LAKE OF THE OZARK STATE PARK - Doing a good deed daily is something every Boy Scout strives to do.
Putting almost 200 Scouts, including Jefferson City boys, and their leaders to work during Scout Service Day at three Missouri state parks adds up to almost 1,000 hours of good deeds in a single day.
"Scout Service Day is a great opportunity for Scout units to do something that benefits the thousands of people who enjoy our state parks," said John Young, one of the Scout leaders who worked with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to organize the event.
Units from the Great Rivers Council, which includes counties in central and north central Missouri, did various maintenance projects around Lake of the Ozark State Park, Ha Ha Tonka State Park and at Longbranch State Park, near Moberly.
It is the fourth year for Scout Service Day, but it is the first time Scouts have done work at facilities other than Lake of the Ozark State Park.
"DNR asked us if we could expand our reach with Scout Service Day to other state parks," said Carl Porting, another Scout leader who helped organize the event. "This year we had the perfect opportunity to have scouts volunteer their time at other state parks.
"It's just a winning situation for Scouts and DNR," Porting said. "Scouts get service hours and a chance to camp out. DNR gets the benefits of scouts' willingness to volunteer."
Scouts at Camp Clover Point, started the day Saturday with a flag ceremony and a safety talk. They then dispersed with a DNR employee to take on their assigned projects, which included work on trails and spreading mulch.
Some units arrived at Camp Clover Point on Friday night and camped. Units that came in Friday night were treated to a program about the park and late-evening snacks. Other units came in early Saturday morning for the day.