Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

Thank you to Mark Lovewell for the article in the Gazette on Rocket Day, lost rockets and the cub scouts. Scouting on Martha’s Vineyard is one of the best programs for young boys that I have seen and that is why I am so committed to helping bring the kids new and fun experiences. Rocket Day is great, watching the anticipation and awe as the kids launch their assembled Estes rockets close to a quarter-mile high. It’s such a unique experience on the Vineyard and every year the program gets better. Scouting also has given us parents who love the outdoors opportunities to take the boys up mountains, do awesome workshops outside studying animals and so much more. It is the most well-rounded program for boys on the Vineyard. It teaches goal setting, it’s achievement oriented and the kids learn a lot of core values that seem to be harder to grasp in this age of fleeting attention spans. Last year we took 14 kids up Mount Chocorua in New Hampshire. It was a rainy weekend in October, the climb was challenging and when the kids hit the summit, one of the older ones said to me it was the best thing that he had done in his life. This is why I am a scout leader. We are planning our fall hike right now to a new and awesome experience. Our scouting season really starts in September. If anyone would like to talk about scouting, please contact me at jimfeiner@gmail.com.

Jim Feiner

Chilmark