Photograph by George Sakkestad
Ehmann, who missed the rank of eagle by a few merit badges, encourages his scouts to take the lead in running the troop. Here he watches as Terry Castelli and Chris Anderson carry out an exercise in first aid.
By MICHELLE KU
As the old saying goes, "Once a Boy Scout, always a Boy Scout." That's what Norm Ehmann is--a Boy Scout to the core.
In one way or another, Ehmann, 72, has been involved in the organization for most of his adult life.
He was a Boy Scout as a teenager, had three sons who earned the rank of eagle scout (the highest rank a Boy Scout can earn), was the scoutmaster of Troop 466 for 25 years, and is still involved as scoutmaster emeritus of the same troop.
His love of scouting can be seen through his years of devotion to the troop and through the creation of the title "scoutmaster emeritus," which is not a standard one within the Boy Scouts of America organization.
"He made the new title up himself," said Ron Lamica, the current scoutmaster of Troop 466. "He still wanted to be part of the troop."
Ehmann responded: "The only way to keep me out of the troop is if they kick me out."
As scoutmaster emeritus, Ehmann attends all of the troop meetings and assists Lamica by helping out wherever needed.
After being scoutmaster for 25 years, Ehmann has left his mark on the boys, the families and the troop's historical annals.
Troop 466 has existed since 1958. From that time until Ehmann took over in 1970, the troop produced 24 eagle scouts. Under Ehmann's guidance, 67 scouts have achieved that rank.
On average, about 1 percent of the boys who become Boy Scouts make eagle. In Troop 466, about 60 percent to 70 percent of the scouts become eagles.
"It's an unusual boy who does not eagle in our troop," Ehmann said.
Ehmann and Lamica credit the high eagle rate to how the troop is set up and run--by the boys themselves.
The Vanguard Patrol, the highest leadership patrol, plans and runs the meetings, camp-outs and other events.
"The scouts accept a lot of responsibility coming into the leadership patrol. It teaches the scouts responsibility and decision-making," said Rick Crego, an eagle scout who was the 1994-95 senior patrol leader. "It helps the troop because it's run by the peers rather than the scoutmaster or adults. If you don't like something, you can ask what's going on. With adults, you might get intimidated."
For some boys who join Troop 466, the opportunity to learn and grow by leading the troop has been an important factor in their decision to join.
"When my son was going to enter Boy Scouts, we interviewed five troops," said Steve Sulgit, whose son, Steven, is a first class scout. "After watching a troop meeting, we knew that this was the troop because the boys are heavily involved in it. In some troops, the scoutmaster plans and runs the troop."
Ehmann wants the scouts to reach their full potential.
"He expects a lot out of you, and you can't get by with anything else. When you're younger, you see it as kind of a pain because it's work," Crego said "But when you're older, you see it as a great quality. He keeps you to your word if you say that you'll do something."
Troop 466 heavily relies on parent participation. Every father in the troop is expected to go on three of the 12 camp-outs held throughout the year. Each parent is expected to serve as a merit badge counselor and on one or more of the parent committees.
"Norm helps the parents develop leadership skills as well as the kids," said Rick Crego Sr. "He makes sure that they understand Robert's Rules of Order and how to conduct the meetings."
Ehmann attributes the success that he's had with his scouts to the parental involvement he demands.
"I tell the parents in the troop frequently--in fact I tell them at each troop committee meeting--that the reason why we have the best troop in the area is because of you," Ehmann said.
The scouts speak highly of their scoutmaster emeritus.
"Norm is a person who should be very proud of himself and all of his achievements," said Terry Castelli, the senior patrol leader, who earned his eagle ranking in July. "He's a great role model to look up to because everyone at some time wishes to be as dedicated as him. He's dedicated his whole life to scouting."
Ehmann's influence as scoutmaster has spanned a whole generation. The current scoutmaster was once one of Ehmann's scouts.
"I've known Norm since I was 11 years old. He made enough of an impact on me that when my son was in Cub Scouts, I knew for a fact that I wanted my son to join this troop, " Lamica said.
Ehmann did not become scoutmaster until all of his sons were pretty much through with scouting. He did not want to be the scoutmaster before they earned their eagle rankings because he did not want them to be the "scoutmaster's sons."
After his youngest became an eagle scout, he became a scoutmaster to give back to the community what he and his sons had gotten out of scouting.
"I saw what scouting did for my boys. They were all active in sports--championship wrestlers-- and straight-A students, and scouting took up the rest of their time," Ehmann said. "By providing them with something fun to do, it kept them out of trouble. I saw what it did for my boys, and I thought it was something that I wanted to do for boys who were not mine."
Ehmann became involved in Boy Scouts as a teenager. He made his way up the ranks until he became a life scout--the second- highest scouting rank next to eagle.
"I never did make it to eagle. I lived in the country far from the high school. By the time I got home from school and had dinner, the troop meetings were over. I regret giving up at that particular time," he said. "I only had, like, two or three merit badges left. If I had understood the importance of it, I would have tried even harder to stay in and make it to those meetings."
When Ehmann retired last year, the troop's parents wanted to give something back to him. They established the Norm Ehmann Scholarship Fund in his honor.
"We decided that Mr. Ehmann just shouldn't be given a handshake after 25 years of service. We decided to establish a scholarship fund in his name," said Sherry Hakes, one of the troop's committee members. "The committee will choose the recipients and oversee the fund and continue to add to it to keep it perpetuating."
The parent committee asked all of troop's scouts, past and present, and their families to contribute to the fund.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 9, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.