Retiree still active with Boy Scouts

An Inverness man has been involved with Scouting since he was 9 years old.

By JORGE SANCHEZ

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 25, 2001

INVERNESS -- Jim Ralph's lifelong association with the Boy Scouts and his medical training have combined to provide him an active lifestyle.

After retiring as a doctor, he and his wife, Barbara, moved to Citrus County in 1988. Both are active volunteers and work as character actors at Disney World. Ralph also is volunteer medical director at the McGregor Smith Boy Scout Camp near the Withlacoochee River, east of Inverness. Troops from throughout the state visit the site.

"I've been involved in Scouting since I was 9 years old," Ralph said.

"Mainly I serve as a consultant," he said. "I show up on the first days of summer camp, making sure everyone gets their physicals. I act as a consultant to the emergency medical service technicians stationed there, and I help them prepare the mess hall for inspections."

In Inverness, he is a troop committee member for Troop 457 and a merit badge counselor.

"I wear my 30-year-old Boy Scout uniform to meetings," Ralph said. "That usually gets a lot of interest."

Ralph said he has been a troop leader "all my adult life."

He has been active in Scouting throughout the world, including Vietnam and Germany.

At Disney World, the Ralphs "work in the educational program at the Animal Kingdom, in a part called Fort Wilderness," he said. "We dress up in period costumes and take part in educational programs for young students."

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