|
|
|
Boys Scouts Make Starkville a Stronger Community
By Brother Rogers
Be prepared. That’s the motto of the Boy Scouts of America, which marked its 100-year anniversary in 2010. Established in Starkville in 1925, this organization has been preparing young men for leadership by teaching the values of character, citizenship and personal fitness.
Starkville is fortunate to have three strong troops: Troop 14, Troop 27 and Troop 45. All three have a rich and unique history, and all three strengthen the fabric of our community.
They have helped produce esteemed community leaders such as Broadus VanLandingham (Eagle Scout 1930) and Gaddis Hunt (Eagle Scout 1959) to future leaders such as Jim Giesemann (Eagle Scout 2006), a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy, and Matt Savage (Eagle Scout 2006), a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
As a Boy Scout volunteer for a dozen years, I have had the privilege to witness firsthand the quality of adult leadership in Starkville. It really does take a village to raise a child, and I am thankful to live in this village. Both of my sons have benefited through Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts from outstanding adult volunteers. These men and women, whose outdoor skills, leadership abilities and moral example have inspired my boys and hundreds of others, are the kinds of people who make Starkville a great place for families.
These leaders are guided by and teach the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. If your memory is rusty, the Scout Oath is “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 twelve points of the Scout Law are that a scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful,
friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
No wonder Norman Rockwell, America’s favorite illustrator of wholesome images, used Boy Scouts in his pictures. Wouldn’t our world and our community be better today if more adults were concerned about their duty to God, their duty to their country and their treatment of other people?
Scouting teaches the virtues of volunteerism, sacrifice, patriotism and leadership. In addition to these timeless values, scouts learn outdoor skills that improve their self-reliance, ability to work with others and personal fitness.
Perhaps Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, an Eagle Scout himself, said it best when he stated, “I think that American leadership is vital to peace and prosperity in the world, and that requires having strong leaders. And I don’t think there’s any organization in the world, certainly not in the United States, that better prepares young men for leadership in this country than the Boys Scouts of America – in teaching leadership skills, in teaching values, in teaching the importance of standing up for what’s right.”
We often complain about not hearing enough good news. Well, here’s some. The Boy Scouts of America organization is making a positive difference in our nation and right here where we live.
One of my favorite parts of scouting has been conducting interviews with boys as they advance to new ranks. I often ask how they are living the Scout Oath and the Scout Law and whether they have done a good turn daily. What about you?
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works for the Stennis Center for Public Service.
Be prepared. That’s the motto of the Boy Scouts of America, which marked its 100-year anniversary in 2010. Established in Starkville in 1925, this organization has been preparing young men for leadership by teaching the values of character, citizenship and personal fitness.
Starkville is fortunate to have three strong troops: Troop 14, Troop 27 and Troop 45. All three have a rich and unique history, and all three strengthen the fabric of our community.
They have helped produce esteemed community leaders such as Broadus VanLandingham (Eagle Scout 1930) and Gaddis Hunt (Eagle Scout 1959) to future leaders such as Jim Giesemann (Eagle Scout 2006), a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy, and Matt Savage (Eagle Scout 2006), a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
As a Boy Scout volunteer for a dozen years, I have had the privilege to witness firsthand the quality of adult leadership in Starkville. It really does take a village to raise a child, and I am thankful to live in this village. Both of my sons have benefited through Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts from outstanding adult volunteers. These men and women, whose outdoor skills, leadership abilities and moral example have inspired my boys and hundreds of others, are the kinds of people who make Starkville a great place for families.
These leaders are guided by and teach the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. If your memory is rusty, the Scout Oath is “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 twelve points of the Scout Law are that a scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful,
friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
No wonder Norman Rockwell, America’s favorite illustrator of wholesome images, used Boy Scouts in his pictures. Wouldn’t our world and our community be better today if more adults were concerned about their duty to God, their duty to their country and their treatment of other people?
Scouting teaches the virtues of volunteerism, sacrifice, patriotism and leadership. In addition to these timeless values, scouts learn outdoor skills that improve their self-reliance, ability to work with others and personal fitness.
Perhaps Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, an Eagle Scout himself, said it best when he stated, “I think that American leadership is vital to peace and prosperity in the world, and that requires having strong leaders. And I don’t think there’s any organization in the world, certainly not in the United States, that better prepares young men for leadership in this country than the Boys Scouts of America – in teaching leadership skills, in teaching values, in teaching the importance of standing up for what’s right.”
We often complain about not hearing enough good news. Well, here’s some. The Boy Scouts of America organization is making a positive difference in our nation and right here where we live.
One of my favorite parts of scouting has been conducting interviews with boys as they advance to new ranks. I often ask how they are living the Scout Oath and the Scout Law and whether they have done a good turn daily. What about you?
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works for the Stennis Center for Public Service.