When retired teacher Dave Eichler helped Glossbrenner Church in Mount Joy secure a Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission grant for canoes, a trailer and life jackets, he had a bigger vision than just getting church youths on the water. He wanted to use those resources to teach safe boating to the wider community.

Since August 2024, three local Scouting America troops - from Maytown, Hershey and Elizabethtown - have taken part in Eichler's hands-on boat safety certification program. Each troop earned both state certification and merit badges after completing his course.

The fish and boat commission's Boating and Water Safety Awareness (BWSA) course guides people to be knowledgeable in safe boat operation, the laws and regulations, equipment and in-water participation. The in-water portion involves floating in a life jacket and conserving body heat, using throw bags and ropes, performing safe swamping and canoe-over-canoe rescues and learning paddle strokes.

"Participants must pass a written test and perform the in-water skills to receive certification," Eichler said. He runs his BWSA course at Speedwell Forge Lake in Elm.

In mid-September, Elizabethtown Scouting America Troop 51 took to the water with Eichler. Scoutmaster Brandon Adams remarked that although he has boated before, the course provided a new way of looking at safety.

"(It) helped me understand more boating right-of-way and the various buoy markings and meanings," Adams shared.

Each of the Scouts went home with new knowledge from the experience. Scout Jackson Nash learned that it's important to have distress signals on board your boat.

Maintaining constant awareness of your surroundings is also important, said troop member Jack Deardorf.

"Knowing about the exclusion zones around military and cruise liner ships is important," he commented.

Scout Kolton Adams shared a bit of trivia he learned during the program, noting, "A person needs to be at least 12 years old to operate a jet ski and have a boat safety card, too!"

And Alexander Whitney, also a member of the troop, explained his favorite part of the day.

"It was pretty cool doing the boat-over-boat stuff," he said. "You never know when you might have to use it."

Elizabeth Whitney, committee chair for Troop 51, thanked Eichler for his class, adding, "We appreciate all the knowledge he shared with the troop."

Instructing the Scouts comes naturally for Eichler, who spent 35 years teaching health, physical and outdoor education at Donegal High School. When he retired in 2020, he wanted to keep instructing people in outdoor activities, and he applied for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission grant. He hopes program participants leave with knowledge that will keep them safe while also having fun on the water.

"If your Scout troop, church youth group or interested group of adventure-seeking folks want to also experience what I can offer, I can be reached at Glossbrenner Church," Eichler said, adding that he's already booking dates in the new year. "To schedule for 2026, call the church at 717-653-5683."