Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
Allan Hoover Eagle Minute
April 2, 2005
George Denise, Scoutmaster

Scouting is about boys getting together with their friends to have fun. Scouting is about learning skills: first aid, woods tools, building a fire, knots and lashings, orienteering. Scouting is about nature; learning the principles of conservation and wilderness stewardship. Scouting is about learning to set goals for oneself, and then persevering to achieve them. Scouting is about learning to work as a functioning member of a team working to accomplish shared goals. Scouting is about learning to lead as well as follow. Scouting is about learning to teach. Scouting is about values; the values represented in the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, the Scout Promise, the Scout Motto, and The Outdoor Code.

It is not always readily apparent, but Scouting is all of those things. Stop in and watch a Scout meeting in progress sometime. It often appears little more than contained chaos. Sometimes not that well contained! A group of older Scouts at the front of the room appear to be attempting to organize the group, most of whom seem determined to keep that from occurring.

And yet, year after year, I watch 10-year-olds enter the troop, wide-eyed and awe-struck. And over the course of the next few years, I watch half of them gradually fall by the wayside, as other interests: baseball, soccer, football, bands, church youth groups, computer games compete for their time and attention.

But I also get to watch those that stay, some because their parents make them, some because their friends are here, some because their parent aren't, some because they truly love what is going on here...

Those that stay the full seven and one-half years come out the other side changed. They have grown in ways they can't appreciate; not until they go off to college and discover their roommates have no idea how even to cook, let alone live on their own. Or they go into the military and discover some of the world's most demanding task-masters who seemingly respect no one and no thing, least of all the new recruits they are charged with training, suddenly soften as they call out those who are Eagle scouts on the first day of boot camp and honor them in front of all the others for their achievements and then promote them a full rank (in the Navy, two full ranks)! Or they begin jobs and soon find that they are called upon more and more by their superiors to take on more responsibilities and positions of leadership. They have a quiet confidence their fellow students, soldiers, and workers often do not have. They are not afraid to take on a new task, to express an opinion, to lead a project, to speak up before a group. Scouting's lessons are subtle; they show best against those who have not experienced them.

There have been a number of studies on the effects and influence of Scouting over the years.

For every 100 boys who join Scouting, two will become Eagle Scouts. Seventeen will become future Scout volunteers. Twelve will have their first contact with a church. One will enter the clergy. Five will earn their church award. Eighteen will develop a hobby that will last through their adult life. Eight will enter a vocation that was learned through the merit badge system. One will use his Scouting skills to save his own life. One will use his Scouting skills to save the life of another.

Scouting's alumni record is equally impressive:
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
71% of football captains were Scouts

Scouts account for:
64% of Air Force Academy graduates
68% of West Point graduates
70% of Annapolis graduates
72% of Rhodes Scholars
85% of FBI agents

Of the first 214 astronauts, 142 took part in Scouting, and 33 were Eagles.

Of the twelve men who have walked on the surface of the moon, eleven were Scouts and 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. (Recent candidates for President who are Eagle Scouts include Michael Dukakis, Ross Perot, and Lamar Alexander.)

Unlike other youth organizations, the most important lesson learned in Scouting, is to never be afraid of trying... and to never be afraid of failing.

Allen has completed his seven ranks. He has held his positions of leadership. He has earned the requisite number of merit badges, and many more. He has taught others, and taught them well. He has attended camporees, and rendezvous, and jamborees, and Philmont. He has attended leadership training seminars, and advanced seminars, and he has come back and taught them. I have watched him. He has earned his place in the sun and he deserves to bask in it.

Abraham Lincoln liked to tell the story of an eastern monarch, who "...once charged his wise men to invent a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him with the words, 'And this, too, shall pass away.' How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!"

This too, shall pass, Allen. But you will carry with you an inner strength, a quiet confidence wherever you go, because you are an Eagle Scout, and that will never pass. After the badge has been pinned on your uniform, and your uniform taken off and hung away or folded up in a drawer for the last time, you will continue to wear the badge of Eagle on your heart and in your soul.

Go out into the world and live by the Scout Oath, and the Scout Law, Be Prepared, and Do a Good Turn Daily, and the world will be a better place because you are in it.

Congratulations on becoming an Eagle. Conduct yourself accordingly. And God be with you.