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PHOTO: Gearry “Smiley” Judkins, Scoutmaster of Troop 546 in Farmington, received the District Award of Merit during the Klondike Derby at Camp Bomazeen. (Mike Labbe, Pine Tree Council commissioner, photo)
BELGRADE – Gearry “Smiley” Judkins, Scoutmaster of Farmington Troop 546, received the District Award of Merit for his devotion to the youth of Maine.
The award was presented during the Klondike Derby, held at Camp Bomazeen Jan. 21.
Judkins, “has been a great asset to the Scouting program in Kennebec Valley,” Travis Robinson wrote in his nomination of Judkins for the award. While the nomination was made in 2020, the presentation was delayed by the pandemic and scheduling issues.
A crowd of more than 100 Cubs, Scouts and leaders, including members of his troop, cheered from Bomazeen’s snow-laden fields as Judkins received his long-overdue recognition.
Robinson, former Kennebec Valley District commissioner, praised Judkins for his devotion to Camp Bomazeen, which he began attending as a camper in the late 1980s, and later worked there as a counselor in training in 1992. In recent years he has worked as provisional scoutmaster at Bomazeen, st ensuring all Scouts have a great experience.
Judkins, addressed the Scouts from outside McCurdy Cabin near the shore of Great Pond, said he joined Troop 274 in Boothbay under Paul Gooch, who died last year. “Paul was a great man and if I can become half the man Paul was in life that is saying something,” he said.
Judkins continued in Scouting for so many years because of the leadership and inspiration Gooch gave him when he was a Scout. Gooch was also the person who gave Judkins the nickname “Smiley” when he was a Scout in Troop 274.
The District Award of Merit is the highest award a local Scouting district can bestow upon a volunteer Scout leader. Nominees must be registered Scouters; have given “noteworthy service to youth,” either inside or outside of Scouting—or both; have gone beyond the duties of their volunteer position; and maintain a positive attitude and work in cooperation with the district and council.
Tammy Smith, of Winthrop, a member of the Pine Tree Council Executive Board and the Kennebec Valley District Committee, said, Judkins “Lives the quote from Baden Powell ‘a scout smiles and whistles under any circumstance.’ His positive attitude is infectious, making him a joy to be around whether at his Farmington troop, Kennebec Valley District activities or at Camp Bomazeen.”
