100th Anniversary Service Day

Well, the troop participated in a service project in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of BSA Saturday. The scouts met at the church and put together sack lunches which were delivered to homeless people in Ogden. A quick drive to Ogden Municipal grounds found a couple people in need, while a drive to Lester Park, where frequent homeless people go to the library, found several people in need. After passing out 10 lunch sacks, the scouts only wished they had more.

Playing up to your opponents level

I've often heard NBA teams as playing up to the level of their opponents. So, when the Los Angeles Lakers come to town, the Utah Jazz really try hard, but when the New Jersey Nets come, they don't put out so much. That's kind of what happens in scouting. You get all excited and energized to help these young boys be great scouts, so you prepare, getting excited and make the best effort. But then you show up to scouts, and only a couple have uniforms, most without patches, you wonder why their parents aren't expecting more out of their sons. You work on merit badges and give kids assignments and let parents know what we're doing and the kids never move forward. Then you wonder on your next project whether it's worth getting up and giving your best effort, knowing that the team your playing really isn't going to take advantage of your efforts.

This is the battle of an old guy without a son in scouting. But I continue to move forward believing in the scouting program. I know what it did for my own son and still have hope for the young boys I get the opportunity to associate with. Rank advancement, uniforms and merit badges aren't the end purpose of scouting, but they are the building blocks that build self-esteem. Self-esteem is something you get from accomplishing something. If these boys don't accomplish something like rank advancements and merit badges, then they'll have to get other accomplishments so they will have self-esteem.

I hope the parents of our scouts can really understand the importance of all the programs. Scouting is more than camping, certainly. It is the framework of friendship, learning, belonging and accomplishments.