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Scouts Take Trip To The Sci-Fi Zone
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Published: May 25, 2008
Updated: 05/25/2008 12:22 am
TAMPA - Boldly going where no Boy Scout has gone before, dozens of youths in blue and tan uniforms spent their Saturday mingling with extraterrestrials, shaking hands with spaceship pilots and cheesing for the camera with Darth Vader and his storm troopers.
Scout Con 2008 was held at the Tampa Convention Center by the Learning for Life Division of the Gulf Ridge Council Boy Scouts of America. About 2,000 visitors were expected to attend, based on pre-event ticket sales, organizer Ted Johnson said.
With activities for all ages, Scout Con offered autograph and memorabilia auctions, a costume contest, autograph sessions and a panel discussion with the stars.
The lineup of about 20 sci-fi icons included: Gil Gerard from "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century;" Grace Lee Whitney, best known as Yeoman Janice Rand from the original "Star Trek" series; and Mark Goddard, who piloted the Jupiter II on "Lost in Space" as Maj. Don West.
The convention was a new endeavor by the council to regain some of the $80,000 it lost through state budget cuts, Johnson said. The organization previously received about a quarter of a million dollars from the state, he said.
The ticket sales will help the council continue to provide in-school and after-school programs that serve more than 25,000 children in Hillsborough and Polk counties.
In addition, the money will help with improvements of the four council camps, youth activities, support of the Council Service Center in Tampa and volunteer recruitment, training and support.
Gerard said being an Eagle Scout as a youth shaped his personality and showed him the value of hard work.
"Any kind of accomplishment for young people molds you into the type of person who sees things through to the end," he said. "It made me tenacious to achieve results."
Conventions like Scout Con brings in fans of all ages, he said.
"I've been to shows with four generations of fans," Gerard said. "It's all because of syndication and DVDs. People still relate to the show. I'm amazed people still want to talk about something I did more than 25 years ago."
Cub Scout Ben Daniel from Troop 627 in Orlando said he enjoyed meeting Gerard the most.
"He's really cool," the 9-year-old said. "Buck - he inspires me. He's really cool, and he's supposed to be futuristic-like."
Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at mwells@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7839.
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