Scoutmaster Steve Lloyd, the longest serving scoutmaster in Troop 97's history, recently retired. Photo Courtesy of Susan Swagler.
Scout leader Steve Lloyd, who guided and influenced a generation of young men, has stepped down from his leadership role at Boy Scouts of America Boy Scout Troop 97 at Trinity United Methodist Church in Homewood after 22 years of service.
Long after his own boys, Adam, Russell, and Michael, earned their Eagle Scout badges (in 2006, 2009 and 2016, respectively), Lloyd remained devoted to Troop 97. He has served as an adult Boy Scout leader since 2000, and he was Scoutmaster for 14 years at Troop 97—making him the longest-tenured Scoutmaster of all 15 Scoutmasters at the troop since it was established in 1950.
Under Lloyd’s leadership, more than 110 Scouts have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
Dave Goode, who worked with Lloyd for seven years as an assistant Scoutmaster, said: “Steve’s dedication to Scouting is evident by how long he continued as Scoutmaster after his sons became Eagle Scouts. That is a testament to his unselfishness, dedication, and leadership.”
Dean Burgess, who served as Troop Committee Chair from 2012 to 2018 and is a current board member of the BSA’s Greater Alabama Council, which serves youth and adult volunteers in 20 counties in north and central Alabama, has known Lloyd since their boys played tee ball together in the 1990s.
“You can’t help but follow Steve Lloyd, learn from him and have fun all at the same time,” Burgess said. “His enthusiasm for Scouting, friendship and the outdoors is infectious. His passion for improving the lives of others is exemplary. … He has been a role model for a generation of boys, some of whom are now doctors, accountants, truck drivers, businessmen, Army tank battalion commanders and Navy submarine officers, and he has developed leadership skills in adults who might not have known they had it in them.”
Dean Snow, who was Scoutmaster of Troop 97 from 2000 to 2008, said Lloyd was instrumental in growing and sustaining the troop.
“I remember the call like it was yesterday,” Snow said. “It was early 2000, and I had just taken over as Scoutmaster for Troop 97. The troop’s member numbers were way down, and we needed new Scouts fast. I made an urgent call to Steve Lloyd who was serving as den leader for his son Adam’s Webelos den at Pack 397. After talking with Steve, telling him of my goals and vision for the troop, he told me he would bring his boys over for a visit and let them make their own decisions. They all joined, and Troop 97 started the comeback that is still in place today.”
Lloyd, he said, knew the importance of trust—especially trusting his own Scouts in their abilities to make sound decisions and be effective leaders.
“As we began a new chapter in the troop’s history, we strictly followed the Boy Scout model for troop leadership,” Snow said. “This model emphasizes allowing the youth to actually run the troop. Steve took this model, strengthened it, and put major emphasis on the development of each and every Scout to become his best. He believed in his heart that every Scout can become a winner with proper leadership.”
Now Lloyd has stepped aside, and Grant Mullins is the new Scoutmaster at Troop 97. He’s there because of Lloyd.
“When he first approached me to gauge my interest in being his successor, I turned him down immediately,” Mullins said. “I went on to explain my fear of the daunting task of stepping into such a large pair of boots and not being able to continue at his level of excellence. In classic ‘Mr. Lloyd’ fashion, he listened to my concerns, talked me through the job as he saw it, and offered a great deal of kind words and guidance. In that moment, I had the opportunity to experience firsthand the kind of guidance that our boys were privy to as members of Troop 97.”
Under Lloyd’s leadership, hundreds of boys—in his own troop as well as others he interacted with—had a rich and rewarding Scouting experience. So did the other adult leaders who worked alongside Lloyd.
Dan Strunk said Lloyd is known throughout the Scouting world for his “leadership, teamsmanship, and people skills” and for his ability to work with a variety of ages—from the young men who are Scouts to the adult leaders around them—in his own troop and “among all the other Scout relations he has had with individuals and their troops.
“He is well known among all adult members of the Greater Alabama Council in terms of assuring his troop's attendance/participation in Council activities,” Strunk said. “He has never been anything but enthusiastic about the program, assuring the troop’s constant activities as well as activities involving the Council where his troop played strong, active roles. His appearing anywhere Scout leaders congregated, in representing his troop, always seemed to serve as ‘icing on the cake’ regarding group enthusiasm and camaraderie.
Lloyd’s dedication over the years to the boys in his troop was evident to all.
His wife, Marilyn, said: “Steve worked hard on every Scout’s Court of Honor advancement and Eagle Courts of Honor, giving his full attention to details for each Scout. Many nights he would be up late working on a presentation for a Court of Honor, and he wouldn’t wrap it up until he felt it was worthy of presentation.
“Scouting is a way of life that I know he aspires to instill in each young man that has gone down the path of Boy Scouts. The admirable characteristics of a Scout are something Steve strongly believes in teaching.”
These are summed up in the Scout Oath, she said, something that “is so touching for a parent to hear their son said. At least, it has always been that way for me.”
Submitted by Susan Swagler
