott said if she could just help just improve the life of one boy over the years her efforts would have been worth it.
“If I can help other boys that need help – hard to handle and hard to deal with – I feel like what I am doing is worthwhile,” Bott said. “My husband and I also worked at the council camps at Bartlett and Hunt.”
They did a fund raiser recently and the thing about community is they are willing to help. They are collecting for their charter status. It cost $86 per boy for a year unless they are new, then they pay an extra $25. Each boy has $10 a month dues.
“I love the values and the things scouting teaches kids that improves their lives,” Bott said.
Alan Endicott, the Crossroads of the West Council scout executive, said Bott is a wonderful lady.
“She cares about the kids she works with,” he said. “We within the scouting world think a lot of Pat. She is a good lady.”
Endicott said there are older people that work with scouts, and she is a well-known individual in scouting circles both in Cache Valley and Box Elder County.
Endicott said the scouting organization is strong and it is growing.
“Speaking generally, the units are larger today than they were before. Most of the troops have 20 plus kids,” he said. “They are financially strong. They can do fundraisers and they are very active with monthly campouts and pack meetings.”
He said scouting is stronger than ever. The Crossroads of the West Council includes Utah, Idaho, and parts of Wyoming. They have 19 scout camps and they operated 14 this past summer.