Boy Scout Troop 325
Kathy and I just returned from the National Annual Meeting of the Boy Scouts of America in Grapevine, Texas. I was honored to be one of 43 Scoutmasters chosen from across the nation (one for each of the 43 sub-regions or areas in the nation) to attend the annual meeting and to participate in a series of workshops toward developing a new strategic plan for the Boy Scouts.
The Annual Meeting was attended by over 2,000 people: council executives, council presidents, area officers, regional officers, and national officers and staff. The program was informational and inspirational. Highlights included the Americanism Duty to Country breakfast hosted by the National Eagle Scout Association Friday morning, the National Business Meeting, the Leadership Luncheon, culminating in the National Council Recognition Dinner, and the workshops I participated in.
We were inspired by the words of Richard Covey, the former astronaut who commanded the acclaimed flight of the Endeavour space shuttle to service and repair the Hubble Space Telescope. He stated it was no mere coincidence that 70% of the astronauts were in Scouting, that every shuttle team has had at least one Eagle Scout on board, or that the team he commanded in the Endeavour included three Eagle Scouts.
We were amazed at the accomplishments of this year's Cooke Scholarship recipient, Thomas Eliopoulos II. In addition to a 4.0 grade point average, and many memberships and positions of leadership in a plethora of organizations and sports programs, he is an Eagle Scout with 13 palms and he has earned every one of the 120 scout merit badges.
Tears welled up for many of us as we heard the story of Derek Slinger's nationally acclaimed Eagle service project. Having lost both parents to cancer, Derek was diagnosed with cancer himself in 1993, yet his optimism and upbeat attitude during his illness led nurses to ask him to help cheer up other children newly diagnosed with cancer. This Good Turn led to his project, creating a humorously illustrated coloring book for hospitalized children. When Derek became too ill to complete his project, local members of the community pitched in to help, and Eagle Scout Bill Amend, illustrator of the comic strip "Fox Trot" and 16 other famous cartoon illustrators, including the illustrators of "Ziggy," and "Garfield" also contributed. As a result, 20,000 coloring books were printed and sent to children's hospitals throughout the nation. Twelve years later, Derek is still in chemotherapy, all of his hair is gone, he has had one leg amputated and walks with a cane, but in delivering his acceptance speech, he was as upbeat and funny as any speaker there.
At the National Business Meeting, John Cushman, Chairman of the Board for Cushman & Wakefield (my company for the past fifteen years, by the way), talked about his father who was a scoutmaster, and the influence that scouting, and going to Philmont, to the national jamboree at Valley Forge, to the World Jamboree in England, and achieving Eagle all had on his life. John has four sons, all of whom are also Eagle, by the way.
Roy Williams, Chief Scout Executive, spoke about being raised by foster parents because his single mother couldn't handle raising four children by herself. He talked about growing up in a tough area, and his troop being very competitive. He stated that there probably wasn't a single meeting that someone's nose didn't get bloodied in the competitive games. He talked about his scoutmaster almost reverently, as a patient advisor who stayed off on the sidelines, occasionally making suggestions, but seldom interfering unless he absolutely had to. He noted that his scoutmaster was probably the single greatest influence on his life.
We saw a video, Report to the Nation, featuring Steve Fossett, America's premier adventurer. Steve holds world records for first solo hot air balloon flight around the world, fastest circumnavigation of the globe in a sailing ship, fastest trans-Atlantic crossing in a sailing ship, absolute world speed record for an airship, the longest free distance record in a glider, first non-stop solo flight around the world in an airplane. In addition to these records, Steve Fossett has competed in marathons, the Iditarod sled race, and the Iron Man Triathalon. Steve stated that he learned to set successive goals working toward Eagle as a Boy Scout.
At the Leadership Luncheon, we were introduced to Eagle Scout John Smith, vice president of global product planning for General Motors and a scoutmaster, too. General Motors has just agreed to sponsor Cub Scouting and their new program, "Race to Cub Scouting" featuring Indianapolis 500 champion Jeff Gordon as their new spokesman.
John, in turn, introduced us to Eagle Scout and Scoutmaster Thomas V. Peters, who is also the director of design for the new Corvette. General Motors' design department created a full-size Pinewood Derby racer which will tour the country with scouting for the next three years and then settle in to a permanent home in the Boy Scout Museum.
Next we met Joseph Csatari, realist painter and illustrator for a number of magazines, including McCall's, Saturday Evening Post, and Boys Life. His paintings have been made into two commemorative postage stamps, numerous commemorative plates and figurines, and he has been recognized by numerous organizations and associations. Mr. Csatari served as the art director for the Boy Scout's of America's advertising department for 22 years, and he is an assistant scoutmaster. At this luncheon, he presented the Boy Scouts of America with his latest work, 75th Anniversary of Cub Scouting, which shows Cub Scouts racing their Pinewood Derby cars.
At the Closing Banquet, besides being treated to some great shows by some terrific entertainers, we saw eleven distinguished leaders from across the country receive the Silver Buffalo Awards for Distinguished Service to Youth, and five amazing young people receive the Young American Award.
The Annual Report noted that there are currently 4.8 million young people in the scouting program, total financial support rose 4.8% in 2004, and endowment assets increased 7 percent. There was also a 32% increase in the number of councils that achieved Quality Council in 2004.
The Boy Scouts of America launched the Good Turn for America initiative in 2004 to address the issues of hunger, inadequate housing, and poor health in our country. By the end of 2004, more than 897,000 service hours by over 8,200 units had already been logged to this end.
Over the past several years, while Boy Scouting has continued growing, the Tiger Cubs and Cub Scouts have lost members, probably in part, at least, to the slack economy. A change in Cub Scout membership is telegraphed four to five years later into Boy Scouts, as 95% of all Boy Scouts come from Cub Scouting. In 2004, these numbers finally caught up with the Boy Scouts, as we experienced a .9% drop in membership. The good news, however, is that the Tiger Cubs experienced an increase of .6% this past year, which should pass on to Boy Scouts in four more years. And one of Scouting's newer programs, Learning for Life, grew by 8.1% in 2004. Finally, 50,377 Eagle projects were completed in 2004, the largest number in a single year in the history of scouting.
On Friday and Saturday, 40 other scoutmasters and I participated in a series of workshops and focus groups, commenting on what improvements we would make in the Boy Scout program, including what changes we would make in the uniform. The scoutmasters were a great group, and some of the best from all over the country. They represented troops as small as 25 scouts, and as large as 200. Some had only been scoutmasters for a few years; one had been a scoutmaster for 30 years. Out of these sessions came some long-held ideas and some new ones, too.
The original uniform was both inspirational (modeled after the military scouts that were the inspiration for Boy Scouting), and they were in the style of their times. Knickers, knee-socks, jerseys, and three-quarter sleeve shirts were in style in 1907. Today's inspiration is more toward high-adventure activities. The uniforms should be in today's styles, just as they were in 1907. Suggestions that most of us agreed to for today's uniforms include using modern fabrics that lend themselves to a greater range of activities, and in more muted, contemporary colors. All agreed legs on shorts should be longer, and with cargo pockets. A long-legged pant with zip-off legs for hiking or trekking should be offered, too. Long-sleeve shirts that have roll-up tabs on them were also recommended. Socks need to be more practical, with an athletic style for all-around activities, and a trekking sock for hiking and backpacking.
Regarding the program itself, as a group, we felt it needs to be age-differentiated; Webelos should be introduced to camping, but they should not be camping regularly; that takes some of the purpose and excitement out of joining Boy Scouts.
New Boy Scouts like to go camping, and should have the opportunity to do so as much as possible, ideally once each month, and they should be allowed ample free time to explore and experience the outdoors on these outings; they shouldn't be overly structured.
High adventure activities (rock climbing, sailing, cross-country skiing, kayaking, caving) should be reserved for older scouts. Again, the purpose is to differentiate their program from that of the younger scouts, and to give them something to look forward to.
The purpose of troop meetings is primarily to get ready for outings. They should minimize standing around and maximize taking care of business, practicing skills, and play.
The program needs to keep up with and stay abreast of contemporary youth interests. For example, many of us felt there should have been a Skateboarding Merit Badge years ago. Games is another area that should be developed; simply saying they are covered under hobbies is not enough.
It was felt that scouting needs to reach out to, and partner with other community-based youth organizations, including Girl Scouts. At the same time, it was felt that traditional scouting should remain all-boy. At this age, boys work better together in an all-boy environment and girls work better together in an all-girl environment. On the other hand, the Venturing Program for boys and girls age 14 and older works well coed.
We discussed the importance of community service projects by scouts. The Boy Scouts of America has been making a difference since its inception in 1910. Participating in and planning and carrying out service projects of significant benefit to the community helps instill in youth the strength of character that is a part of the original vision of scouting.
Lastly, it was felt that we need to put greater emphasis on publicizing all that we do. Hundreds, if not thousands of hours of community service are logged by each of the 50,000 Boy Scout Troops across the country annually. Scouts use their training to assist others and to save lives daily. Our schools, churches, parks, and playgrounds are the recipients of thousands of gifts; 50,000 Eagle projects just last year - each gift worth hundreds of dollars and hundreds of hours of volunteered by America's youth. This is a story that needs to be told, again and again. Individual units should endeavor to get out their own story to community newspapers, perhaps with the help of a unit publicity chairman, working with a troop "youth correspondent". A council-level staff member charged with coordinating and assisting the units should be created. Similarly, wherever the opportunity presents it self, where it is appropriate to put up a scouting booth, or to perform a flag presentation, or to assist with teaching younger children, or to partner with other organizations, whether to help get out the vote, to feed and cloth the hungry, or to get gifts and letters to our servicemen and women overseas, Scouting is there, and we should be recognized for it.
Those are some of the highlights of Scouting's national annual meeting and the Special Scoutmasters' strategy sessions. I truly believe that we, all of us in this room, all of us involved in Scouting, are part of one of the greatest movements in the history of mankind, helping to make the world a better place for all.
Thank you, and God be with you!