Boy Scout Troop 325
Steve McFarland's
Eagle Court of
Honor
January 10, 2004
Scoutmaster Minute
There are, currently 3,326,565 Boy Scouts in America. There are over 29 million Scouts worldwide. Since it's founding in England in 1907, there have been close to 250 million Scouts worldwide, and some 100 million Scouts in America. Of those 100 million American Scouts, there have been approximately 2 million Eagle Scouts, just 2% of that total.
The Boy Scouts of America is a unique program. It was founded by Lord Baden-Powell in England in 1907, brought to the United States in 1910 by William Boyce, and chartered by Congress in 1916. Today, Scouting is the largest youth organization in the United States and it is the largest youth organization in the world.
Baden-Powell described Scouting as a game, but "a game with a purpose." At it's least, it is a fun, safe program of activities and outings for like-minded boys under trained, adult supervision. With its focus on the outdoors, and because it is "boy run," Scouting appeals to many boys, more so than other programs. But with its emphasis on values, personal development, teamwork, individual initiative, and leadership, it offers something few other programs do. I mentioned that Scouting is about values; the values represented in the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, the Scout Promise, the Scout Motto, and The Outdoor Code.
Scouting is a unique experimental lab that allows kids to develop and grow critical leadership skills based soundly on these values. These values can best be summarized by the Golden Rule: "Treat others as you would like to be treated." These are watch words for any society that values human dignity.
There is a very high
correlation between those that enjoy the Scouting program and stay with it, and
success in later life.
Nationally, one in four boys, 25%, become Scouts. Of those who were Scouts, approximately 2% achieved Scouting’s highest rank, Eagle. Yet a nation-wide survey of high schools a few years ago revealed that 89% of senior class presidents were Scouts, 85% of student council presidents were Scouts, 80% of junior class presidents were Scouts, 75% of school publication editors were Scouts, and 71% of football captains were Scouts.
Former Scouts make up
64% of Air Force Academy graduates, 65% of U.S. Congressmen, 68% of West Point
graduates, 70% of Annapolis graduates, 70% of those who appear in Who's Who,
85% of FBI agents, and 75% of Rhodes Scholars.
In the general
population, 83% have graduated from high school, yet of those who were Scouts,
98% have graduated from high school. While in the general population, 16% have graduated from college, of
those who were Scouts, 40% have graduated from college.
Of the 214 former and present astronauts, 142 took part in Scouting and 33 achieved Eagle.
Of the twelve men who have walked on the surface of the moon, eleven were Scouts, two were Eagles.
Of the seven U.S. Presidents who were born recently enough to be in Scouting, three were Scouts and one was an Eagle.
Clearly, the achievement of the rank of Eagle is associated with success in later life. Just achieving Eagle is significant enough. For that young man who sets a goal for himself at the age of 10 or 11, and who then stays with the program for seven years, earning seven ranks most of which took a year or more to earn, a minimum of 21 merit badges, most of which took ten to twenty hours over a period of a month or more to earn, who holds a minimum of four significant leaderships positions within the troop for a period of six months each, and then plans and develops, and carries out a project of significant benefit to the community, typically taking the combined efforts of several youth and adults over a period of 100 hours or more says quite a bit about that boy.
But even that’s not enough for some. While Steve was doing all of those things I just mentioned, he also powered through the requirements for 1st class so he would be allowed to attend the Scotland 2000 International Jomborette. At the age of 12, he went off for 3 1/2 weeks to Scotland, not knowing any of the other boys who were going. And, of course, had a great time.
Also at the age of 12 he went to see a Campbell City Council meeting as part of a merit badge requirement. Sitting there in his uniform, he aroused their curiosity, so they invited him up to make an impromptu speech about an issue they were discussing.
Not too long ago, Bellarmine, the school Steve attends, stopped selling fresh-baked cookies and hot chocolate in the morning. Steve’s and his fellow students passion. So Steve organized a group of students to help him, enlisted sponsorship from faculty, obtained the necessary permits required, and developed a self-perpetuating, student-run business on the Bellarmine Campus.
Steve is a disc jockey at KSCU, the Santa Clara University radio station.
As you have heard, he is a prodigious cyclist.
Steve also found time to join the drama department at Bellarmine, acting in plays all four years, including Henry IV, the Compulsion, and the Laramie Project, the dramatization of the true story of a gay man who was dragged from a bar in Laramie, tied to a fence, beaten, and left to die.
This last play had a particularly significant impact on Steve, leading to his helping to found and preside over the CLC, a gay-straight alliance of students working to combat discrimination against homosexuals.
To me, that is what being an Eagle is all about. The Eagle is not just an award. It is the individual that wears it, and what he stands for: the values and the actions of a leader.
I ask my Scouts not to wait to be great men. I ask them to be great boys. Steve exemplifies that admonition.
Congratulations, Steve, on achieving Eagle and on being a great boy and the foundation of a great man!
You are an Eagle from this day on. Conduct yourself accordingly. And go with God.