Scoutmaster marks 40 years of leading special-needs troop
MANSFIELD — Bob Sliney has been the one and only Scoutmaster for local Boy Scout Troop 123 for 40 years.
He currently has 12 Boy Scouts in the troop who range from school age to adults. There is no age limit for Troop 123, whose members are individuals with developmental disabilities.
Tuesday night, the troop celebrated Sliney's 40th anniversary at Der Dutchman for a traditional family-style Thanksgiving dinner, complete with an assortment of pies.
Sliney's sister Peggy was his inspiration to teach special education
Sliney founded the troop in November of 1981.
He retired as a special education teacher in 2015 after 30 years in the Madison Schools. He started his career teaching at Richland Newhope School. Sliney has been inducted into St. Peter's Hall of Fame for his work with this troop. The assistant leaders of Troop 123 are Pete Lehman and Becky Bottorf.
Sliney, like his brother Bruce Sliney and sister Terri Pollock, all became special education teachers because of their sister Peggy, who died at age 8. She had cerebral palsy.
"She was an angel," Bob Sliney said. "I knew I was going to go into special education. She was my inspiration."
He said his Scouts look out for each other.
"Last week we had a new Scout and the others were all helping him learn First Aid," he said. "I was impressed at how much they remembered."
Sliney said his Boy Scouts have attended summer camp at Camp Falling Rock in Newark, Ohio, and several of the Scouts like trains so they have taken the Cuyahoga Valley train ride together.
"Scouting means an awful lot to them. They look forward to meetings and are interested in everything we do," he said. "You don't want to underestimate them. They know their Scouting skills."
Sliney has known some of the Scouts for a long time.
Sliney was Bottorf's son Tim's kindergarten teacher.
"Our newest Scout, he was in my class before I retired," Sliney said.
Sliney was a Scout himself in the '60s.
During his teenage years, he worked at a day camp for kids with special needs.
"The staff rotated around to different groups of girls and boys. In the weeks I had boys, I brought my Scout handbook and the camp was not affiliated with Scouting and this was my private pilot project for Scouting," he said.
Parents, Scouts laud Sliney
Kristine Moloney said her son has participated for about 30 years and has earned his Eagle rank as have several other scouts.
"There are no age restrictions for this troop which is often referred to as 'Terrific Troop 123,'" she said.
Scout Rick Moloney said Sliney is a nice man and "he is always kind. And he thinks about other people."
Moloney has been in the same troop with Sliney for 31 years, having joined at age 12.
He thanked every one of the Scout leaders for their time dedicated to Troop 123.
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Tom Moloney, Rick's father, said that scoutmasters are really missionaries.
"Everyone of them is doing God's work," he said at the dinner. "It's a rare situation that we have, to have all our special people involved with this group."
Scout Brent Abbott said he likes Scouting and Bob.
Abbott has been in the Boy Scout Troop 123 for 10 years.
Scout Terry Weaver, a patrol leader, said he has been in the troop for 14 years and helps kids achieve their Eagle Scout status.
The troop currently meets weekly on Tuesday evenings from 7-8 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Park Avenue West.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Bob Sliney marks 40 years of leading special-needs troop
