I am finishing up my term as Council President. The following is from an article I wrote for our council newspaper:

I want to discuss with you something you may know but may not have thought much about. Namely, that Scouting is not something boys just do, but something they are.

Boys may play baseball. Boys may play soccer. But boys in Scouting ARE Scouts. 24/7 – 365 days a year.

Being a Scout is not something a boy turns off at the end of his Scout meeting. Sports have seasons. Scouting is year round. Even if a boy is off playing a sport, the Scouts are still meeting. The Scouts will be there when they are done with their season. All the time they are playing they are still Scouts. When in school, at home, on a job – they are Scouts.

The Scout Oath and Law

How many times in a Scout’s life will he say the Scout Oath and Law? 100 times? 1000? More?
The Scout Oath is only forty words.

On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law. To help other people at all times. To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

The Scout Law is just fifteen words. But what fifteen words they are.
A Scout IS:
Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful…

Our Scouts know the rest. They are the rest. These are timeless words that will be with them their entire lives.

The Scout Motto is “Be prepared!” For those who were Cub Scouts they also lived by their motto: “Do your best!” Both pretty good mottos I think most agree. The Scout Slogan is “Do a good turn daily.” These statements are said on a regular basis by our Council’s Scouts and 3 million others. They are lived by on a regular basis by today’s Scouts and the 90 million Scouting alumni that preceded them. This is what really makes us Scouts.

We should not find it surprising that after 9/11 Scouts are one of the re-occurring symbols of what’s right in America and the prospect for a positive future. You chose for your child to be a Scout. It is something they are, not just something they do.