After spending 40 years at their Roslyn location, the Theodore Roosevelt Council of the Boy Scouts of America have moved to Broadway in Massapequa.

The move came earlier this year, but still the council is settling into their new location and looking for a bright new future. Trip McMillian, the executive director of the council, and a resident of Massapequa, said that from their new location the council hopes to expand their current staff and recruit more Scouts across Nassau County.

The Theodore Roosevelt Council, named after the former president who was one of the founders of the scouting movement on Long Island, currently employs 18 people at their new location, and two persons at their two Scout camps. The council works of a $1.5 million dollar budget which is raised by corporate donations and charity fund raisers.

The Theodore Roosevelt Council serves all of Nassau County through their four regional districts, including the Rough Riders, the Iriquois, the Pequots, and the Shelter Rock region. Massapequa, which claims 750 Scouts of Nassau County's 16,219 Scouts, is a part of the Pequot region and contains 17 different packs.

Each pack is chartered by a community organization, such as a community church or synagogue, a veterans group, or a local PTA. The chartering organization chooses the pack leader, ensuring that scouting maintains its nonpolitical and community based focus.

Through their new office on Broadway, just south of Clark St., the council oversees the management of the three divisions of scouting; Cub, Boy, and Explorer.

The explorer program is a career-oriented program which is open to both boys and girls at the high school level who are interested in learning more about a specific career or hobby. One of the programs that the council runs for Explorer Scouts is with the Nassau County Police Department, where Explorers are mentored by local police officers to learn more about the field of law enforcement.

The Cub and Boy Scout program are designed to lead boys, from the fifth grade to their senior year in high school, up to the rank of Eagle. In order for a Scout to make it to Eagle, he must earn 21 merit badges, work on a major community project, and serve in a leadership position for a period of six months. Also, said McMillian, "a boy must live up to the principals of the Scouts oath and law."

For a community project, McMillian said, a Scout must "do something that's tangible for the community, the boy has to show leadership by getting others involved, and it has to be lasting for the community."

As an example, he said, a Scout who is a senior at Massapequa High School is currently working on a project to make a fishing ramp at Massapequa Lake which is accessible to the handicapped.

If anyone is interested in joining the Boy Scouts of America, call 797-7600. The Theodore Roosevelt Council is located at 544 Broadway, Massapequa, 11758.