moore

By Tom Stedham

Why would anyone volunteer to pay $500 and use their vacation time to travel more than 600 miles to live in a tent and spend three weeks working for free around more than 30,000 young boys? Well, regardless of why, about 8,000 people from all over the nation have done so, gladly paying to be a staff member at the 2001 National Scout Jamboree, which has been going on for the last three weeks at Fort A. P. Hill, Va.
Glenn Moore is one of them. A Lieutenant with 20 years in the Scottsboro Fire Department, he is attending his second Jamboree. He works 12-hr shifts inside a huge Army tent with five other trained fire fighters, some young and some with experience that dwarfs his own 23 years as a paramedic. Parked outside is an ambulance and a fire truck full of the usual emergency gear.
A former Scout himself, Moore explained why he is glad to give up so much of his time –and money— to assist Scouting.
“I believe that the Boy Scouts is the greatest organization in the world for young adults,” said Moore. “It teaches leadership, responsibility and public service. That’s something the kids of today aren’t being taught.”
Across the street from Moore’s fire station is an encampment with thousands of Boy Scouts and uncounted propane stoves, Coleman lanterns and other fire-hungry devices. Next door is a huge snack bar and kitchen staffed by Scouts. Any of these areas could see a fire spring up in the blink of an eye.
But Moore’s area of responsibility doesn’t stop with his immediate surroundings. There are six fire stations covering the gigantic 15,000-acre Boy Scout camp, and in the event of a major fire or medical emergency, firefighters and paramedics must respond as quickly as possible.
Just over a week ago, Moore and his crew responded as backup when lightning struck Subcamp 5, blasting seven Scouts. By the time Moore arrived, other paramedics had the situation under control and carried the injured Scouts to a nearby hospital. Fortunately, none of them were seriously injured. But it showed Moore how important his job was, and reminded him of how disaster can strike anyone, anywhere.
“The Scouts were doing okay when I got there,” said Moore, “but it could have been pretty bad. You never know in this profession. Life can take a change for the worse, just that quick.”
Moore was also part of the emergency response crew, standing by when President Bush flew in to address the Scouts last Sunday. The landing was uneventful and nothing happened, so Moore took his men back to their tent after waiting for hours in the blazing Virginia sun. Ice-cold Gatorade was their only consolation for a long, boring vigil.
Moore left Scouting as a teenager, saying “I liked it a lot but I had to go to work,” but made sure that his son Patrick wouldn’t face the same problem. Patrick earned the rank of Order of the Arrow as an Eagle Scout, the highest rank a young man can attain. Now 19, Patrick attended the ’97 Jamboree with his father.
“We had a fantastic time,” said Moore. “If more fathers realized how much quality time they got to spend with their children, they would get into Scouting.”
Moore has been in public service since 1979. He was a volunteer firefighter for five years before being hired full-time. He has been married for twenty years to his high school sweetheart, Kathy, a fellow ’77 graduate of Scottsboro High School. They also have a daughter, Heather, 17, who competed two weeks ago in a state swim meet in Dothan.