Parking lot venture proves profitable for Boy Scouts

With Whaling Days sure to bring tons of traffic to eat up local parking, Silverdale Boy Scouts Troop 552 is hoping to alleviate as much of the problem as possible.

The troop’s parking lot fund-raiser will be back for the 33rd Annual Whaling Days celebration.

“It started several years ago,” Hank Jackel, a troop volunteer, said. “What the troop has done is made arrangements with various property owners to take over the parking lots and rent them out to people going to Whaling Days.”

With lots throughout Old Town, the parking lot fund-raiser has grown over the years into one of the troop’s most profitable benefits.

“It provides major funding to the Scout troop,” Jackel said. “On good years, we’ve made upwards of $4,000. It’s the major fund-raiser for the Scout troop.”

The Scouts, who range in age from 11 to 18, aren’t alone in the effort. A committee member contacts and secures the various businesses while the boys run the lots with adult supervision.

“I think they enjoy it,” Jackel said. “They get to meet a lot of people. It’s an introduction with a lot of adults. For the younger boys, it helps them develop.”

While some spots open up during the day, Jackel said the best bet to get a spot is to get to Whaling Days early.

“We normally fill up pretty quickly,” he said. “Although people will come and be there for a while and leave. Throughout the day, those spots are open.”

Each boy involved in the effort is

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