Unless you’ve missed a whole lot of email from TroopTrack recently, this is an amazing time of the year. Not just because of all of the great outdoors, service, and other activities Troop 58 offers, but because between January and June our Troop will hold 6 Eagle Scout Courts of Honor. That’s an average of one a month!
I feel strongly that this is yet another indicator of the strength of Troop 58, but more importantly – it is a reassuring indicator of the future for our society. Six Troop 58 Eagle Scouts is quite impressive, but it doesn’t come close to the 55,494 Scouts who achieved the rank of Eagle in 2017. Each of those Eagles (and ours too) have been recognized not just for their achievement of some tough requirements as a youth, but for the potential they have to do wonderful things for their families, colleagues, neighbors, and society throughout the rest of their lives. How wonderful does it feel that Scouting is generating 50,000+ young men (and soon women) who are committed to living the tenets of the Scout Oath and Law throughout their lives?!?
We sometimes refer to Eagle Scouts as marked men, and I often share with our Scouts that I am regularly asked if I was an Eagle Scout. I don’t reply “yes,” but rather explain that “I am an Eagle Scout.” It’s a slight difference, but an important one. I hope many of you are able to attend at least one of the Troop’s Eagle Courts of Honor this Spring; the accomplishments – and potential – of these young men are truly amazing and it certainly helps me sleep better at night knowing that they will be our country’s dads, coaches, workers, husbands, and citizens of tomorrow.