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 1st 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.