TROOP 28 HISTORY

Troop 28 was founded in 2004. There was a burgeoning need for a Boy Scout Troop in the Southern Union County area as Pack 28 in North Sioux City and Pack 110 in Riverside were crossing over Webelos  who had no geographical "home" to go to.  

At the time, Mr.Darryl Thul and Mr. Paul Kardall were co-editors of the North Sioux City Times newspaper and both had scouting backgrounds. Dr. Martin, who was the Pack 230 Cubmaster at the time, had done some research into starting a Troop in the area, and found that one had been in existence previously, but had not been active for several decades.  After a lot of of "himming and hawing" as Paul would say, the McCook Lake Isaak Walton League was approached for sponsorship and Troop 28 was approved.  With a group of 6 scouts initially under the direction of Mr. Thul as Scoutmaster (Michael Jenkins, Kendall Martin, Andreas Thul, Tyler Erickson, Alex Prorok, Jacob Vogts) the Troop met in the newspaper office until they moved their meetings to the North Sioux City Senior Center.

Soon after Mr. Thul and Mr. Kardall sold the newspaper and moved from the community, Ron Jenkins took over as Scoutmaster.  After Michael received his Eagle Scout rank and entered the military, Ron stepped down and Lindy Pedersen, Sr. took over where he remains in that position today.

Over the years, the Troop has grown not only by the number of scouts crossing over from the local Packs but also due to transfers.  Our troop is unique in that it has or had members from each state in the Tri State area of Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota.  As the only Troop that was registered from South Dakota within the Mid-America Council, our unit displayed and revered both the Iowa and South Dakota state flags at all of our events to honor the current residences of our members.

In 2021, our Troop, in search of a new Chartered Organization, joined the Sioux Council which is headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD. Affiliating with a South Dakota based Council has led to significantly improved communication and focus on success. We are now part of the Missouri Valley District. Our Chartered Organization is the Tri State Youth Association which is a registered non profit organization out of Jefferson, SD.

The Troop has historically been very focused upon outdoor activities and owns a camping trailer, canoes, and kayaks.  The adult leadership consists of 4 range certified shooting instructors which allows our unit to heavily participate in all aspects of the Scouting Shooting Sports program.  Each summer, the Troop participates in "traditional" summer camps held at Scout sponsored locations but also offers a High Adventure camping opportunity for older members.

A focal point of our unit has been to see as many as possible achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.  Our Troop has one of the highest Eagle Advancement ratios in the country.  The success of this can be directly traced to the fact that our Troop has been, from its inception, Scout led.....the adult leadership is NOT responsible for activity or calendar planning, but exists only as a conduit or a vehicle to allow the boys the opportunity to accomplish the activities and goals that they wish.  We believe that this approach develops leadership skills EARLY which we believe not only makes it easier for the Scout to accomplish the Eagle requirements but also provides them with a foundational skill set for adulthood.

Our Troop is also focused upon community outreach.  Each year, we participate in Homestead Days Celebration at Adams Nature Preserve.  At the Homestead Days, we demonstrate our regionally recognized expertise in dutch oven cooking.  

Obviously, a unit cannot meet their goals without a dedicated set of adult volunteers.  Our Troop has been blessed with committed Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters, and a Troop Unit Committee whose membership contains individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise with a wide variety of skill sets. Thus, when there is a need to teach or train our young men, we have it covered, whether it is first aid, emergency preparedness, business leadership, tradesmanship, etc.  Our adult leadership consists of people from the fields of teaching, construction, manufacturing, programming, human resources, medicine, accounting, business, and other disciplines.

Also from the beginning of it founding in 2004, Troop 28 has been an integral participant at the National Scout Jamborees.  In 2010, nearly 1/2 of the Troop participated in the 100th Anniversary National Jamboree in Virginia, and we have had scouts and leaders also be a part of  National Jamborees in 2013 and 2017, as well as the World Jamboree in 2019.  

We do take pride in our unique approach to Scouting.  While we adhere to the foundations of Scouting at the District, Council and National levels, we are not adverse to developing specific and sometimes unconventional strategies to further our scouts goals.  We believe that this is why our unit is so successful despite its young existence.