Hollister
– Ronco Liem recently decided to step down as committee chairman
of Boy Scout Troop 436, but he isn’t leaving the scouting life
behind.
Hollister – Ronco Liem recently decided to step down as committee chairman of Boy Scout Troop 436, but he isn’t leaving the scouting life behind.
Although Liem’s younger son Josh recently graduated from the scouts, Liem, 53, said he still plans to help lead Boy Scout trips and to pitch-in with the troop’s annual Christmas tree pick-up.
“The secret is that adults really have as much fun as the boys,” he said.
Liem was gradually drawn into the scouting life. He started helping when his sons joined the Cub Scouts, and his commitment grew when they advanced to the Boy Scouts. Liem got his first taste of being committee chairman when his wife Jeanne, then the chairwoman, had to miss a meeting and asked him to fill in.
“Like most people who get involved with the scouts, I didn’t become involved all at once,” he said.
Now, Liem considers himself part of a core group of volunteers, and he’s formed long-term friendships with other Boy Scout parents. Liem also leads the troop’s annual ski trip to Dodge Ridge, and he doesn’t intend to stop now.
“Even if they don’t ask me … my skis are waxed and ready to go,” Liem said.
Troop leader Doug Herring said he worked closely with Liem for many years.
“He’s a positive guy,” Herring said. “Where other people try to find things that are wrong, he tries to make things right.”
Liem’s family has a long history with the scouts. Both Ronco and Jeanne Liem’s fathers were Boy Scouts, and even though Liem’s father moved frequently as a child in Indonesia, “(the scouts) always welcomed him like a brother in arms.”
Liem has led a well-traveled life himself. He was born in Hong Kong and lived in Japan, France, Boston and New York City. Liem said it was his wife who wanted to move from New York to the family ranch in Tres Pinos, a move that shocked some of their East Coast friends.
“I told him that if he didn’t like Hollister, I would go back to the East Coast,” Jeanne Liem said.
Nearly 20 years later, the Liems are still here, and they’re ready for their next scouting adventure.
