TUPIN SCOUTING OUT NEW FRONTIERS

When Tom Turpin leaves his position with the Boy Scouts at the start of next month as district executive for five area counties, he said he'll be taking his entire scouting program with him.

Of course he's leaving the scouts themselves behind.

"I have the same exact scouting program from here that I'm taking with me to St. Louis," Turpin said.

Turpin will be trying to replicate some of his success after three years as head of the Boy Scout's Shawnee District, which encompasses Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, an Perry counties and the northern portions of Scott and Stoddard counties.

He'll be doing it on a much different landscape than the Bootheel. The area Turpin will be supervising includes Clayton, Creve Couer, Normandy, and University City in St. Louis County.

Along with the diverse communities come increased responsibilities. Instead of supervising activities for 2,000 children and 500 adults here, Turpin will have about 1,000 adults and 4,000 children in St. Louis.

"It's going to be a real challenge," he said.

Turpin's background in scouting isn't as extensive as many of his colleagues. His mother hosted his cub scout den, but after he turned 14, he stopped regular participation.

It wasn't until 1994 that Turpin's involvement became full-time. While completing a master's degree in education at Southern Illinois University, he was asked to take charge of the Pine Ridge Scout Reservation.

It turned out to be a good decision, he said.

"I wanted to work in a field where I'd have the opportunity to watch and help youth grow," he said.

Since he came to Cape Girardeau in 1996, his job has consisted of organizing the children's different units, seeking volunteers to supervise and fund raising.

"This has been a great community for volunteers," Turpin said.

He credits volunteer work for getting cub scout packs up and running in rural areas, such as Oak Ridge and Zalma. With the help of local management at Lowes home improvement store, the scouts were able to organize an explorer post with the Red Cross to teach emergency management principles for disasters, he said.

Drury Southwest has also made it easier for Turpin, providing billboard advertising space at practically no cost, he said.

Gestures like these has made it possible to make scouting available to a wider group of children from different economic backgrounds, he said.

This is helpful, Turpin said, since some carry the perception that scouting is for the well-to-do.

"We have bank presidents and others like them involved, and some think it's for that class of people," Turpin said. "But really I think it shows how scouting can help you achieve goals."

When children meet their own goals, Turpin said he knows he has achieved his own.

"The best part of my work is seeing the outcomes and benefits," he said. "It's great to have kids come back and tell you what they've done."