Bios Number 

Things about me with some random numbers:

1-  hours driven to and from scout meeting every weekend
2- the number of kids I currently have
3- the amount of months I spent in jail in VN for trying to escape.
4- the age when I attend first grade
6- the age I quit school in VN
7- the number of times we try to escape Vietnam
8- The age when I celebrated my first birthday EVER. Didn't even know my birth date until then.
9- The years I spent helping my parents sell at the flea market every weekend.
10- the number of times I took the driving test.  :D
18- The age when I met hubby.
20- the age of the marriage license.

Born in Bien Hoa, Vietnam,  in October of 1967.  Left Vietnam at the age of 7.  At the age of 12, joined BSA in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Left Scouting for boarding school at the beginning of 9th grade.  Graduated from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas as a Bachelor of Science majoring in Computer Systems Engineering.  Met and married my wife in Denver, Colorado. I am Catholic, a father of 2.  Daughter is 18 and my son is 16.  I have been with Lien Doan La Vang since 2008.  Both of my children joined Lien Doan La Vang.  Through dedication she has earned her Gold Award and my son, Eagle Scout.  During the children years in Scouting, I have participated in many volunteering opportunities.  I have earned Powder Horn in 2010, and Wood Badge in 2011.  My jungle name is “Gấu Siêng Năng”. 

My personal motto is, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Ecclesiastes 9:10

Born in Vietnam the year of the snake. Lost my father during tết mậu thân. Refused boarding on a flight which crash landed in Saigon.  Left Vietnam for US with my younger brother by ourselves and arrived in Miami Florida on April 30, 1975.  Graduated from University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1987 with a BS in Computer Science. Got caught and put in jail by my wife (warden) in 1994. While in jail, produce two boys in 1998 and 2000. Warden neuter me in 2001 for good behaviors. Introduced to scouting by a member of Bear patrol (TN6).  Lured in to be a leader by TN9 course director in 2008 with a T-Shirt of Giu Vung XIII.  Attended Tung Nguyen VI as a Buffalo.  Ranger kicked us out of the lake during our Outpost for bad behaviors.

The Five Śīlas (bồ tát giới) that I have taken are:

1. To refrain from killing.
2. To refrain from stealing.
3. To refrain from false speech.
4. To refrain from sexual misconduct.
5. To refrain from using intoxicants.

To reflect on my vows for today. I killed a mosquito this morning. Stole internet from work to write this post. I lied about wife neutering me (she paid and drove me to the doctor). Have not seen wife for a week. I got drunk with the Portland staffs on my last visit. No wonder I can't get into heaven. My favorite song is Cat's in the Cradle  It is a reminder for me to spend time with my family.

Life Goal: The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others (by Mahatma Gandhi).

My jungle name is “Gấu Tận Tâm”. My Dharma name is “Thân Nhiếp”. Which Wood Badger am I?

·       I was born in the year of the "precious crowns".

·       I was a Webeloes 2 when we lost the war and stopped scouting then.

·       My family escaped by boat in 1979 to Malaysia before resettling in Sacramento, California.

·       At that time, I was almost 17, and did not know much English.

·       My very first English teachers were Gilligan's Island, Be Witch and Six Million Dollars Man.

·       I have a pre-arranged marriage to a wonderful wife for 30 years, who I have two daughters with.

·       In Scouting, I am involved at the unit level, lien doan level, district level, council level, and national level.

B5

I live in Houston, TX and have been a scout leader with LD Lavang for only I think 10 years but feels like a lifetime (I think that's a good thing). I've experienced the ebb and flow of scout life...the forming, storming, norming, and performing through those years. The knowledge and skills that I've learned through wood badge TN 6 have been invaluable but the connections and bonds that I made with my fellow wood badgers and staff were and are the most important to me. My mission as a troop guide on this course is to be one of the vessel of knowledge and connection to my patrol and to others. My hope is for participants and staff to be able to make memories and connections that will last a lifetime!

I was the 9th and youngest child, born in Year of the Goat (Vietnamese zodiac) and in the  horoscope of Capricorn. Escaped by boat with brothers and sister-in-law from Vietnam in October 1983, my 5th times, got into Kuku, Indonesia and later Galang Refugee Camp, Indonesia.  I came to the USA in November, 1984, and have been living in San Jose, CA.  Got my Bachelor of Art in Biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley in 1991. Currently, I am working at Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA as a researcher.  I am married for 22 years having 3 children - 2 daughters and a son.  In 2004, though my children were not at scouting age, I first joined scouting to help out  the newly formed scouting groups (LĐ Rạng Đông, San Jose, CA).  As time schedule conflicting, I had to move for different scouting groups.  Throughout years of my scouting, I held positions of Scoutmaster, ASM, Advisor, Troop Committee, and Unit Commissioner. In Western Region, Tung Nguyen V Wood Badge course, I was in the Owl patrol. My patrol gave one another a name for his/her special memorable character and I was the Naughty Owl (Cú Wậy - with the W, though there is no W in Vietnamese language.  In this case, it was pronounced like QU).  Via totemization, I was named the Agile Mountain Goat.  I was, thus, three-peats of being the goat! :)

I've been involved in Scouting all my life (+22 years) starting as a Cub Scout, moving up to Boy Scouts, and eventually Venturing. I am a proud Eagle Scout as of 2005 and have held leadership/staff roles within TT9, TT10, TKP2, and as Assistant Camp Chief/Quarter Master of TKP3. In my spare time, I enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and backpacking, tinkering with computers, games, and most of all, traveling the world with my wife.

1   -  The number of picture taken when I was 5 years old

1   -  The number of kid I currently have (only God know the future)
6   -  The number of scouting years in Vietnam

20 -  The number of scouting years in United States
5   -  The number of years as a teacher in Vietnam
22 -  The number of years teaching Vietnamese Language and Culture in US

0   -  The number of time taken Driving test in US because I had a driving license in VN
42 -  The number years in Marriage

28 -  The age on my marriage license

2   -  The number of Lien Doan that I help formed

22 -  The number of scouts earned Eagle Scouts in our Lien Doan

The best number yet:

20+ scout leaders that I sold into Scouting slavery !!!!!

 Top 10 things about me….

1.  I am the eldest out of 5 kids; people just call me YSN

2.  I have 2 teenage boys going on 40 years old (1 is an Eagle, working on the other)

3.  I’ve been married for 19 years

4.  I love to eat, but cannot cook

5.  I am into so many crafts that my house is a storage area

6.  Love the 80’s music, my favorite karaoke song is Pat Benatar, “Love is a Battlefield,” but really I can’t sing it

7.  I am loud, and I like to have lots of fun

8.  I like to plan things, do not like surprises

9.  I love Scouting and what it stands for; even before I join the program

10.  I love to travel and to learn different cultures.

Currently, I serve as as the Crew Advisor for Crew 817. I've been a part of scouting for over 20 years, starting as a Jr Girl Scout, through Girl Scouts and was an active part of my Venturing crew, including earning my Silver Award. I was apart of Woodbadge course 999-16 in Maui, go bears! My leadership experience includes program staff for TT9, TT10, TKP1, TKP2 and Camp Chief for TKP3. Outside of scouting, I enjoy snowboarding, traveling, eating lots of good food and boba. 

A sixth generation Texian, I am the author of four nationally award winning and best-selling books on the history of the Scouting movement locally, nationally, and internationally. I am an Eagle Scout with 5 Eagle palms, a Vigil Honor member in the Order of the Arrow, and a 2013 recipient of the Silver Beaver Award. I currently serves on BSA’s National Disabilities Awareness sub-committee as their publications specialist.

I am a graduate of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, with a BA in Psychology as well as Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas with a master’s degree in Applied Economics. A member of numerous lineal and national patriotic societies, I am a 1st cousin (6 generations removed) to US President James K. Polk and a 2nd cousin (8 generations removed) to US President George Washington. I have been married to Aimee over twenty-seven years we have four children, one of whom is an Eagle Scout.

I have been involved with Cub Scouts since 2016 as part of Lien Doan LaSan in Houston, Texas. I started in scouting as an involved parent, then as a den leader, later as a Girl Scout troop leader, and currently Pack 1212 Cubmaster.  I enjoys working with the young Scouts while making sure they are having a good time.  I have completed Wood Badge training during the SHAC 18-2 course and was in the Fox Patrol.  My husband, Phong, and I have been married for 14 years. We have two children together – a son named Gavin who is a Webelos and a daughter Steffi who joined Cub Scouts this year as a Bear.  I enjoy traveling with my family, making challah bread French toast on the weekend watching movies, great friendships, and eating a good meal. 

Baby pic - age 5 (first time with make-up!)

I am a Baby Boomer Generations. I was born between “Crouching Tiger - Hidden Dragon”. I joined to the Boyscout when I was 7 years old. After the Fall of Saigon I stopped scouting until 1982. We started underground scouting with Trưởng Voi Hoạt Bát (Fr. Tiến Lộc). I escaped from Vietnam in 1988 to Galang-Indonesia.  I came to the US in 1990. I joined to the religious order in 1991. I became a Catholic priest in 2002. I started scouting with Liên Đoàn Tây Sơn (Portland, Oregon) since 2003 till now. I joined to the US Air Force 2007-2015 as a Military Chaplain. I graduated from the Seton Hall University with a BA in Music and Philosophy. I graduated from the Notre Dame Seminary with a Master of Divinity in Theology. I graduated from The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome with S.T.L (STL is the abbreviation of the Latin, sacrae theologiae licentiatus, which translates as "licentiate of sacred theology"). My jungle name is “Đại Bàng Đa Năng”. I participated in Tùng Nguyên VIII Wood Badge Course in Maui, Hawaii 2016 I was the Antelope Patrol. I love to travel and take picture. “Đời có bao nhiêu ngày vui - How many happy days does life have?”

Enjoy life of scouting.

I was born in a small village in Ohio in 1985.  I grew up with farms for neighbors and fifty-one acres of woods behind my house.  I went to Kent State University and studied opera and music education. I have been involved with Scouting for two years.  I am now currently working for the Boy Scouts of America, Lake Erie Council.  I am an avid forager and gardener.  I love baking with things from my garden as well as making my own hot sauces.  In my spare time I like to go for adventures with my German Shepherd named Papageno.

I was born in the year of Rooster 1969/1970 in Da Nang. In 1976 my family went to the new economy area in Long Khánh. In early 1995, I followed my family to the United States under HO. In 2001 graduated from PSU in CIS. In 2002, I married a normal/short girl, but she is beautiful wife. I have two children; Alena is 16 who is Venturing and Eric is 13 and working on First Glass Rank.
I knew about Scouting when I went to study English in late 1995, tr Vương Thế Hạnh and Lưu Hà asked me to join BSA and I did. In 1997, I left of BSA to attend college. In 2002, I joined Vietnamese Scouting in local Oregon and Washington with các trưởng Bùi Văn Giải, Phạm Quang Lộc, Trịnh Văn Toàn, Tiến Lộc, and Bạch Văn Nghĩa ... In 2006, I joined the BSA again. In May 2009, I went to woodbadge course (gỗ thiệt) and October the same year I and tr Tùng, tr Tiến opened Liên Đoàn Tây Sơn with Pack and Troop 714. Now I enjoy playing with my Pack, Boy and Girl Troop, and Crew as CR/Lien doan truong.

I was born and raised in Vietnam.  I came to   America 20 years ago. I have been in scouting for 15 yrs. My favorite hobby is travel and cooking. Love to take care everyone and make them happy. My friends and family members 's happiness are my enjoyment.

By the way I am still available. 

I have been in scouting for twenty years. I love to travel an fixing the house. I am not afraid to try new food. However, I don’t like to change. My favorite sport is pingpong.

I started my scout life experience when I joined in 1985 as a cubscout in Houston, TX.  Since then, I have never stopped scouting.  Throughout my adult life, I moved and have joined other Lien Doans in Virginia and Northern California.  Scouting positions I have held include Scoutmaster, Venture Advisor, and Lien Doan Truong.  I was a participant in TN III and TN V.  I have staffed as a Troop Guide for TN VIII and now as ASM Logistics for TN IX.   I am grateful for the many experiences and friends that I have made and I am exited for what my scouting future holds.