Scoutmaster Minute -- 31 August 2021

Famous baseball player, coach, and manager Yogi Berra said, "You stand up for your teammates.  Your loyalty is to them. You protect them through good and bad, because they'd do the same for you."  President Woodrow Wilson stated, "Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."  Lucas Arts and Double Fine game designer Tim Schafer said, "If you're not loyal to your team, you can get by for a while, but eventually you will need to rely on their loyalty to you, and it just won't be there."  We see the concept of loyalty play out in the Patrol Method.  Nowhere is this more apparent than a campout.  The patrol members must work together to establish the patrol area before focusing on individual tents and gear.  Once a patrol member has his tent up, he asks others if he can help.  Members of the patrol ask the grubmaster if he needs any help, and pick up discarded packaging and food waste, without being asked, because this is what is best for the patrol.  Once a meal is complete, members of the patrol willingly and cheerfully wash dishes so that the patrol can go back to other activities and having fun.  Sometimes, the weather and terrain cause great stress, and a new Scout displays pain or discontent.  The loyal members of the patrol provide comfort, humor, and first aid if needed, so that the Scout can recover and have a good time.  Loyalty is at odds with selfishness.  It requires effort and commitment.  Just like the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes," loyalty means looking after another's best interests and saying what needs to be said, even if that conflicts with what the other person wants to hear.  With every facet of what loyalty is, it means putting another's welfare and interests above one's own.  Choose carefully the persons and causes you are loyal to, and be the loyal friend and teammate that commands loyalty from others.

A Scout is Loyal.

 

 

  

Scoutmaster Minute -- 17 August 2021

You have heard me speak of President Gerald Ford before – he is the only former President of the United States to have earned the Eagle Scout award.  In many ways, President Ford was known for his humility.  In 1975 he stated "I hope never to see the day that I cannot admit having made a mistake."  I submit this is a wise perspective to reflect upon as too often we start to believe our own legend and our pride lends a sense of infallibility.  Sometimes we take this to the extreme and argue beyond reason and evidence, because we are absolutely unwilling to concede that we are wrong.  Yet, we are human and we make mistakes.  Own your mistakes – to admit error is not a sign of weakness.  On the contrary, it is a sign of strength.  It takes a big man, or woman, to admit one's own fault.

A Scout is Trustworthy.

Scoutmaster Minute -- 10 August 2021

You have heard me talk about President Theodore Roosevelt before.  After his presidency, he served on the committee of Troop 39 in Oyster Bay, NY and was the first council commissioner of the Nassau County Council.  Later, he was elected as an Honorary Vice-President of the Boy Scouts of America and later yet designated as Chief Scout Citizen.

 

Though born before Scouting's inception, it is hard to find someone whose young life more mirrors that of a Scout.  Born with many health challenges, young Teddy overcame his ailments and became an avid outdoorsman.  Among the many professions he held in life, he was a cowboy in the Dakotas, the New York City Police Commissioner, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, New York Governor, and Commander of the 1^st US Volunteer Cavalry Regiment "Rough Riders" in the Spanish-American War.  In that role, he earned the Medal of Honor for leading the assault on Kettle Hill in the Battle of San Juan in Cuba.  A very impressive resume for anyone, this is even more so stellar for someone who suffered through childhood with debilitating asthma.

 

President Teddy Roosevelt was an expert in overcoming adversity.  If you read much about him, you quickly pick up that his mantra was that one cannot achieve greatness without trying.  As we close this meeting, I offer you the following quote from President Roosevelt:

 

"For better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

 

A Scout is Brave.

 

 

Scoutmaster Minute -- 3 August 2021

After a year delay, the 2020 Summer Olympics are underway in Tokyo.  If you are like me, you enjoy watching athletes of the highest caliber from around the world compete representing their respective nations.  Many of these athletes have spent the better part of their lives training to compete on the world stage.  As we conduct Scoutmaster Conferences, I speak with many of you about balancing extracurricular activities.  Many Scouts who play sports seriously think that it is impossible to also reach Scouting's pinnacle – the rank of Eagle Scout.  What if I told you that there are US Olympians who have earned the rank of Eagle?  Although I do not have the statistics from the current games, the 2016 Summer Olympics had seven Eagle Scouts competing, to include Ryan Held who won a gold medal in the 4X100 freestyle relay.  Three Eagle Scouts competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics, to include Chris Fogt who previously won a bronze medal in the 2014 Winter Olympics in the four-man bobsled.  How would you like to compete against him in the Klondike Derby?

 

Colleges and employers look for well-rounded applicants.  Many find a way to balance academic and athletic excellence with membership in the Boy Scouts of America, and even earn the rank of Eagle Scout.  Too often, our self-doubt proves one's biggest obstacle and keeps the individual from reaching his or her potential.  If you want it, you must set your sights on it and try.  If it was easy, would it be worth having?

 

On my honor, I will do my best.