My journey in Scouting started in Tokyo, Japan, and that is where it continues now—only this time with a wife who is fully involved and six kids who are all enthusiastic participants. Scouting is a huge part of our family recipe. It just works for us, and it is something that we all find joy […]
Read moreYou Can Do It!!
It’s February 2021 – Scout Month. This is a wonderful time to celebrate 114 years of Scouting worldwide, and 111 years of Scouting in the Boy Scouts of America. With all the changes and challenges during these past few years, and especially during 2020, Scouting still remains constant in its mission to “…prepare young people […]
Read moreThe Japanese Scouting Unknown Soldier Story
About 70 years ago, in the final days of the second world war, the U.S. marines and Japanese Imperial army soldiers were fighting in an area of the southern Pacific Ocean. On One of the small islands of the Pacific, the marines, among them one from Salt Lake City, were in combat against a Japanese […]
Read moreParents of boy with autism were told to ‘try Scouting,’ and this happened
If you had to pick just one point of the Scout Law to describe Isaiah V., it would be “brave.” That same word applies to his mom and dad, too. Isaiah was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at age 3. “At first I thought, ‘what are we going to do?’” says Isaiah’s dad, Rolando. “Our world was turned […]
Read moreGive a Shout for Cub Scouts!
My favorite of all the Scouting programs is Cub Scouting because, without a doubt, it is zany fun for youth and adults alike. This program offers so much for youth from kindergarten through fifth grade and Cub Scouting can be something in which the whole family can participate. It is hands-on learning and achievement that […]
Read moreAn Update on Annual Vanguard Memberships
A Word from The Commissioner A week or so ago, we made a decision to eliminate the Annual Membership for a couple of reasons which, at this point, are not particularly important, but which were significant to us at the time. Immediately we heard from a number of you speaking of the value of the […]
Read moreThe Power of a Good Story
“Good stories surprise us. They make us think and feel. They stick in our minds and help us remember ideas and concepts in a way that a PowerPoint crammed with bar graphs never can.” – Joe Lazauskas and Shane Snow, The Storytelling Edge Everyone loves a good story. Stories teach, entertain, heal, touch, remind and, […]
Read moreOne Nation, Under God, Indivisible
Several years ago, I joined with others from the BSA’s North Atlantic Council for a Camporee on Omaha Beach in Normandy. While I had never been to Normandy prior to this occasion, I had just learned two weeks before arriving in France that my father was there almost 75 years earlier – arriving from Britain […]
Read moreA Minute with Mark – January 2021
Scouts and Scouters, As we mark the close of 2020, we look back and reminisce on a unique year! For many of us, the past months have been full of changes and disappointments. For example, most traditional Scouting events–from day camps to Philmont to the 2021 National Jamboree–were cancelled due to Coronavirus. Many BSA units […]
Read moreEagle Court of Honor Includes Vanguard Religious Awards
It was very cold (32 degree) afternoon on December 13, 2020, as many families and Scouts assembled in the driveway of Committee Chairman Etthi Marines of Troop 1221. Several cars were parked along a quiet neighborhood street in Orem, Utah. Scouts and their families huddled in their cars to stay warm and physically distanced because […]
Read moreTo Walk with Giants – Our Modern Heroes
A number of years ago, while living in the Washington, D.C. area, I was driving into work and had two teenaged girls with me, who also worked for our company. As we drove, I asked them: “Who are your heroes? [1]” Their answers were as different as night and day. The first named several movie […]
Read morePromoting Duty to God
The first part of the Scout Oath is Duty to God and the last character value in the Scout Law is a Scout is reverent. Duty to God is one of the basic tenets of the Scouting program from beginning to end. Scouting is about building character and learning to make ethical and moral decisions. […]
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