Speakers

STEC (Skilled Trades Education Center) at Camp Manatoc is an innovative facility developed by the Great Trail Council (Scouting America) to provide youth with practical, hands-on exposure to skilled trades and career pathways. This center bridges traditional outdoor Scouting values with real-world technical training.

Core Program Features

• Workstations: The center features dedicated, hands-on bays for welding, carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work.
• Advanced Technology: The facility incorporates modern learning tools, including virtual-reality welding simulators.
• Merit Badges: The center is utilized both during Camp Manatoc Summer Camps and special year-round fall sessions to help Scouts earn specific Skilled Trades merit badges.

It all started when Ernest Warther lost his father at the age of three, in 1888, forcing him to take his first job at the age of five. It was during that cow-herding job that Ernest earned the nickname “Mooney,” Swiss for ‘bull of the herd,’ which stayed with him for life. But what ultimately changed the course of his life was when he found a pocketknife in the dirt road. He picked it up, started whittling, and never set it down for another 82 years. Although the knife changed over the years, Mooney’s determination, ingenuity, and artistic ability never did. In those 82 years, he would hand-sculpt over sixty works focusing around the steam-engine. The result earned him the title of the World’s Master Carver. The Ernest Warther Museum and Gardens is built around the original location of Ernest and his wife's home, his original workshop, and the first museum which opened on May 10th, 1936 in their backyard. Today, the Ernest Warther Museum is owned and operated by third and fourth generation family members whose mission is to share, educate, and delight visitors with the works compiled and created by both Ernest and Frieda Warther to invoke passion, determination, and admiration for the beauty of their art.

 

The Harry Donovan Jr Valor Home of Summit County is a 30 bed transitional housing and support facility in Akton dedicated to keeping homeless male veterans achieve self-sufficiency and stable permanent housing.  The facility opening in July 2023 to address veteran homeslessness in the greater Akron area and is operated through Family & Community Services   It provides private rooms for the residents who typcaly stay between 6-12 months while transitioning to stable housing.