By Rich Brown

rbrown@joplinglobe.com

Explorer programs in Joplin are helping fulfill Tim Gourley's childhood dream and giving other young people like him a head start on life.

In fact, that is why the programs, in conjunction with the Ozark Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America, have as their motto "Learning for Life."

Gourley, 18, echoed sentiments not only from other members of his Fire Department Post 618 recently, but also those of participants in Police Department Explorer Post 164 and Medical Explorer Post 157.

Exploring is a work-site based program for those 14 (having completed the eighth grade) through 20 years old.

"Explorers are on their own, but we do support them," said Brian Karch, Boy Scouts district supervisor for Joplin and a 10-county area in Missouri and Kansas. "We also introduce Explorer programs in schools."

In addition to law enforcement, fire service and the health or medical fields, Explorer posts nationwide can specialize in such other career skills as arts and humanities, aviation, business, communications, engineering, law and government, science, skilled trades and social services.

'I came a long way'

Gourley, who plans to begin at Missouri Southern State University in January and enroll in firefighting and emergency medical technician courses, said that his involvement in the Explorers has helped him on his path to becoming a firefighter.

"This has been kind of like a childhood dream, and it will be my career," he said.

Brandon McKenzie, 17, a junior at Joplin High School, said he has been an Explorer firefighter three years.

"A Joplin fireman told me about the program, and I joined," he said. "I plan on joining the Joplin Fire Department after I graduate (from high school)."

Joe Quirk, 17, who has also been an Explorer for three years, said he is starting his probationary period at the Redings Mill Fire Department.

"I came a long way from when I started," he said. "It is something I have been wanting to do since I was 8."

Advisor Don Eichelberger said the Explorers started at the Joplin Fire Department 10 years ago.

"We have probably run 100 kids through the program," he said. "A lot of them are working for volunteer fire departments, some are working for emergency medical services and some are actually firefighters.

"Once they realize they can get on a volunteer fire department and start fighting fires at 18 years old, generally I start losing them and they will go to work."

Firefighter Explorers meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. each Monday at a designated fire station.

"A lot of them come in and are eaten up with it and find out this is really what they want to do," Eichelberger said. "And some kids come in and stay three or four meetings and then they are gone."

Explorers are allowed to ride along with firefighters on their trucks as much as they want, said Eichelberger.

McKenzie pointed out that a positive for him is simply helping somebody out on the fire-truck runs, while Gourley offered a different perspective.

"Most of the things I remember are going on the medical calls, some to the bigger apartment complexes, and just the little kids and how they are so amazed by the fire trucks and that kind of stuff," he said. "That is what I like, showing the little kids that we are not scary firefighters but just like their next-door neighbor and their friend."

Training and knowledge

Jared Delzell, Explorer adviser and a traffic officer with the Joplin Police Department, said he was never a Boy Scout.

"I was an Explorer for almost seven years, and I got hired by the police department within a couple of weeks after I graduated from the Explorer program," he said. "Being around for seven years and seeing how things were done was a huge jump-start for my career."

The Police Explorers meet at 6 p.m. every Tuesday for three hours.

"We do traffic-stop practicals, building clearing, domestic violence response, accident investigation and any police scenario that you can think of," Delzell said. "The Explorers volunteer at the Christmas parade by directing traffic and assisting with crowd control, helping with parking cars, crowd control again at the Independence Day celebration, AirFest, fingerprinting kids, polishing fallen officers' brass at the police department, washing police cars on a weekly basis and mowing the lawns.

"They get no pay for this. The payment for them is just to be around the department and get the free training and knowledge that is going to help them in the career that they are pursuing."

Grant Meador, 19, a Joplin native and freshman at Crowder College near Neosho, has been in the Explorer program a little over a year.

"It is teaching me a lot more about law enforcement than just going out and stopping cars and arresting people," he said. "There is a lot more to it than what television shows and what you hear about, so it has taught me a whole new perspective."

Meador said he would like to go to work for the Joplin Police Department some day, adding that he has a special interest in the canine unit.

Chris Reeves said he has been an Explorer for about two years.

"It is a rewarding experience," said the 19-year-old, who plans to enroll at MSSU for the spring semester. "The best way to learn how things are done is just to ride and actually see it first hand. I ride quite a bit with different officers."

Exploring the medical field

Alyssa Simpson, 18, a senior at Diamond High School, has been a medical Explorer for three years, two of those as the group's secretary.

She said that an experience she had this past year at Freeman Health System convinced her more than ever that the medical field was the one for her.

"When we walked through the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and saw them keeping the tiniest babies alive, it was amazing," said Simpson, who is captain of the cheerleading squad and a member of the student council and National Honor Society at DHS. "That is one thing that got me. I was like ... I need to do this."

Adviser Tracy Clark, director of Health Information Management at St. John's Regional Medical Center, said the medical Explorers meet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. the last Wednesday of each month, taking turns between St. John's and Freeman.

"On an average, we have about 15 who attend but we have had as many as 40," she said. "It gives them an idea of what each career is because with health care you have so many options. The program lets them shadow with a person and see what it is like."

New officers will be elected at the group's next meeting Sept. 27 at Freeman.