Jim Carey is paradoxically an enthusiastic, energetic, inquiring student of life yet also the most knowledgeable, patient, and conscientious teacher/professor/leader that I have ever met.
An Eagle Scout from Buffalo, NY, and the father of an Eagle Scout, he continues to give his time, to be involved, to share his vast knowledge and to offer leadership to Boy Scout Troop 129 here in Tucker years after his own son aged out of BSA.
I have half-joked that if Jim walked into the woods with only a pocketknife, he would survive. His Backyard Bushcraft guides have schooled Troop 129 scouts for the better part of two decades. From flora and fauna identification (and uses) to how to build a shelter (and stay dry in your tent in pouring rain) to camp cooking, wet wood fire building and wood carving, his outdoors skills are mind-boggling. Not only does he possess these skills; he excitedly and effectively teaches these skills to scores of scouts, parents and leaders (i.e., me). His knowledge is not limited to survival skills. Still not content with what he knows, Jim continues to take wood carving, blacksmith, and even Norwegian language classes.
In Troop 129, he still teaches many of the Merit Badge classes. I believe Jim could teach all 138 of the Merit Badges. His teaching style is thorough. He weaves history into any lesson he is teaching in the woods, in the classroom or at the scout hut. He teaches the scouts the importance of using the correct tools and investing in quality items and respecting /caring for those investments. Jim is methodical (not slow, methodical) in his journey through any teaching moment.
Hiking with Jim is an experience. “Jim hikes” take longer than the average hike - not because our pace is slower than average but rather - because of Jim’s constant awe of nature. He will often stop simply to examine a plant or tree that he is unfamiliar with or more likely, one he knows everything about and has a lesson to share with the scouts about that plant’s medicinal or nutritional uses. He shares this knowledge not in a Cliff Clavin know-it-all way but in a very humble, passionate, and endearing manner.
To sum it all up, Jim Carey has been and continues to be a resourceful gift to BSA Troop 129 and truly embodies what an Eagle Scout and good citizen should be. I am so thankful that he was there to guide us during my son’s 7 years in the troop.
I always advise our scouts to stay close to Mr. Carey, but I “warn” them that if they do, they will learn something.
Nomination by Bill Penkava
