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An emblem of the town of Windsor and the area Boy Scout Troop was the focus of a dedication ceremony held Sunday afternoon, Feb. 5, at the Wesley F. Garris Event Park.

The emblem was the first of three town-owned frog sculptures to be painted and placed publicly within Windsor.

Gathering at the park to dedicate the sculpture, which featured a Boy Scout-themed paint design, were members of the area Boy Scout Troop and Cub Scout Pack, Windsor Mayor George Stubbs, other Town Council members, members of the Windsor Economic Development Authority and a small crowd of parents and town citizens.

Carter Goerger, scoutmaster of Windsor-based Boy Scout Troop 41, welcomed everyone to the ceremony. 

“Thank you for coming out to help us celebrate the dedication of our frog,” he said. 

Explaining how the frog sculptures came to be, he said, “The EDA was looking for a way to bring people to Windsor and notice our town.”

Windsor has a history of being a popular place for frogs due to the area’s heavy, wet soil.

Goerger noted that the EDA came up with the idea of the frog sculptures and asked different organizations and businesses to sponsor and decorate them.

“Troop 41 wanted to support the town,” Goerger said.

He explained that Dewitt Holland and Holland’s mother came up with the paint design for the Boy Scout frog, and Holland did the painting.

“What you see before you is an example of his talent — he’s extremely talented,” Goerger said of Holland, which prompted an applause of agreement from the crowd. “If you got a copy of the autobiography of our frog, Cajari Laroca, he wrote that as well… or he helped the frog write it.”

The two-page “autobiography” of the frog can be found on the back of the Garris Event Park sign for all to read. It opens by explaining the name, Cajari Laroca, and how it was derived from the first two letters of the first names of six different people: “I was named after the most influential Scout leaders of Boy Scout Troop 41, Windsor, Va.: ‘CA’rl Eason, ‘JA’mes P. O’Briant III, ‘RI’chard Lee Vaughan, ‘LA’rry R. Willis, ‘RO’bert Locke and ‘CA’rter Goerger.”

Goerger described some of the frog’s paint design.

“The frog is wearing the Boy Scout uniform,” he said. “It has the Scout Oath and Law printed on it. It also has the names of all the Troop 41 eagle scouts to date and the names of the scoutmasters and other scout leaders who have provided longtime service to the troop.”

He noted that Cajari’s Boy Scout patches were designed based on real Boy Scout patches, with great care, and each of them has a special significance.

“The story behind each award and patch can be found in that autobiography,” he said.

Then Goerger directed his focus to the dedication.

“Windsor is a very special place and has provided support to many organizations throughout the years, especially Troop and Pack 41,” he said. “The troop would like to express its sincere thanks to the town and all of its people for that support over the years. We’d like to dedicate this frog to the town and its citizens in honor of the support that they have demonstrated to us.”

Mayor Stubbs expressed appreciation, on behalf of the town, to the parents, Scouts and Scout Leaders for being at the ceremony and for supporting scouting.

“It makes you an integral part of the town of Windsor,” he said. “Again, thank you for supporting scouting, coming out this afternoon and supporting the dedication of the newest frog for the town of Windsor.”

Windsor Congregational Christian Church, which purchased its own copy of the frog sculpture design to help promote the town, was the first to paint and publicly place its frog, dedicating it in May 2022.

On Sunday, the Troop 41 chaplain’s aide offered a short prayer, and Goerger concluded the ceremony by sharing why the frog was located in the Garris Event Park, next to the Windsor library and Robinson Park.

“We were given a few options as to where we’d like it placed,” he said. “We chose this location, hoping that this frog will inspire new youths in the short, future and long term to join the scouting movement and to continue to keep Windsor a great place to live and work.”