BCAT News

A Burlington Cub Scout Leader has been recognized with a regional honorific for her diligent work with scouts in town. 

Linda McNamee, Assistant Cubmaster for Pack 105, has been awarded the Flintlock District Cub Scout Leader of the Year by the regional scouting organization The Spirit of Adventure Council. 

The council is the largest in the state and comprises six districts in 77 towns. The Flintlock District has 12 towns, including Burlington, with 20 Cub Scout packs. Other towns in the district include Carlisle, Lexington Woburn and Reading, among others. 

According to the Flintlock District Awards Committee, the Cub Scout Leader of the Year “ is presented to a leader who has demonstrated superior leadership, knowledge and dedication for the betterment of  the Cub Scouting program on a unit or District level.” 

McNamee, who has worn many hats with the Scouts, including Den Leader, Pack Committee Chair and Cubmaster along with her current role, said she was pleased to be named the district’s Cub Scout Leader of the Year. 

“I was really excited for being recognized, especially since it was a really challenging year to keep the scouting program going,” she said. 

She said she was told that one event that helped put her in the top spot was the virtual Pinewood Derby that Packs 105 and 555 put on here in Burlington with the help of BCAT. They had scouts make the cars and then gave them the opportunity to watch it live on BCAT and its social media. (Note: McNamee is the current president of BCAT’s Board of Directors.) 

Other events she helped coordinate during the year of pandemic and social distancing include a Summer Smores Challenge, Scout Sunday and Girl Scout Sunday and National Take a Hike Day. 

McNamee says she believes Scouting is important because the organization’s teachings expand on what children learn in school. 

“I think the Scouting program is important because it picks up where the schools leave off,” she said. “Schools and teachers have to do so much that they can’t do everything, so the Scouting program teaches leadership, service to community, service to others, problem solving skills, critical thinking skills and practical things. Seeing the value that those skills have in adults, I want to make sure my children and their friends have this opportunity.”

Finally, McNamee said she spends so much of her own time volunteering with her children’s Scouting packs and troops because when she was a child there were not enough adults stepping up to the plate to have a consistent program.  

“I grew up in a Scouting household and saw the value in it but I was only a Girl Scout for three years because we could never find the leaders,” she explained. “So I promised myself that I would be a leader for my kids to guarantee they have that experience.”