Dave Wisniewski became involved with the Cub Scouts as a child growing up in Bridgeton, NJ, and Toledo, Ohio, and later as a Boy Scout in Conn. Dave became active with the Boy Scouts in Clear Lake when his older son joined Pack 957 as a Tiger Cub . Dave became a Den Leader and later Webelos Patrol leader for the next 4 years, "graduating" with his oldest son to Boy Scouts and Troop 957. He also served as Den Leader/Webelos Patrol leader for his younger son; who is also now part of Troop 957.

Dave is one of the charter Committee members of the Troop, which started in early 2002, originally serving as Merit Badge Coordinator. He is still a Merit Badge Counselor for several merit badges. Dave currently is the Committee Chairman, in that post since March 2004. Since the beginning, he has seen the growth of the troop, both in size and stature, through the maturity of the boys and the volunteer parents.

Dave is an engineer and works for BP in the area of Project Management. His wife, Zully, is a Senior Docent at the Museum of Fine Arts-Houston. Dave and Zully enjoy family activities and are very proud of their two Boy Scouts. They live in the Pinebrook Subdivision in Clear Lake.

They live in the Pinebrook Subdivision in Clear Lake.

Doug Williford became involved with the Scouts as a child growing up in Houston, Texas and went through Cub Scouts to the rank of Lion. Doug became active with the Boy Scouts when his son joined Pack 956 as a Tiger Cub. Doug was Den Leader for 2 years. Doug then went on to be Assistant Cubmaster and Cubmaster for Pack 956. Doug received the Bayshore District Outstanding Cubmaster Award in 2000. As Cubmaster, Doug also served as the Bayshore District Popcorn Chairman.

Doug began with the Troop as an Assistant Scoutmaster and a Patrol Liaison. He also serves as Merit Badge Counselor for the Rifle, Shotgun and Muzzle Loading Shooting Sports, Snow Sports and Personal Fitness merit badges. Doug has recently become active with developing the High Adventure group with Troop 957. He also enjoys sharing the ideals and philosophies of Scouting with the boys not only about the outdoor activities but also in their everyday life.

Responding to the request, Doug stepped up as Scoutmaster in December 2005 and after a fantastic 3+ year tenrure stepped down in March 2009.

Doug is a NAUI Scuba Instructor Trainer, having trained numerous instructors both locally and for the Air Force and NASA. He is an Independent Petroleum Landman here in Houston. He and his wife, Jody enjoy scuba diving, hiking, camping, fishing, hunting and snow skiing.

They live in the Bay Forest Subdivision in Clear Lake.

Chris grew up in Dallas, Texas and was a Cub Scout in Pack 105 sponsored by Preston Hollow PTA where he earned his Arrow of Light Award and can still remember the original meaning of "WEBELOS" (ask him some day). As a member of Troop 575, sponsored by Preston Hollow United Methodist Church, Chris earned his Eagle Scout Award, served three years on the Circle Ten Council Golden Acorn Junior Leader Training Staff, and completed two 50-miler awards as a "Sourdough" in the Troop. He was elected into the Mikanakawa Lodge, Yanush Clan of the Order of the Arrow and sealed his membership in the "Brotherhood of Cheerful Service" a year later. During his time in Boy Scouts as a youth, Chris actually camped in the Explorer tents shown on the Camping Merit Badge patch. Chris credits a great deal of his interest in Scouting to his Scoutmaster, Pete Lutken.

Joining BSA as an adult leader, Chris became an assistant Cubmaster in Pack 957 in September of 1999 when his son Fletcher was in 3rd grade. Transferring to the job of Committee Chairman a year later, Chris served three years in that capacity and received the 2002 Outstanding Pack Committee Chairman Award from Bayshore District. It was during this tenure that Scouts and adults from the Pack 957 Shark Patrol decided that they wanted to form a new Troop that would be smaller than those in the Clear Lake area.

Chris volunteereed to be the Scoutmaster for the Troop and has completed all portions of Scoutmaster and Venturing Leader training. He is a certified NRA Instructor for Rifle, Shotgun, and Blackpowder Rifle, is an NRA certified Range Safety Officer, and has completed Red Cross Flatwater and Whitewater Canoe Training. Chris attended Wood Badge SR-446 ("a good 'ole Owl") and completed his ticket one year later.

After four years, Chris retired as Scoutmaster and continues as an Assistant Scoutmaster for for the First Year Program and manages the Troop's electronic records and website.

Chris and Barbara have been married since 1980 and have two children. Chris works at NASA in Human Test Safety and is a Biomedical Engineer. Additionally, he volunteers as a Licensed Paramedic with League City EMS and served at the 2005 National Jamboree on the Medical Staff.

Chris' son Fletcher is a Thespian at Clear Lake High School and a Life Scout in the Troop. Catherine was a Girl Scout in Troop 1619, a former member of Crew 442, and is a Junior at Tulane University. She received her Girl Scout Gold Award in September 2007. Catherine is also an Assistant Scoutmaster in the Troop working with Chris and the First Year program. Barbara is an Engineer with Hamilton-Sundstrand, a Troop Committee Member, loves to read, and has her hands full keeping the family headed in the same direction.

Jody Williford is a native Texan, who grew up in Kemah. As a youngster, she spent her free time sailing on the bay and riding horses. The outdoors has always been a big part of Jody's life. Jody got involved with the Boy Scouts as her son Chase became a Cub Scout and her husband Doug, became the Cubmaster of Pack 956. The last two years of Chase's Cub Scout years, Jody served as chairperson for the Pack's popcorn sales. For the years 2003 and 2004, Jody continued assisting with Scout fundraising through the Bayshore District as the District Popcorn Chairman. Jody also assisted at the Council level with the organizing of the 2004 Sam Houston Area Popcorn Campaign. As her son moved into Boy Scouts, Jody became the Outdoor Activities Coordinator for the Troop. She has enjoyed all the logistics of putting together trips that the Scouts have asked for. Jody has recently signed on to work with the High Adventure Scouts, along with her husband Doug and Mark Rehak. When Jody is not Scouting, she is usually enjoying the outdoors with her family. Together, they spend many of their weekends in the Texas Hill Country.

For the past 20 years, Jody has worked for a shipyard in Texas City where she is the office manager. Bollinger Shipyards -Texas City is a repair and maintenance yard for offshore tugboat, barges and offshore service vessels. Jody lives with her husband Doug and her son Chase, in Clear Lake in the Bay Forest subdivision.

Danny became involved with Scouts as a youngster in Oklahoma and went through Cub Scouts, Webelos, and Boy Scouts. Due to a lack of adult leadership, Danny's troop was disbanded when he was almost Life rank and his Boy Scout activity ended until his son James decided to join cub scouts. James joined Troop 957 when he was an 8th grader, earned Eagle Scout in the troop, and is now a Freshman in college.

Danny followed James into the troop and became an Assistant Scoutmaster. He saw this as a great opportunity to re-join scouting and to spend quality time with his sons. Danny now has two other sons in the troop, Evan and Bryan.

Danny's favorite hobbies all involve the outdoors. Fishing, Hunting, Scuba Diving, and of course, camping.

Outside of Scouting, he is an Internal Audit manager for Chevron. His wife Susan is the troop Treasurer. They have 5 children; James, Evan, Taya, Bryan, and Alaina. In Susan's free time outside of scouting she volunteers in the kids' schools , substitute teaches at Armand Bayou Elementary , and runs an engineering consulting service from home for area sign companies. They live in Clear Lake in the Brookforest Subdivision.

John MacLean was a Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and later a Venturer as he grew up in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The highlight of his scouting career was attending the Canadian National Jamboree in 1977. He was also active with the Canadian Red Cross as a water safety instructor, an instructor trainer for small craft and flat-water canoeing, a low-impact canoeing and camping guide, and a waterfront director for Red Cross water safety day-camps.

John’s first experience with Boy Scouts of America was as a Tiger Cub Coordinator in Pack 956 for his oldest boy James who is now working on his Life rank in Troop 957. John recently completed seven years of involvement with Pack 956 as his second son, Raymond, received his Arrow of Light and has joined his older brother in Troop 957. In addition to Tiger Cub Coordinator, John served in Pack 956 as an Assistant Den Leader and a Campout Coordinator. His only disappointment with Cub Scouts was not discovering how to build a fast pinewood derby car. He will have another chance with his youngest son David in a few more years.

In addition to scouting, John enjoys playing the piano, reading, and spending time with his four children. John is a Professional Engineer specializing in robotics and computer simulations. He runs a small engineering business called METECS that provides engineering services to NASA.

John and his wife Laura, live in the Brookwood subdivision in Clear Lake with their four children James, Raymond, Rosemary, and David.

Amr grew up in the Pittsburgh area after his family had immigrated from Egypt (which explains his unique walk) and was not involved in Boy Scouts as a child. As parents of three boys, Amr and his wife were attracted to scouting as a way to reinforce their family values in God, Country, Family and Self. Amr has been a Tiger partner and Cub Scout Den Leader and is currently a Tiger Den Leader and Webelos Patrol Leader and the Committee Chair for Pack 957 as well as Assistant Scoutmaster with the troop.

Professionally, Amr is a pediatric anesthesiologist and professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

Bio Pending

Catherine is the product of a Scouting family. She began as a Brownie in first grade and worked her way into earning the Girl Scout Gold Award immediately following her high school graduation. She was a member of a Venture Crew before crossing over into the realm of ASMs with Troop 957.

Catherine is a junior at Tulane University in New Orleans, scheduled to graduate in 2011. She is a combined Neuroscience-Psychology double major intent upon entering Medical School following her graduation. During her free time Catherine volunteers as an EMT with New Orleans EMS, but other than that school seems to be running her schedule.

Mike has attended the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) courses while kayaking in Alaska and hiking in the Southwestern United States. He lives in the Clear Lake area with his wife, son, and daughter. Read more about Mike.

Bio Pending

Keith Richards literally grew up through Scouts right here in the Bayshore District. As a member of Pack 95 and then a member of Troop 95, sponsored by Seabrook United Methodist Church, he served his fellow scouts and his community through various leadership roles and the execution of many service projects. His crowning achievements from scouting were serving as the Senior Patrol Leader and earning his Eagle in 2002. Keith has always felt more at home traveling and being in the outdoors beginning with the extended cross-country road trips his family would take as a child where they would camp for the majority of the trip. His father, also a scout, instilled in him the values of scouting from a young age.

Attending Texas A&M from 2003-2008, Keith continued his passion for leadership through multiple organizations which served the student body and faculty of Texas A&M and also the surrounding community, and held positions ranging from committee person to president. He holds a Bachelors in International Studies with minors in Business and Spanish and spent a semester interning, researching and exploring the Dominican Republic. As busy as he was during his college career, Keith had little time for his passion of the outdoors, though he did manage to become a certified PADI diver, and now seeks to continue his passion for the outdoors and leadership while giving back to scouting.

Keith is a Property Administrator in the Real Estate Department of Stage Stores, better known as Palais Royal and Beall's. He is also a Licensed Real Estate Agent in the State of Texas, currently working for Keller Williams, and hoping to obtain his Broker License to work as an independent broker within the year. Since moving back to the Houston area, Keith has taken residence closer in to Houston, but is glad to be able to return to the Clear Lake area to serve the community that made him who he is today.

Bio Pending

Bio Pending

Bio Pending

Araceli Casso was initially involved in scouting as a Brownie while in elementary school and continued her interest in scouting as a Girl Scout through high school. She enjoyed the many relationships and activities that were part of the scouting experience.

As a mother she encouraged her sons, Andrew and Matthew, to become engaged in Cub Scouts as Tigers. She served as the assistant leader for each of hers son’s dens for several years. While Andrew and Matthew progressed to receive the Arrow of Light award, Matthew chose to continue into Boy Scouts and is a member of Troop 957.

Araceli continues to support Matthew’s efforts and serves as the troop’s Advancements Chair. This involvement in the troop’s activities has become a meaningful part of the family’s life.

Professionally, Araceli is a child and adolescent psychiatrist who consults to the Krist Samaritan Center for Counseling and Education. She is married to Dan Casso, a plastic surgeon.

David began his scouting career as a Cub Scout in Memphis, Tennessee. He has fond memories of competing in both Pinewood and Space Derbies as a boy. After advancing through the Cub Scout ranks and earning the Arrow of Light, he joined Boy Scout Troop 75. While proudly serving as Patrol Leader for the Frog Patrol, David earned the Life rank while in Memphis.

When David was fourteen, his family transferred to Copenhagen, Denmark. He joined an English speaking Danish troop for a short time, but their program was substantially different from the BSA's. Soon thereafter, the United States Embassy sponsored a new American Scout troop. David joined the new troop as an original member. He completed the final Eagle Scout requirements and service project while he was with Troop 227 in Copenhagen, becoming the troop's first Eagle Scout.

David became active again in scouting after his son was old enough to join Tiger Cubs. He held the position of either Den Leader or Assistant Den Leader throughout his son's Cub Scouting days. He also was able to pass along valuable lessons learned many years ago including a few Pinewood Derby speed tips.

After his son joined Troop 957, David signed on as an Assistant Scoutmaster to support the new troop. Helping a young troop grow and mature has proven to be very rewarding. The best part of this experience is watching the boys developing their leadership skills and becoming young men. In 2007, David moved over to the Troop Committee to continue working with the Troop on the administrative side.

David and his family have lived in the Pine Brook subdivision in Clear Lake for eight years. He works at Hoyer-Odfjell, Inc., an international transportation company, as the Financial Controller for the Americas. His wife, Mary recently began her own business as a decorative / faux painter. David and Mary have one son, Chase who has recently become a teenager.

Barbara, as her family never lets her forget, is not a native Texan, but a former Yankee (born in Perth Amboy, NJ) who got here as fast as she could. She became involved in scouting of the female variety as a child, and signed up both her daughter and son for girl and boy scouting respectively, as soon as they were eligible. Until the formation of Troop 957, her volunteering was limited to periodic kid chauffeur and money handling duty for girl scout cookie/cub scout popcorn sales—and then getting rid of the mounds of boxes after explaining for the umpteenth time to said kids why they weren’t done until the orders were actually delivered. Then her husband, Chris asked her if she would be willing to “help out” with a boy scout troop he was trying to form. Before she knew it, she was Troop Treasurer, Troop Secretary and Troop Advancements Chair.

Married to Chris since 1980, she has long since gotten used to finding propane bottles on the floor or in the freezer, rope ends being dyed blue on the stove, tents drying in the living room, and merit badge cards and medical forms stacked on the dining room table. The current importance of scouting in their family life is best illustrated by the fact that neither saw any problem at all with having their 25th wedding anniversary dinner be potluck at a Troop 957 Court of Honor.

Outside of scouting, Barbara is the Configuration and Data Manager for the EVA Systems Contract at NASA JSC. She has a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Materials Science from Rice, and has spent the 20+ years since working at NASA for Hamilton Sundstrand on the spacesuit and tools in the materials, configuration management, data management, mission support and logistics areas. Hobbies include reading, cross-stitch and taking long walks around Brookwood.

Dale is currently serving with great delight in his third tour of duty in Scouting. His started at Alamo Elementary School in Odessa, Texas, in 1959, where he earned the ranks of Bobcat, Wolf, Bear and Lion. It is his dubious honor of being in the last group of cub scouts to finish the program before the establishment of WeBeLoS. He entered Boy Scouts in Troop 18, in Odessa, Texas, where he rose to the rank of Life Scout.

His second pass in Scouting was through Troop 595, where his stepson, Robert, successfully climbed the trail to Eagle Scout. Dale served Troop 595 as its Advancement Chairman and as a merit badge counselor. He's proud to have been a charter member of its Old Goat Patrol. It was there that he was inducted into the Colonneh Lodge of the Order of the Arrow and perfected a breakfast taco recipe.

In his current enlistment, he serves the scouts of Troop 957 as a Committee member and merit badge counselor. He currently is jump-starting his career in OA and learning a little more about Troop 957 every week.

Outside of scouting, he works for Shell Chemical LP as the analytical chemist for the Deer Park Chemical Plant. He provides technical support for the four laboratories on site and consults with the Shell-Americas transportation emergency response action teams. He serves on the Houston Community College advisory board for technology education. He is pursuing his doctorate at the University of Houston in science education.

He now resides in Brookwood with his lovely and talented spouse, Dara (who is a CFP with UBS), son Patrick, two dogs, and approximately a dozen goldfish. He enjoys theology, science, technology, philosophy, history, marksmanship, camping, hiking, golf, music, reading, sports, film, graphic arts, friends and family, but not all at once, and not necessarily in that order.

Byron Fike has been the preaching minister of Clear Lake Church of Christ since December 1999. The passionate motivation for his life is to help people know God, by helping non-believers come to Christ and helping believers to grow to maturity in Him. Byron has a master’s degree in theology from Harding Graduate School and has been in full-time ministry for over twenty-five years. His ministry has included preaching God’s Word, teaching classes on various subjects such as parenting, writing for various publications, counseling individuals and families, and leading Bible studies. Byron and his wife, Liz, have two grown sons and a daughter in college.