By Mark Wineka, Salisbury Post
Published 12:00 am Saturday, June 9, 2018
SALISBURY — Here was the ruse: Scout leaders had asked one of their legends, 94-year-old Jack Kepley, to address a group of adults about the benefits of Scouting.

But the real reason Kepley’s family and friends wanted him to be at St. John’s Lutheran Church’s Faith Center on Friday evening was to confer on him the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.

The jig was up quickly when Jack walked into the room and saw the good-sized crowd of friends, family, his former Scouts, assistant Scoutmasters — and some people he knew had no business being there, such as Rowan County Commissioner Jim Greene.

“We all lied to you tonight,” Greene confessed to Kepley.

“I know you did,” Kepley shouted from his front-row seat.

Few people are more deserving of the governor-signed Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the state’s highest civilian honor. A World War II veteran and recipient of the Bronze Star, Kepley has done plenty of things to merit consideration.

But it’s his 81 years of involvement in the Boy Scouts of America — as a Scout, Scoutmaster and Scout leader in general — that set him apart.

Yes, that is not a misprint — 81 years.

In 1937, Kepley joined Boy Scout Troop 448 at his home church, Coburn United Methodist, and for 81 years he has lived up to all tenets of that oath, Greene said.

“It’s so beautiful,” Kepley said of the framed certificate he received. “I’ve never been so overwhelmed in all my life.”

He laughed, thinking back to the late-afternoon conversation he had with Grace, his wife of 68 years.

“Grace said she was going with me,” Kepley said. “I said, ‘You’re not invited.'”

You have to know Kepley to appreciate what came after he received his honor Friday night. He gave his talk anyway, telling three different stories from his days as Scoutmaster of Troop 448.

They were illustrative, he said, of what it means to be a Scout.

The stories touched on a 65-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail and an encounter with a bear; a New York City excursion when for a moment he thought he lost one of his 33 Scouts; and the successful exchange program Troop 443 had with Scouting counterparts in Wales.

When he was finished, Kepley asked whether there were any questions, even though a reception and many congratulatory embraces were waiting.

Al Wilson, the current Scoutmaster of Troop 448, told Kepley that with an award like the one he received Friday night, “the expectations are real high for your future service.”

Kepley himself was a genius at expecting more. For decades, the accomplished woodworker would carve Indian-slide neckerchief holders for senior patrol leaders, the most active Scouts and the many adult assistants he had through the years.

But with the handmade slides came expectations from Kepley that you would do even more for the troop.

“It’s a weight around our necks,” Wilson said, calling for everyone in the room with a slide to raise their hands.

On a more serious note, Wilson said if you think about the leaders in Scouting, “Jack Kepley is up there with the greats of all time.”

As a Scoutmaster and Scoutmaster emeritus, Kepley had been involved in the lives of more than 700 kids, of whom 142 have become Eagle Scouts. He was Troop 448’s Scoutmaster for 41 years, until turning the reins over to Wilson in 1992.

Kepley then devoted his time to Camp Barnhardt along Badin Lake and served as the camp director in 1995 and 1996. In addition, he instructed Wood Badge courses at the camp for Scout leaders.

As Scoutmaster, Kepley had taken his Scouts to Camp Barnhardt for 40 consecutive summers, missing only once when Grace was sick.

He also served 10 years as an inspector of Scout camps in the Carolinas to verify compliance with 75 BSA standards.

His personal awards have been among the highest ever given in Scouting, including the Silver Beaver, District Award of Merit and National Eagle Scouts’ Scoutmaster Award.

On its 100th anniversary in 2010, Boy Scouts of America asked for one person from each council in the country to be inducted into the National Hall of Leadership.

The Central N.C. Council chose Kepley, and the induction took place on the National Mall on July 25, 2010.

He also was one of the 10 national finalists in 2016 for the Glenn Shepard Excellence in Leadership Award. He was selected out of 2,000 nominations from 43 states and six countries.

Kepley has said the main reason he joined Troop 448 in 1937 was to hang out with his friends Jim Tarleton, Jack Russell and Paul Greenway.

His parents gave him 50 cents to join. In maybe the most interesting twist to Kepley’s Scouting career, he is not an Eagle Scout, though his sons Jay and Bill are. Jack never attained a rank past second class.

Scouting took a back seat during World War II. Kepley was an Army gunner in a tank platoon and was among the men who stormed beach after beach in a Pacific Theater campaign that for him included Leyre, Luzon, Bataan and Mindanao.

He also was part of the occupation forces in Japan. After returning home, he graduated from Catawba College in 1949 and built a successful insurance business.

“Jack is a full-fledged member of the Greatest Generation,” Greene said.

Beyond Scouting, Kepley has served in virtually every capacity at Coburn UMC, where the Scout building off South Main Street is named for him.

He has served as an auxiliary policeman.

He has restored a couple of houses.

He’s a licensed tree farmer, managing the acreage his family owns off Bringle Ferry Road and the place where many Troop 448 Scouts camped and explored.

In the past, Kepley has been named the Lions Club Man of the Year and the Civitan Club’s Citizen of the Year.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.

By Amanda Raymond 

amanda.raymond@salisburypost.com 

Published 12:10 am Monday, February 6, 2017 

SALISBURY — Boy Scout packs visited neighborhoods all over the county to collect food for local food pantries during the “Scouting for Food” event on Saturday.

Once a year, Boy Scouts go around to different neighborhoods and drop off bags and explain the food drive to neighbors. A week later, they return to those neighborhoods to pick up the donated food and deliver them to local food pantries.

The packs ended up collecting 12,000 pounds of food for Rowan Helping Ministries, 2,500 pounds of food for Woodleaf United Methodist Church’s food bank and 385 pounds for Main Street Mission in China Grove.

John Barber, an adult leader for Pack 306, said the boys did all of the talking while visiting neighborhoods.

This was the first year kindergarteners were included in the event. Barber said sometimes they forgot what to say to the neighbors, but the older kids they were paired with were able to help them out.

Barber said the event helps get the boys out into the community and talking with people.

It is also a chance to talk with the boys about poverty and those who do not have the same opportunities as they do.

“It makes them realize not everyone is as fortunate as they are,” he said.

Kelly Hunsucker, cubmaster for Pack 375, and his scouts collected food in the China Grove area. He said the event teaches the scouts about their duty to their country and to helping others. He said it reinforces their lessons on being a servant leader.

Jeff Bays, district director for the Boy Scouts of America, said the boys were earning service hours and helping the community with the food drive, which is what the Boy Scouts are all about.

Bays said there were 50 scouting units in the county and the majority of them were out in the community collecting food on Saturday.

The scouts also reached out to North Hills Christian School to help with the drive. The school ended up donating 1,200 pounds of food.

At Rowan Helping Ministries, the scouts, adult leaders and other volunteers brought the donations in from vehicles, weighed the bags and sorted the food for the pantry.

Kris Mueller, director of resource development at Rowan Helping Ministries, said the food pantry had been low lately because of the busy holiday season.

“That depleted us pretty heavily,” she said.

Mueller said the annual donation from the scouts and Sunday’s donations from the “Souper Bowl of Caring” event, during which youth groups collect food and funds from their churches on Super Bowl Sunday, helps restock the shelves.

“Hopefully we’ll be in a little better shape,” she said.

Nate Valentine, food manager at Rowan Helping Ministries, said they give out 2,500 pounds of food a day and 12,500 pounds of food a week.

Food drives like “Scouting for Food” help fill the gap in food donations for this time of year.

“We’ve kind of relied on this being a big part of our year,” Valentine said.

Ann Barber, adult leader of pack 306 and chairperson for the event, said the event was truly a community effort, and the high energy of the scouts and adult volunteers was encouraging.

“It’s great,” she said. “It’s so positive. They want to be here.”

http://www.salisburypost.com/2017/02/06/boy-scouts-collect-14000-pounds-food-local-food-pantries/

Published Sunday, June 28, 2015 Salisburypost.com 

Colton Opel, 18, of Salisbury, is receiving his Eagle Scout award today, June 28, 2015, at Christiana Lutheran Church. Scoutmaster Jeff Fleming of Troop 317 is presenting the award. 
Colton has earned 27 merit badges and is currently the troop’s Senior Patrol Leader. He is a member of Order of the Arrow. For his Eagle project, Colton collected 4,343 pounds of food for Rowan Helping Ministries.
The son of Joe and Jenny Opel of Salisbury, he is a 2015 graduate of East Rowan High School and plans to study engineering at UNC-Charlotte. 
Colton is the brother of Carly Opel and Cody Opel, also an Eagle Scout.

salisburypost.com By Sylvia Andrews 

salisburypost.com  - See more at: http://www.salisburypost.com/2015/02/08/joe-steinman-earns-eagle-award/