Brave. Cheerful. Clean. Courteous. Friendly. Helpful. Kind.
Loyal. Obedient. Reverent. Thrifty. Trusty. They are the traits of
scouting, which Eilbron Betoushana is trying to make more prominent
in the South Valley – one person at a time.
About 7am every morning, Eilbron “Eilo” Betoushana opens a door and enters his office. Then he drives it from his home in downtown San Jose to the South Valley.
Betoushana’s office is his red and rugged 90s-model Jeep Cherokee. It wasn’t his choice for a workplace. But since the 28-year-old began working for the Boy Scouts a little more than a month ago, he has found his trusty Jeep to be necessary in doing his job as the Gavilan District Executive for the South Valley because of simple geography. The headquarters, the Santa Clara County Council of Boy Scouts of America, is located in San Jose. But Betoushana’s district blankets Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy and Hollister. In those areas, he’s responsible for everything from recruiting new scouts and pack leaders to fundraising to helping develop programs and activities.
“One of the biggest problems I’ve found is that our district is so far away. That’s been a problem in the past,” Betoushana said. “I just try to make it a point to be here as much as I can.”
That effort has made Betoushana’s life somewhat nomadic. He keeps hair gel, toothpaste and shaving cream in his glove compartment. He has a sleeping bag and pillow in the back of the Jeep. A stray box of Stagg Chili hides under the driver’s side seat.
“You gotta have food,” he says.
This lifestyle isn’t required. But Betoushana cares about his job and the message of the scouts, so he does what needs to be done. Even though it has meant turning his car into a combination hotel and office and regularly working 14-hour days.
“I figure, get people’s trust back. Show them that I’m here for them rather than my own self,” Betoushana says about his approach to the job. “They say you should put yourself before other people, but I have a bad problem with that. I can’t do it. If I don’t help out, I feel like I’m doing something wrong.”
Betoushana is behind the wheel of his Jeep, which is chugging uphill in a westerly direction on narrow Willow Springs Road through the hills surrounding Chesbro Reservoir. He’s looking for Llagas Road, home to Carden Academy in Morgan Hill. He’s supposed to meet with marketing and admissions director Brigitte Heiser to drop off some scouting information and confirm that he will indeed be a volunteer judge at the school’s upcoming Science Fair. Anyone who is familiar with the area knows Betoushana is not headed in the right direction.
“I’m a bad driver,” the San Jose native admits. He’s become “addicted” to the communities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy, but he’s not yet well-versed in their roadways.
No worries, Betoushana is a self-proclaimed “Santa Cruz” kind of guy – laid back, open-minded. He’s actually a hybrid of Santa Cruz and West Point, an institution he was accepted to after high school. He has grown a neatly-kept soulpatch on his chin and while driving, he wears black skater/surfer-style sunglasses. He keeps his dark hair clean-cut. On the job, he wears a scouting uniform – which bears striking resemblance to Army greens – that he makes sure always has military creases running down both sides of his chest.
The Iranian-born Betoushana’s interest in scouting is two-fold. He was involved in scouting himself and made his way up through the ranks to become an Eagle Scout. Betoushana also comes from a family that has deep roots in the military which follow along many of the same morals and directives as the Boy Scouts.
Right now, there are 700 scouts in the Gavilan District. Betoushana is hoping to boost that number to between 900 and 1,000 by June.
“I’ve always respected the uniform and I’m a big fan of structure,” Betoushana says. “I’m a big fan of activities.”
The structure and activities of boy scouting helped Betoushana overcome a childhood where he felt like an outsider and lacked confidence because he was an immigrant. Betoushana’s family fled Iran in 1985 when he was 8 years old because the bombing waged during the Iraq-Iran War started to get closer and closer to where his family lived. The Betoushana family fled to England, then New York, before ending their journey in San Jose.
“We just picked up and left,” Betoushana says. His father tried to go back to Iran shortly after the family fled to sell their property. But the country wouldn’t let him back in.
Betoushana admits he’s become very Americanized since he first arrived in the United States. But it doesn’t mean he wasn’t affected by the family’s stressful situation in Iran or his experience as an immigrant kid trying to fit in with his American classmates.
“It’s amazing because I don’t remember much about it,” Betoushana says. “A lot of that part of my life I’ve suppressed.”
Betoushana couldn’t speak English when he first came to California. He quickly learned in school but also has kept his native language of Assyrian and Farsi. He’s also learned Spanish and is in the process of learning Korean from his girlfriend, Mihui.
In the recent years of his life, Betoushana has found another reason to be such a passionate proponent of the Boy Scouts. Last year, he was an intern and volunteer with the San Jose-based Bill Wilson Center, a drop-in center for youth runaways. There, he spent time with lots of kids whose bad situations could have been avoided had they had a positive force in their lives, such as scouting.
Betoushana, who spent time as a paralegal and has a degree in criminology from San Jose State University, knows children in his district often turn to gangs for support. He sees scouting as a substitute support group for the gang culture.
“There’s a better future out there,” he says.
Fifteen minutes after passing Chesbro in the wrong direction, Betoushana pulls his Jeep into a parking lot in Morgan Hill Ranch shopping center on Cochrane Road. He calls a co-worker, who sets him straight with directions to Carden. Five minutes later, he reaches his destination. As he discusses his hope to start a Cub Scout pack at the school with Heiser, a teacher pops her head into the office. She sees Betoushana’s uniform and tells him her son is an Eagle Scout.
“I want to start a Cub Scout pack here,” Betoushana says.
“Oh, awesome!” the teacher responds.
Betoushana could do his job from the Council in San Jose. But moments like that – a personal connection – is why he doesn’t. It happens again later that day on a coffee run, when the Starbucks barista mentions – after he orders his venti Carmel Macchiato – that she has two daughters in Girl Scouts and is a troop leader.
“The power of touch is amazing, once you shake a person’s hand,” Betoushana says. “Every time I show up to a meeting, I surprise people. I try to do that with every (pack or troop).”
How to Join Boy Scouts
– Call the Santa Clara County Council Service Center at 280-5088
– Stop by the Council Service Center, located at 970 W. Julian St., San Jose
– E-mail le********@***********ng.org or Eilo Betoushana at ei**@***********ng.org.
Programs Offered
– Cub Scouts
For 7- to 10-year-olds (first through fifth grade).
– Boy Scouts
For 11- to 17-year-olds (or those who have completed fifth grade).
– Varsity Scouting
A program for young men ages 14 to 17 years old looking for adventure or sporting activities.
– Venturing
A youth development designed for young men and women ages 14 to 20 years old to help prepare them for adulthood.
– For more information on how to get involved or donate to scouting, contact Eilo Betoushana at the at (408) 280-5088 or by e-mail at ei**@***********ng.org.
Source: www.sccc-scouting.org (Santa Clara County Council, BSA)
