The Incredible Value of Scouting
As we have worked to present the Scouting with Heart newsletter in the last month, we’ve found ourselves humbled by the sentiments shared by our adult leaders and volunteers. We’ve explored the “Value of Scouting” in the Heart of Virginia Council and have found, overwhelmingly, that the program has left a heartfelt and life-changing impression on everyone it’s served. When asked to explain the value of Scouting, Pack 521 Cubmaster and lifelong Scouter, Gregory Schmidt, found that sometimes it’s all about the connections you make. We hope you enjoy his sentiments as much as we do.
The value of Scouting is in its continuity of ideas and tenets. I haven’t met a person that was -or is- a scout that did not want to tell me about it. It might be about their Eagle Scout project, a camping trip, or their favorite Pinewood Derby car. That person may be 6, 16, or 60, but when they see my red wool coat, they open up and start a conversation. When they do, it is obvious that Scouting affected them in some positive way. Knowing that gives me a sense of camaraderie that is difficult to put to words, but I will try…
I have been going out to Brady Saunders for 35 years. That place is a second home, and it offers a chance for introspection, especially when you can find quiet times to just wander the property. When I walk past Meyer campsite, I am reminded of a young boy from troop 12 who posed for a picture, and I am reminded of a gnarled old man that attended every Nawakwa function, making sure the Nagatamen chapter was well represented at the Carillon.
When I bring my Pack to the campfire ring, I stand there with the ghosts of the men that have gone before: Ben Gregory, who saw enough in me to put me on Buckskin staff, Shane Adcock, an Eagle Scout that gave his life for his team in Iraq, and Bill Givler III, a man that told it like it was and gave out thousands of summer camp patches. I stand in that campfire ring, doing my best to spin a yarn to make John proud, knowing I will never be his equal, but “doing my best”, just the same, so that even one Scout would have a fond memory of an outdoor campfire.
I am fortunate enough to belong to what is now an almost 90 year-old troop. I remember putting my arm through an interior window pane (the scars on my arm make it hard enough to forget) during an accident at a troop meeting. More importantly than that, I remember Brandon and Bradley Rash ripping open gauze and slapping it in place, just as calm as a late summer’s morning. When the EMTs arrived, they said there was nothing to do but transport me. I can still show scouts the place where it happened; our Tigers met there last night. It makes quite the centerpiece for the lesson on first aid.
The sum of the teaching, learning, practice, and application of Scout Skills is, to my humble estimation, the greatest in the world. Those things are not just kept in well-documented manuals and advancement books. They live in our memories, our actions, and our outlook on the few spins we get around the sun. They give us a place to belong, to learn, and to grow, which is as fundamental to the human condition as food and water.
Lastly, it gives this old Scout tears as he writes this, knowing that he can share this wonder with his two daughters, a Wolf and Webelos, who are the next stewards of our Scouting values.
Thank you for this awesome insight, Gregory!
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