The Troop 1954
Wednesday Newsletter

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Announcements

a) All outstanding money, medical forms, and troop releases are now past due.  If you haven't gotten this stuff in, contact Mz. Cece ASAP.

b) All gear needs to be at the Scout Hut at our next meeting, Tuesday June 29th.  Campers are limited to one duffle.  We are going to try to do this without a trailer so please try to limit what you bring to items on the list only.  If you don't bring it next Tuesday, there's no guarantee that it's actually going to get to New Mexico.

c) We are planning to leave the Scout Hut at 4:30 AM on July 3.

d) Adults and campers should bring food for breakfast and snacks for the July 3 drive.

e) Due to rise in gas prices, campers should be sent with $30 additional spending money (as well as money required for merit badges).  Any unused travel funds will be refunded.

2) Information for Summerfest:  Summerfest is the city's fourth of July celebration.  It's been rained out the last two years running...but hope springs eternal (though looking out my window today, I'm not taking any bets).  Anyhow, we have a booth reserved for Summerfest but we need volunteers, both youth and adult, to help operate the booth and funnel cake machine.  We realize that most scouts will be at summer camp, but if you're available to help on July 4, please let me know.  Please email me at r.warms@txstate.edu.

SURGEON HONORED FOR GIVING

By GEOFF FOX

April 19, 2004, Tampa Tribune

gfox@tampatrib.com

ZEPHYRHILLS — Sam Bala smiled, hands folded before him, as he sat in his office at Pasco Surgical Associates.

The bookcase behind him was full of journals and books, its shelves lined with pictures, model cars, a boomerang and a globe. An adjacent wall was covered from ceiling to floor with plaques and framed certificates.

Between his folded hands and a massive marble nameplate sat a roughly 1-foot-tall trophy, a distinguished citizen award from the Boy Scouts of America's Tacachale District. He was given the award last month during a dinner in his honor at First United Methodist Church of Dade City.

"I like kids to be Boy Scouts because they will be successful in life and good citizens," said Bala, 61, who does fundraising and other work for Dade City's Boy Scout Troop 402. "The discipline of Boy Scouts is very important."

He spoke from experience.

A native of Cavite, just outside the Philippine capital of Manila, Bala is the son of a banker-politician who instilled in his five children a resolve to succeed.

It worked. Bala's siblings, all of whom live in the Philippines, include a lawyer, chemical engineer, Mormon church official and a schools superintendent.

Given his privileged upbringing and paternal prodding, Bala likely would have become a surgeon even without a positive experience with the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, which he joined at 12, following his oldest brother.

In the Philippine Boy Scouts, Bala earned a rank of Star Scout and once was proclaimed Pasay City's honorary "Mayor of the Week."

A Scout's discipline helped him earn a doctorate from Far Eastern University in the Philippines. At 28, he went to New York, where he honed his surgical skills at The State University of New York at Stoneybrook.

Bala, who has two adult children with wife Rose, a pediatrician, is a general surgeon and co-owns Pasco Surgical Associates on Medical Arts Court off Gall Boulevard. He specializes in an advanced hernia procedure, which he teaches to surgeons who fly in from across the country to study under him at Pasco Regional Medical Center in Dade City.

It is for the civic work he does in his spare time that Bala recently was recognized.

"He's a philanthropist, a true humanitarian," said Lowell Harris, a former Dade City commissioner who has known Bala for more than 20 years. "He's a kind, compassionate, serving person. His wife and family are the same way. He calls me brother, and I'm so proud of that."

Kurt Browning, Pasco elections supervisor, has known Bala for several years. He described Bala as a "quiet contributor" who responds to the needs of others, often without being asked.

"He never beat his chest and said, "Look at me,' " Browning said. "He's just a fine man."

Besides being involved with the Rotary Club of Dade City, the Wheelchair Foundation and East Pasco Habitat for Humanity, Bala sits on the board of trustees of Pasco Regional Medical Center, Pasco-Hernando Community College and Catholic Charities USA, to which he donates hundreds of Christmas gifts every year.

For his efforts, Bala received not only the Boy Scouts trophy but also an American flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol from U.S. Rep. Mike Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor; a proclamation from Dade City; and recognition before the U.S. House of Representatives from U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville.

Although others have thanked him, Bala thanks the Boy Scouts.

For Dade City's Troop 402, he has used his Rolodex to organize fundraisers, often buys uniforms for troop members and has offered insights behind the scenes.

Asked why he does it, Bala smiled behind his folded hands and foot-high trophy and shrugged.

"Boy Scouts, when they get older, they become good leaders and good citizens. The problem in this town is people are not rich," he said. "So I say, "Join [the troop] and I'll take care of the uniforms.' This community has been nice to me, so I make time for them."

 

We'll be headed to Galveston to enjoy the beach and the seafood and do work on the oceanography merit badge.  The trip will be led by Dr. J.