For a couple of hours Tuesday, four local Boy Scouts paired up with Seymour City Hall employees and learned all about their jobs.

One helped Mayor Craig Luedeman declare it Boy Scouts Day and then got a taste of what it takes to run the city. The others shadowed the clerk-treasurer, parks and recreation department director and building commissioner.

Two other Scouts went to the police station, two others learned about the fire department and one visited the Water Pollution Control Facility.

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And three Scouts headed out to Freeman Field Industrial Park — two going to the Department of Public Works and one looking around Freeman Municipal Airport.

It was all part of Scouts in Government Day, giving 12 members of troops 526 and 529 in Seymour an inside look at local government.

Dale Siefker, a member of the executive board of Hoosier Trails Council Boy Scouts of America who helps with Troop 526, said Scouts in Government Day has been conducted in Seymour for many years.

He remembers participating in the event when he was a Boy Scout in the 1960s.

“I like it for the boys that they get to see what the government really is all about,” Siefker said.

Larry Meyer, who assisted Siefker with Scouts in Government Day, also remembers taking part in the activities when he was in Boy Scouts with Siefker. They were neighbors.

“It’s just a great day for them to find out about how city government functions,” Meyer said. “They get a chance to go see firsthand what happens at the fire department, out at the airport, with the mayor’s office. It’s a good part of education for Scouting to learn about how government works.”

Siefker said the Scouts learn more about their place in the community, and Meyer said it may encourage them to someday work for the city or serve on a board.

The event also helps the Scouts work toward a merit badge.

“We have a citizenship in the community merit badge that goes over that kind of stuff, and that’s one of the merit badges that’s required for Eagle Scouts,” Siefker said. “They are not earning a badge for today, but they could use it for part of a badge.”

The local troop leaders learned which Scouts wanted to participate in Scouts in Government Day and then paired them with a city official.

Logan Bryant of Troop 529 served as the police chief. He said he has been to the police station for school field trips, but it was his first time there for Scouts in Government Day.

Logan said he liked learning about the police department, especially the detectives room.

“If I wanted to do police work, it would help me know how to get into it or whether or not I was really into it,” Logan said. “Really, it can help any Scout for that matter, not just me.”

Assistant Police Chief Craig Hayes said he enjoyed having Logan and fellow Scout Devin Beddoe visit the police station.

“I think it gives the kids an insight into how local government is and how it works,” Hayes said. “When they see how we do things, they may decide if that’s the thing for them or they may decide it’s not.”

Hayes gave the two Scouts a tour of the building before letting them ride in a police car with Drug Abuse Resistance Education Officer Gilbert Carpenter.

“It’s a good chance for students to learn about how police work on a daily basis and see how they interact with the community,” Hayes said. “You see a lot of stuff on the news, but you realize after working with us that working with the community is a big part of it.”

At the fire department, Matthew Maples of Troop 526 was the fire chief, and Braedon Reynolds of Troop 529 was the assistant fire chief.

Fire Chief Brad Lucas said it was a good opportunity for the Scouts to learn about what he and his firefighters do on a daily basis.

“We have presentations for schools, but this is more of a one-on-one chance,” Lucas said. “It gives them a chance to see what we do, to ask about work schedules, ask about gear we use and show them different things.”

Lucas said the boys were very attentive and asked good questions. Their favorite part was going up in the bucket of a ladder truck.

“They weren’t afraid to go 100 feet in the air,” Lucas said.

Sam Beavers of Troop 526 and his father, Kevin Beavers, took a tour of the Seymour Department of Public Works facility.

Sam said the most interesting part was watching Justin Colglazier and Denver Sparkman make street signs. Sam even got to take home his own street sign, reading “Sam Blvd.”

Kevin Beavers, who assists with Troop 526, said he learned a lot of new stuff, too.

“I didn’t know they made the signs out here. That was pretty cool. I didn’t know the details of recycling,” he said. “It’s not all just magic. It doesn’t happen by itself. There are people behind the scenes that make everything work.”

Environmental educator Bernie Bryant filled them in on recycling.

She said it’s good to see Boy Scouts taking time to learn about how the city operates.

“I would say the one big thing is it gives them insight into what goes on behind the scenes and that it doesn’t just happen. There are people doing that,” she said. “It kind of gives them … maybe an idea of what they might want to do with their future — would that interest them or do they want to go down that path and look at that as a career.”

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Scouts in Government Day

Mayor: Jordan Grant

Police chief: Logan Bryant

Assistant police chief: Devin Beddoe

Fire chief: Matthew Maples

Assistant fire chief: Braedon Reynolds

Parks department director: Luke Hauersperger

Clerk-treasurer: Skylar Shubert

Director of public works: Sam Beavers

Recycling department: Paul Bontrager

Building commissioner: Cameron Kincer

Wastewater treatment: J.T. Robbins

Airport manager: Dylan Peters

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