Centre County Boy Scout troop unveils memorial to 2 members. Here’s how it will help others

Keely Doll
·3 min read

On a rainy Wednesday at Seven Mountains Boy Scout Camp, Don O’Connell stood in front of friends, family, Boy Scouts and local business owners. The only thing between him and the new David O’Connell Health Education Building was a single red ribbon.

“I’m humbled and touched by all your generosity,” O’Connell said before officially opening the center.

Don O’Connell cuts the ribbon for the David O’Connell Health Education Building at the Seven Mountains Scout Camp on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. The new facility will is to help the physical and mental health for the scouts.
Don O’Connell cuts the ribbon for the David O’Connell Health Education Building at the Seven Mountains Scout Camp on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. The new facility will is to help the physical and mental health for the scouts.

For O’Connell, it’s not just a health center, it’s a living memorial of his son’s life and impact on the community. The David O’Connell Health Education Building is dedicated to the lives of David and his best friend, Brandon Koppenhaver, who both died by suicide.

David O’Connell and Koppenhaver were members of Boy Scout Troop 32 and spent many summers up at the camp with their friends.

Construction on the center started Feb. 18 and was completed for $25,000, with most materials and labor donated from businesses and organizations around Centre County. The building was originally estimated at $160,000, and was completed for so little cost due to the overwhelming generosity of the community, O’Connell said.

“Asking for help is not something I’m very comfortable with,” O’Connell said. “But almost everyone I asked came and gave so much more than I thought they could.”

One of the rooms for patients in the new David O’Connell Health Education Building at the Seven Mountains Scout Camp on Wednesday, June 22, 2022.
One of the rooms for patients in the new David O’Connell Health Education Building at the Seven Mountains Scout Camp on Wednesday, June 22, 2022.

The health lodge is divided into a reception area, an exam room, a resting room, a bathroom and a guest room for a nurse.

Jeff Pickett, Scout executive of Juniata Valley Council, said the health lodge will host sessions each week for Scouts to learn about mental health. Pickett said the goal of the sessions is to engage the Scouts in interactive ways when it comes to understanding and communicating their mental health state and needs. Josh Kirby, of AutumnSpring Counseling, and Marisa Vicere, founder of the Jana Marie Foundation, will help the camp with the sessions.

“This is also going to be a place where we can focus on mental health and look at things like teen depression and suicide,” Pickett said. “We want to make sure that you’ve got some resources available here.”

Scouts from Troop 32 who helped to work on the David O’Connell Health Education Building stand outside the completed building at the Seven Mountains Scout Camp on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. The building is in memory of David O’Connell and Brandon Koopenhaver who were both members of Troop 32.
Scouts from Troop 32 who helped to work on the David O’Connell Health Education Building stand outside the completed building at the Seven Mountains Scout Camp on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. The building is in memory of David O’Connell and Brandon Koopenhaver who were both members of Troop 32.

Evelyn Wald, program director of Tides, was also present at the event, continuing to lend support to the O’Connell family. Wald worked with the Boy Scouts and classmates of David O’Connell and Brandon Koppenhaver after their deaths.

Wald believes the center will make the topics of depression, anxiety and other mental health issues easier to broach for the Scouts who attend the camp.

“Often no one talks about this stuff, but given the opportunity and knowing that people care makes a difference,” Wald said.

The open house for the David O’Connell Health Education Building at the Seven Mountains Scout Camp on Wednesday, June 22, 2022.
The open house for the David O’Connell Health Education Building at the Seven Mountains Scout Camp on Wednesday, June 22, 2022.

For David O’Connell and Brandon Koppenhaver’s friends, the building is not only about their memory but about prevention. Will English and Forrest Keene said they hope no one has to experience the grief of losing friends to suicide and feel the programs the center is providing can help prevent that.

“People can hide things, and if we have mental health groups people are more and more willing to open up and express that,” Keene said. “It’s not just them suffering alone.”