When she was growing up, Wauwatosa Branch Manager Mary Rose Balzer was a Girl Scout. “I loved it,” she says.

Mary Rose Balzer with sons, from left, Josh, Jacob and Joey.

Now that she’s a mother of three sons — Josh, 9; Joey, 7; and Jacob, 5 — she is involved with Boy Scouts. “I want my boys to have a similar experience and memories,” she says. She is in her third year, and she notes that it will be five more years before her youngest is through the Webelos II classification of Cub Scouts.

While both Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts teach young people about self-discipline, respect and how to get along with others, Mary Rose says, “I remember sewing projects and making paper flowers — quiet things. The things my boys love are more action-oriented and rugged.”

In addition to regular meetings — two one-hour den meetings a month for Cub Scouts and a monthly pack meeting for Scouts and their families — there are frequent special activities and service projects in between: attending a Brewers or Admirals game, going camping and on hikes, visiting local fire departments and police stations, touring behind the scenes with TSA at the airport, rock climbing, ice-skating and archery, to name a few.

Pinewood Derby, where the boys design and craft small-scale wooden cars to race, is probably their favorite, Mary Rose says. “They work with their dad, but they do all of their own sanding and painting. Then they have to weigh the cars to be sure they meet the specifications.”

Mary Rose and her husband, David, appreciate the values instilled by scouting. “Scouting helps them develop character and become good citizens,” she says. “They learn about sportsmanship, leadership, solid family values and the importance of having respectful relationships. And it’s all done in a fun way. I love to see the excitement my boys have when they proudly earn a badge for accomplishing a task.”

The most challenging aspect of her role with Scouts is, of course, time. “Wednesday meeting nights are very busy nights at our house, getting home from work, making dinner, working on homework and then getting the boys into their Scout uniforms and to the meeting on time. Thank goodness David is there to help,” she says. But everyone knows what needs to be done, which helps a lot with so much to squeeze into so little time.

Not all boys involved in Scouting have a father involved. “Scouts come from a variety of backgrounds and family dynamics,” Mary Rose says, “and it’s good for us to get to know and share family time with them.”

In February, Mary Rose created some enticing pastries for an annual fundraising cake auction. She reports that cakes went for $20 to $175, generating somewhere between $700–$800.

Youngest son Jacob is too young to be an official Scout yet; he has to wait until he is 7. Meanwhile, he goes with the family to all of the meetings. And he loves to help in the kitchen — he has his eye on becoming a chef. He practiced his culinary skills in the masterpieces you see below.

Here’s where you can learn more about Scouting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cub_Scouting_(Boy_Scouts_of_America)
http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/FAQS/joining.aspx

Ice cream cups were a popular buy-and-eat item at the fundraiser.

Youngest son Jacob helped Mary Rose bake and decorate cakes for the fundraiser.

The ever-popular Green Bay Packers theme made this a popular cake at the Cub Scouts fundraising auction.