Niagara County

Area scouts showed their colors and displayed true Boy Scout pride last night for the "BoyPower Distinguished Citizens" dinner at Genesee Community College.

These young men and their leaders are members of Iroquois Council Trail, Inc., the Boy Scouts of America council serving Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming, Livingston and Niagara counties. Every year, they honor one outstanding community member from each county.

Betty Lapp was the 2012 Distinguished Citizen for Genesee County. Lapp is the former director of GCC's Nursing program. She retired in 2005, and has been a "professional volunteer" ever since.

Originally from Ohio, Lapp has an impressive track record as a Geneseean:

• Board Chairperson of United Memorial Medical Center
• Board Chairperson of Genesee Valley Educational Partnership (formerly BOCES)
• Regional Action Phone
• Family Counseling Services
• Parent Teacher Association
• Cub Scouts
• Genesee County Department of Health
• Genesee County Mental Health Services

Her service to the wider region includes membership in the following organizations:

• Lake Plains Community Care Network
• WNY Rural Area Health Education Center
• Genesee Valley School Boards Association

Other recipients were:

James Culbertson, Livingston County

David Bellavia, Orleans County (Bellavia currently lives in Batavia, but is originally from Lyndonville)

MORE after the jump (click on the headline to read more):

Mitchell McLaughlin, Wyoming County

Ken Kaufman and Michelle Farina, Niagara County

According to Roger Triftshauser, DDS, BoyPower Dinner chairman and master of ceremonies, these are people who have "gone over and above in service of the common good."

Click here for a list of past recipients.

The featured guest speaker was Vice Admiral Dirk J. Debbink, chief of the Navy Reserve. He spoke of his days as a Boy Scout and of what the Scouts taught him about preparedness, leadership, teamwork, self-reliance, and the "power of an oath."

Triftshauser announced that he would be paying for two Boy Scouts to attend this year's summer camp in honor of Debbink. He chose to do this in lieu of giving Debbink a personal gift, for which he knew he would receive a check in return.

Additional photos:

Scout Executive James McMullan

Photo courtesy of Kevin Carlson

Silent auction items:

Pictured: two Boy Scout troupes from the Iroquois Trail Council (ITS), which covers Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston, Orleans and Niagara counties.

This band of 36 youths -- ages 13 to 17 -- are going to Fort A.P. Hill, Va., for the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree, which takes place from July 26 until Aug. 4. Fort (Ambrose Powell) Hill, named after a Confederate general, is an active-duty Army installation near the town of Bowling Green.

The Jamboree normally takes place every four years; this time, however, there was a five-year interim so it would coincide with the 100th anniversary celebration of Boy Scouts of America.

The boys will be accompanied by two adult Scoutmasters -- Guye Smith, of Lima, and Jim Yencer, of Avon, and two youth assistant Scoutmasters (one of whom is from Alexander), making a total of 40 area scouts attending this national event.

Planning for this trip started about two years ago, according to Smith. Since then, the boys have worked very hard to raise money in order to cover the cost.

"Some of them raised every penny (that they needed to pay their individual fares)," Smith said. "That's part of the scout way -- to pay your own way."

The ITS scouts raised money by doing two bike-a-thons, one in July 2009 and the other in October 2009.

The boys biked all the way from Lockport to Brockport -- with an overnight stay in Albion for the first one -- and then from Holley to Macedon all in one day for the second.

The troupes are leaving by bus today. Yencer said they will spend Saturday in Philadelphia, then take the U.S.S. New Jersey (a retired navy vessel) to Aberdeen, Md., to visit the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum on Sunday morning. From there, they proceed to Fort A.P. Hill.

While attending the Jamboree, the boys will be treated to a wide variety of activities such as air-rifle shooting, scuba diving, canoeing, archery and a 5K run; there will also be a musical group performing at the "arena show" (which will be broadcast online) on Saturday, July 31, and if tradition is kept, they may also get a visit from President Barack Obama.

Not only is this Jamboree historic because it is being held during the scouts' centennial, it is also the last one to be held in Fort A.P. Hill (where it has taken place since 1981).

For more information on the Jamboree, please visit www.bsajamboree.org.

For more information on the ITC, visit www.itcbsa.org/Joomla/index.php.

Photo courtesy of Jim Yencer