Scouting is a Family Tradition
Scouting is a family tradition in the Shedd family. From left: Donna, Donnie, Liam, Donald, Bryson and Jillian.
Donnie Shedd of Bedford shares more than his first and last name with his father, Donald Shedd. They share a love of Scouting, both dedicating decades to being a Scout and then a Scoutmaster. They’ve both held other leadership roles, believing deeply in the mission of Scouting. It’s a love and dedication they are now passing on to a third generation.
Donnie Shedd grew up on Sunset Lake in Hampstead, N.H., where he first joined Scouting as a Cub Scout in Pack 111. His father, a lifelong Scout, was serving as assistant scoutmaster of his Cub Scout Pack. Shedd went on to earn the Order of the Arrow, the highest award in Cub Scouting, and crossed over to join Troop 33. He earned the rank of Eagle, the highest honor in Scouting, at 14, several years before most achieve that rank. He went on to join Venturing Crew 121 and earned the Silver and Venturing Ranger awards at that level.
Now he is Cubmaster of Pack 5, one of three packs in Bedford, N.H. Extending the family affair even further, his wife is a Den Leader in Pack 5, and his father is a Unit Commissioner for Pack 5. Keeping it all in the family, his sons, Bryson, 10, and Liam, 7, are Cub Scouts in Pack 5.
“Cub Scouts is designed to be a family program,” the younger Shedd said. “Years ago, you used to drop off and pick up the kids for a meeting. Now the family stays. We have adult partners for the kids. The message I give to new families is if your child joins Cub Scouts, you join Cub Scouts.”
He said all family members can join in activities such as meetings and camp-outs, but there is flexibility. He said if a family isn’t interested in camping or has a conflict, they don’t have to go. There are camping requirements for older Cub Scouts as they prepare to move to the next level, but those skills can be taught and practiced during other events and meetings.
“There is something for everybody. … I think one of the bigger benefits is the way Cub Scouts is designed to be a family program. It’s great where you can have the entire family, especially with the changes that they’ve made with allowing females into the program. We are now a family pack,” he said. “You have a lot of families in the unit that have two children in the program, sometimes three. The entire family can participate in one extracurricular.”
He said the addition of girls to Packs and Troops makes Scouting a desirable extracurricular because the whole family now can go to one place and one meeting, simplifying the need to drive each kid to a different activity or sport. His Cub Pack also offers yearround programming, meeting twice a month during the school year and once a month over the summer so the cost of membership — a Scout’s annual dues — go further and provide access to many different activities all year long, instead of just one for a season or semester.
“There have been so many program changes, and there’s been such an expansion of the program with allowing girls to join, and other changes,” he said. “Scouting had to change to come in line with other activities … The program would have gotten stagnant had they not made the changes that they did. The changes have been unbelievably beneficial.”
He noted the breadth of the activities through which merit badges build skills. “They’ve really gone above and beyond to include something for everyone, from digital technology to landscape architecture,” he said.
His favorite merit badge to work on as a Scout was the three levels of the Citizenship badge. Another favorite memory is his service as a bugler. Shedd’s father played trumpet in the Army band during his military service. When Shedd got old enough to pick an instrument in school, he picked the trumpet. His father also taught him to play the bugle and he would play “Taps” often in Scout ceremonies and events. Later, he was in the Air Force Junior ROTC in high school and was usually the one chosen to perform at the town of Hampstead’s Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day services.
Shedd feels his Scouting experience as a boy directly influenced his career choice.
“Scouting laid a foundation for the direction of my life as an adult in the workforce,” he said.
A public servant all his life, he worked as a police, fire and EMT dispatcher from 2008 until a few months ago when he started a new job as a paralegal in the city of Manchester’s law office. He is the president of the Paralegal Association of New Hampshire, on the advisory board for the Paralegal Studies program at Middlesex Community College, and is on the advocacy committee for the National Federation of Paralegal Associations. He was honored as one of the Union Leader’s 40 under 40 award winners for 2024. Shedd also coaches Little League in Bedford in addition to being a Cubmaster.
He cited his father as his primary role model. The 75-year-old still lives in Hampstead and is a Unit Commissioner, for Troop 33, Donnie’s childhood troop as well as a Unit Commission for his grandsons’ Pack in Bedford. He said Craig Cascadden, his former Scoutmaster at the troop level, was a big influence, too, and he still keeps in touch with him.
Cub Scouting is a good choice for families.
“It comes down to the overall aim of Scouting. You’re looking to develop a young person’s character, their citizenship, their personal fitness, and their leadership,” he said. “I think parents see this as we work on different activities. It all goes to creating a well-rounded human being.”
He said the effect of his Scouting experience on him has been lifelong.
“Families with more than one child really do have to pick and choose their extracurriculars, because there’s only so many hours in a day; there’s only so many days in a week,” he said. “I think that people do need to give Scouting a look. … As a kid, I was involved with more than Scouting. I did Little League, I did soccer, I did all those things. But out of all of the extracurriculars that I’ve done, only one of them has followed me into my adult life. Eagle Scout is the only one listed on my resume. … It’s like a signal that this is a well-rounded, responsible and trustworthy adult.”
This article was featured in Elevate: The Magazine of 603 Scouts.
The Daniel Webster Council, Boy Scouts of America has shaped young lives through character, leadership, and service for nearly a century. Today, we honor that legacy while embracing a more dynamic future where the entire family can experience all the benefits of scouting.
In 2025, the Boy Scouts of America proudly begins a new chapter as Scouting America. This new name, Scouting America New Hampshire, clarifies who we serve and demonstrates our resounding commitment to Scouting. We invite all youth — boys and girls — into a world-class leadership program rooted in the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Our mission remains steadfast: to develop leaders of character through service, responsibility, and integrity.
