We are proud of our adult leadership at Troop 175. It’s deep and experienced. Our Adult leaders have camped, climbed, fished, hunted and explored on many expeditions. They are all great teachers. In addition we have a very high participation by the Dads in our Troop and it is not unusual to have 10-15 dads on a trip. No experience is necessary and if you were never a Scout as a boy this is your second chance to learn the ropes. We have a Dads/Leaders Patrol, the “Usual Suspects,” on each trip and we eat very well (a source of some pride and a fair bit of competition) and share a lot of experiences as Dads and as professionals from all walks of life.
Our Troop is Boy Led and our Boy Leaders are selected by the adult leadership based on their performance and ability to lead. The senior patrol leaders and patrol leaders share their wisdom and pass on their knowledge to the younger Scouts through our trip and advancement programs. The Boy Scouts is one of the very few organizations where boys can be put in leadership positions at ages as young 12. Good leaders often appear early and the fun of Scouting is watching them "take the lead".
Troops are only as good as the boys who want to step up and take charge and the adult volunteers who are there to assist. This years boy leaders are:
Keegan Rice - Senior Patrol Leader, (Lead Scout)
Keegan is a Life Scout and a Sophomore at Simsbury High School and a member of its Varsity soccer team. He leads the active scouts in the troop with over 42 Merit Badges. He has been an Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Immortal Chief, Patrol Leader and Instructor as well as the youngest member ever inducted into the Immortals. He helped lead the 2010 Presidential Range Traverse and the 2010 Alaskan expedition. In 2011 he was part of the troop's expedition to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and helped lead the troop Caribbean Sailing adventure. He is also a member of the Three man winning team for the Simsbury Adventure Race two years in row and co‐holds the record for the course. He is active in sports and competes in soccer, track and snowboarding.
Isaac Peacock - Assistant Senior Patrol Leader
Isaac Peacock is an Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and a Life Scout. He is a sophmore at Simsbury High School, plays football, and plans to join the crew team later in the year. He is 15 and has hiked up Mt. Washington, summited a 14-er in Colorado, and completed the 2010 Presidential Traverse and the 2011 Philmont expedition where he was crew chief (boy leader). He enjoys fishing, camping, hunting, and almost anything that involves the outdoors. He is a member of the Immortals.
Eric Barch - Immortal Chief
Eric is a Life Scout and a sophmore at Simsbury High school. He has served as a Patrol Leader and Den Chief, and is currently Immortals Chief. He has been a member of teams that have medaled in the Simsbury Adventure Race all three years, including the youngest winning team as a sixth grader Eric's team won the race in 2011. Along with working on mechanical things, he enjoys camping, biking and the outdoors. He was a member of the 2010 Presidential Traverse and the 2011 Philmont expedition and has hiked in the Grand Canyon. He is also currently a member of the SHS Cross Country team.
John Cahill - Assistant Senior Patrol Leader
John is a Life Scout and a Junior at Simsbury High School. A member of Troop 175 for three years, John is an Immortal and was a member of the 2011 Philmont Expedition, competed in three Adventure Races (winning first place last year with Eric Barch and Isaac Peacock), helped raised over $5,000 for a child with cancer, and is starting his Eagle Project. John enjoys swimming, skimboarding, and kayaking in Rhode Island, playing the drums, and is a member of the SHS Track Team.
Zack Zicovich - Assistant Senior Patrol Leader
Zack is a Life Scout and currently a Junior at Simsbury High School, where he runs for the Cross-Country team. He is a member of the Immortals. He was a member of the 2011 St. Martin Sailing expedition and hopes to climb Mount Kilimanjaro this summer. He enjoys camping, hiking, skiing, sailing, climbing, and playing airsoft.
Nicholas Carabillo – Assistant Senior Patrol Leader
Nicholas Carabillo is a Life Scout and a member of the Immortals. He is a sophomore at Simsbury High School and on the crew team. He attended the 2010 National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia and plans to attend Jamboree at the new Summit Training Center in West Virginia in 2013. He was a member of the 2011 Caribbean Sailing Expedition. He has been in the troop for 5 years participating in many activities including canoeing in Canada and climbing Tuckerman's Ravine. This past summer Nicholas spent 3 days hiking the Grand Canyon with his family.
Robert Carter – Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
An Eagle Scout Candidate, Rob is 17 and a Senior at Simsbury High School. He was a member of the 2009 expedition to the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in New Mexico and the 2008 expedition to the Amazon jungle in Peru. Rob led the 2010 Presidential Traverse. He is a committed athlete, and plays basketball for Simsbury High School. An avid traveler, he has traveled extensively through Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom. Rob is a member of the Immortals, last years SPL, and former Immortals Chief.
Adult Leadership
Brad Mead - Scoutmaster
Brad is an Eagle Scout and has hiked, climbed, paddled and explored in over 135 countries; a passion developed during his scout days in the 1960's. He has been on or led 5 Himalayan expeditions, four Amazon basin expeditions, a Haute Route team over the top of the Alps in winter, climbed the Matterhorn, the Eiger, Jungfrau, Mt. Blanc and two first ascents in the Wind Rivers. He led the Kilimanjaro expedition in 2007, the Amazon Jungle expedition in 2008, the 2010 Presidential Traverse, the 2010 Alaskan expedition and captained the 2011 Caribbean Sailing expedition. He is a graduate of National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyoming. He will lead the 2012 Kilimanjaro expedition. He is a licensed pilot, deep water scuba diver, skydiver,sailing captain and is a member of the Immortals. He is trained in CPR, Wilderness First Aid and High Altitude Rescue. Brad is the CEO and President of Delta Capital Group, an investment bank in Simsbury, CT. His two sons Ryan and Jeffery received their Eagle Scout awards in May 2008 and are now seniors in College.
Peter Adamowicz - Assistant Scoutmaster
Peter is an avid fly fisherman and paddler. A Cub Scout Den leader for 5 years and an assistant Scoutmaster for the last 6 years, he is currently the Troop's lead trip planner. He is CPR certified, SOLO Wilderness First Aid Trained, and a member of the Immortals. He was one of two adults that led the Philmont 2006 Crew to the National Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. He also led the Philmont 2009 trip and helped lead the Amazon Jungle trip in 2008. Peter is VP and Chief Estimator with Gilbane Building, 5th largest construction company in the United States. His son, Lee, is an Eagle Scout, former troop SPL and a freshman at Annapolis Naval Academy. His youngest son, Tom is Life Scout, Eagle Scout candidate, and Troop Guide.
Bill is an Assistant Scoutmaster and former scout. He and his family have hiked and camped in many of our country’s national parks. Bill co‐led both the 2010 Alaskan Expedition and the 2011 Philmont Scout Ranch Trek. Bill is President of the Web Marketing Association, developed our troop Google group and Web Site, and is the Troop Merit Badge Coordinator. He also instructs the scout leadership in public speaking skills once a month. His son Keegan is currently a Life Scout and Senior Patrol Leader.
Hunter Peacock - Assistant Scoutmaster
Hunter is a former scout who served as the first Senior Patrol Leader in his
hometown Boy Scout troop. Throughout his adult life, he has enjoyed
organizing numerous outdoor adventures for family and friends ranging
from climbing trips to western mountains including Mt. Whitney, Shasta,
Hood, and Rainier to desert backpacking trips in the Grand, Paria,
Escalante, and Zion Canyons. He is a certified open water scuba diver.
Hunter manages treasury operations for Ahlstrom Capital Corporation.
His two sons are both scouts. Isaac is currently a Life scout, and assistant senior patrol leader and his son Jake just joined the troop.
Gary Barch - Assistant Scoutmaster
Gary has been active in the Simsbury Scouts for 6 years. He enjoys the outdoors, especially fishing, camping, hiking, mountain biking and canoeing. He also enjoys photography and is PDIC certified in Scuba Diving. Gary organizes the Simsbury Fly-In Scout volunteers and is involved in other events throughout the year. He works for Design Innovation in Avon, CT as a toy and product developer. His oldest son, Eric, is currently a Life Scout, an Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and Immortals Chief. His younger son, Kevin, is a Tenderfoot Scout.
Mark is a former Cub master for Cub Scout Pack 175, and is a lifetime member of “The North American Hunting Club”. An avid outdoorsman he enjoys; Hunting, Fishing, Camping, Cooking, and is PDIC certified in Scuba Diving. He works as a QA Consultant for The Hartford Insurance Company.
Ann Carabillo - Assistant Scoutmaster
Ann Carabillo is the Boys Rowing Coach at Simsbury High School. She has been coaching for 20 years. She is a USRowing Level 3 Certified Coach. Ann is also a certified Red Cross instructor and is in charge of all Troop training. Ann is the President of the Connecticut Public Schools Rowing Association and Regatta Director for the State Championship. She is also on the Regatta Committee at the New England Championship. Many of Ann's rowers are also fellow Scouts and Eagle Scouts. She was a member of the 2011 Caribbean Sailing expedition. Her son, Nicholas is an Assistant Patrol Leader, Life Scout and a member of the Immortals.
Gerry Burke- Assistant Scoutmaster
Gerry is an accomplished outdoorsman. He sails, canoes, fishes, skies, and road bikes. He is a certified scuba diver and certified in CPR. Gerry also runs our summer camp program. He co-lead the 2011 Philmont Trip. He is an international consultant in electrical design engineering. His son, Rob received his Eagle Scout award this last June. His other son, Kevin is a Life Scout and Patrol Leader.
Bob Gilmore - Assistant Scoutmaster
Bob is an Eagle Scout. He has been an Assistant Scoutmaster with Troop 175 for 11 years, and is a member of the Immortals. He has extensive outdoor experience including three extended trips to the BSA Maine High Adventure Base – one as a Scout and two as an adult leader, backpacking on the Vermont Long Trail, and annual extended hunting trips to the remote North Woods of Maine. Bob works as a natural resource biologist with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Inland Water Resources Division. He is also a registered Soil Scientist. He holds an MS degree in Wildlife Management (Frostburg State) and a BS degree in Natural Resources (URI). Bob’s professional interests include wetlands ecology and wildlife, fisheries and soil science. His son, Brian, received his Eagle Scout Badge in 2006.
David Carter - Assistant Scoutmaster
David is a former scout and has re-found his Scout skills as an adult leader. He teaches numerous merit badge classes and has traveled with the troop on trips in 10 states. He helped lead the Amazon 2008 trip. David came to Simsbury following 20 years in Washington; most recently as a Presidential appointee and executive at the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. Currently, he is Sr. Vice President of corporate communications for Magellan. He has two sons, Cortland, who received his Eagle award in June 2009 and is a sophomore in college, and Robert, a Life Scout, last year's Senior Patrol Leader, and currently a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster and an Eagle Scout candidate.
Ken Gutierrez - Assistant Scoutmaster
Ken has been involved in scouting at the Cub Scout level for the last 6 years where he served as a Den Leader. He is now learning the ropes as a troop trip planner. He is an avid fly fisherman and “relaxes” by visiting exotic fishing destinations around the world. He is a physician, practicing Anesthesiology at the St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford. His youngest son, Matthew is a Tenderfoot. His older son, Andrew, is a Life Scout and is a Patrol Leader.
Kevin Weathers - Assistant Scoutmaster
Kevin has been involved in scouting as the Committee Secretary for the last three years. He has lead previous fundraisers and has been a regular on our scout trips. This year he is joining the Trip Planning Group. He is currently section hiking portions of the Application Trail with his father and enjoys world travel. He is an actuary at Travelers. He was a member of the 2010 Alaska expedition and will help lead the 2012 Kilimanjaro climb. His youngest son, Kyle is a new scout. His older son, Ryan, is a Life Scout and is the Troop Quartermaster.
Tom Nicholson - Assistant Scoutmaster
Tom began his scouting career as a youth in Adirondack, NY and recently held Pack, District and Council leadership positions in N.J. before moving to CT. He has been a Scout University and District Trainer and received the Wood Badge. He is a hunter, kayaker, scuba diver, skier and fisherman. He coaches at Fastpitch Nation and works for Eastern Mountain Sports in their retail division. He is a member of the CT First Company Horse Guards. His son TJ is a First Class scout.
Keith Chambers - Assistant Scoutmaster
Keith began his scouting career as a Cub Scout Den Leader, and then with boy scouts in Troop 274 in Avon as an Assistant Scout Master, with over nine years in scouting and is a Wood Badge instructor. He moved over to Troop 175 in 2010. Keith is an avid cyclist, enjoys photography, cooking, sailing and the outdoors. He has experience hiking and backpacking in South Africa, and has been to more summer camps than he can remember! His son, Tristan, achieved his Eagle rank this year and is studying at San Diego State. Devon is a First Class scout.
Rich, a Scouter for over 15 years, advises our Venture Crew. He’s earned the Wood Badge Award for advance Scout leader training and attended the Philmont Training Center. He is a Brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow and has earned both the Boy Scouter and Boy Scout Training Awards. His junior leaders nominated him for his receipt of the Scoutmaster Award of Merit. Rich enjoys the outdoors and has served as adult Advisor for Florida Sea Base and Philmont Trek Crews. He was 1st Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 503 at the 2005 National Scout Jamboree in Virginia. He served the Metacomet District in several capacities. For his service as Troop 175 Scoutmaster for over 8 years, he received the 2006 Simsbury “Hometown Hero” Award.
