Mike Loughman helps troop celebrate 100th anniversary
Life Scout Tim Carroll poses with Troop 34 Scoutmaster Michael Loughman and son Matthew Loughman, a Life Scout waiting to be named an Eagle Scout.
BY PAUL BONASERA
SPECIAL TO MORRISTOWN THIS WEEK
Mike Loughman believes that being a Boy Scout in his youth played a role in him becoming a police officer and eventually Morris Township's police Chief.
"If you think about the Boy Scout oath and the 12 points of the Scout Law, these things are the key to becoming a productive member of society," says Loughman, who retired as chief in 2008. "Boy Scouts is all about character building."
Loughman, 56, is scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 34 at Assumption Church in Morristown. The troop celebrated its 100th anniversary this month, making it nearly as old as the Boy Scouts of America organization. William D. Boyce, a wealthy newspaper publisher, founded the national organization on Feb. 8, 1910.
Loughman now works for Allied Barton Security Services managing security at Chubb and Son. He supervises 62 security officers at three New Jersey corporate sites and three out-of-state sites for the insurance company.
Monsignor John Hart, pastor of Assumption Parish, described Loughman as a "leader among leaders. He sets the tone for the entire troop. He's a wonderful role model for the boys. ... He's a very dedicated scoutmaster, always concerned about the welfare of the scouts."
Troop 34 has about 40 scouts, 11-to-18 years old, and produces two-to-three Eagle Scouts a year. The troop meets once a week and has weekend campouts once a month.
"One of the great things about Boy Scouts is once you make Eagle, you're always an Eagle, and it's something that's always well received on your resume," he said. "It's an honor that draws respect."
While it is a popular activity for boys, scouting is non-competitive, Loughman said, unlike sports. "Every boy has the same opportunity to succeed," he said. "If a guy makes it to Eagle, that's great. But if a boy makes it to second class and has a good time, that's also great. In Boy Scouts everybody has an opportunity to have a good time and learn some things."
Loughman, who grew up in Morristown as the youngest of seven brothers, and his wife Colleen, a nurse at the Peck School in Morristown, have lived in Morris Township for 25 years. They have two sons, Michael Patric, 22, and Matthew, 18, and two daughters, Maureen, 21, and Meghan, 16.
Michael Patric is an Eagle Scout, and Matthew has fulfilled all of the rank's requirements and is awaiting being named an Eagle Scout. The Loughmans' daughters have also been successful in their pursuits, having performed Irish step dancing with Colleen Loughman in the Morristown St. Patrick's Day Parade. Meghan also performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City and Maureen at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.
"There's a lot of reasons parents get involved in youth programs. For me it was an opportunity to become involved with my boys in something they liked. I get to go on camping trips with them. In Boy Scouts you become a participant, rather than solely an observer or a coach. This is an opportunity you just don't get in other activities."
Loughman said credit for the troop's success also goes to assistant scoutmasters Mike Kelly, Brett Amspacher, Paul Bangiola and Mike Pallante "They all have contributed as much or more than I have. It's a real team effort."
Loughman is the Morris Plains Rotary Club's sergeant at arms and has run the club's medical alert program for senior citizens since 1999. If someone falls while wearing either a medical alert necklace or pendant, they push a button and the police are alerted and respond to their location.
"We have about 50 of these medical alert units deployed," he said. He also volunteers with the Morris Area Community Blood Program, setting up blood drives at the Mount Kemble Firehouse and the Morris Plains Presbyterian Church as well as donating blood with his family.
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