BY IRENE LABOMBARDE

Val Touba loves the outdoors and volunteering to help build the next generation of strong men through Scouting.

Touba has been involved with Boy Scouts for most of his life. As a boy, he advanced from Cub Scouts to Eagle Scout, the highest rank possible. As an adult, he had served as troop leader for his oldest son, Zachary, now 20, during his path to Eagle.

With his son, Wesley, 9, Touba is starting the process all over again as Cubmaster of Pack 114.

“I enjoy helping people. Not only helping them get things done, but feeling like I could help in some kind of emergency situation. Scouting is a great training ground for that,” said Touba.

Growing up in Clinton, N.Y., Touba loved Scouting and camping, he said. One of his favorite memories is when he won a knot-tying competition at camp. For his Eagle project, Touba helped clean up a cemetery after Memorial Day by properly disposing of tattered flags.

“Eagle projects were not as big back then as they are now,” said Touba, a principal electrical engineer and BAE Systems in Nashua.

Touba moved to Bedford in 1996. Zachary crossed over from Cub Scouts to Manchester Boy Scout Troop 135 in 1998, and Touba served as assistant scoutmaster. For his 2005 Eagle project, Zachary upgraded the lighting fixtures at the Sacred Heart Church fellowship hall, where  Troop 135 meetings are held.

Once his son graduated, Touba remained on the Troop 135 committee. Many Bedford boys belong to the troop, and Touba has helped with numerous Eagle Scout projects.

“The boys have built benches and picnic tables for the town pool and McKelvie, and another boy did a walking path for seniors at St. Elizabeth Seton Church,” he said.

Some of these Scouts still keep in touch and visit during college breaks.

“I enjoy their company. I had such great leaders when I was a Scout myself. I can remember them, their faces, their voices. I guess that’s part of the reason I spend so many hours. I want to leave something when I’m gone,”  Touba said.

Working with the Cub Scouts, Touba said he spends an average of seven hours a week year-round. That includes preparing for and attending the pack meetings, as well as planning for special events. As Scoutmaster with the older boys, he spent more than 10 hours weekly.

“It’s a sacrifice, not for me but for the whole family,” he said.

His wife, Vicki, has been recognized with the Scoutmaster’s Wife award for all the time he’s spent, phone calls she’s handled, and things the family had to reschedule around camping trips and Scout events.

Touba said his favorite aspect of Scouting is camping. He helps supervise at summer camp every year, even if his sons aren’t attending.

“I just love the outdoors and nature, the feeling of waking up in a tent. The outdoors is invigorating,” he said.

The downside of Scouts? Also camping, he said.

“Every trip I run we have some kind of storm or nasty weather. I’m known for that in the troop,” he laughed, as he described the disaster of the April 2005 vacation week mini-trek.

“The first night, there was lightning and huge winds. We had already set up the tents so we had to take them down and move to lower ground,” he said. “The next night it snowed two inches, wet heavy snow. There was one day of good weather, followed by torrential rain. One of the boys actually became hypothermic. That’s where our skills came in – we knew how to help him.”

His advice to potential members is to try Scouting and stick with it for at least a year.

“Some kids come in and disappear. These days, there’s so much pressure from organized sports and other activities, and I see kids who have to make a choice between sports and Scouts. I wish they would stick with it longer and give it more of a chance,” he said.

For the past 20 years, he has been a role model and has helped many boys advance.

“They come in and sometimes are a real handful, but they mature and grow and turn into leaders. Never give up on a kid!” he said.

The Toubas also have three daughters, Kalila, 22, Olivia, 14, and Valerie, 12. Touba also enjoys gardening and reading. He occasionally plays golf and does his own minor car repairs.