How long have you been involved with Troop 650, and what leadership roles have you held?
My eldest son joined T650 in 2004. I was a committee member at that time. The longtime scoutmaster for T650 was Greg Lindquist. He didn’t want newly joined parents to be ASMs until they spent a year in the troop. He wanted to knock the ‘cubbie-ness’ off you first. That sounds bad, but in reality, it is hard for parents to stand back and let scouts do the work. Our troop has a certain level of scout leadership. Some troops have significantly less, and others have more.
My jobs in T650: Committee member, ASM, ASM in charge of the first years, merit badge counselor, chaplain, scoutmaster. Additionally, I had numerous jobs at Pack 650 and in the district. Currently, I am a unit commissioner, and I help with the roundtable.
What originally motivated you to become a leader in Scouting?
I was a scout until we moved to a new city when I was 13. I went to every campout but didn’t advance much. I didn’t participate in organized sports, so scouting was the only activity I could share with my sons that I had participated in. So, I wanted to be an adult leader. After my sons left scouting, I continued with the troop because I think scouting is the best activity a youth can participate in to make their life better. It’s fun too.
What is one moment or memory with the troop that has stayed with you over the years?
I never skied when I was a youth. Growing up, we didn’t do a lot of fun stuff as a family. I was able to take my sons skiing with the troop to introduce them to the activity. They were a lot better at it than me.
How do you think Troop 650 has changed or grown since you first became involved?
I am very proud of the changes I brought to the troop when I became scoutmaster. I took over for Mr. Lindquist, who had been the SM for 22 years. He was a very good scoutmaster, but still, there were things I wanted to change. #1 was to deemphasize the importance of becoming an Eagle Scout. My eldest son is not very book-oriented. School is not for him. He hated having to repeat sitting in Citizen in the Community MB 3 or 4 times. He wanted to take car maintenance, or welding, or the like. I allowed him to drop out when he started high school. He was old enough to make a choice.
The program has many wonderful things to offer. Of the 8 pillars of scouting, advancement is only one of them. Scouts are now allowed to choose their own trail through the program. Scouts are encouraged to make 1st Class because at that point, they know how to be a scout. After that, the choice is yours. My son would have stayed in that kind of program.
What lessons do you think Scouts gain from Scouting that last beyond their time in the troop?
First, there is the obvious, the skills and knowledge gained in the merit badges, on the campouts, and the first-class program. However, that is only the ‘materials’ we use to teach the important lessons.
The most important lesson is the ‘I can do stuff’ attitude, and I don’t need adults, managers, or teachers to around to tell me what to do. Call it self-reliance or self-confidence or whatever. In school, the teacher feeds you information, you dutifully take notes and learn it their way. Then they give you 100 points on a test and take some away every time you make a mistake. It scouts, you learn to plan your food for the campout, for example, and the first time you bring half as much as needed, forgetting some of the ingredients, etc. So, from that experience, you learn positively. You now know how to plan for the food. But you also learn that if you don’t sit down and think about whatever you are about to do that is new, it will not go well. You also remember with joy and a smile all those things that went wrong and share your story with others. Have you ever smiled about how you made a dumb mistake on a test?
What advice would you give to current and future Scouts taking on leadership roles?
A scout is brave. Volunteer to be of service to the troop. No one expects you to be perfect. The troop has survived some very inattentive SPLs, so how bad could you be? However, make good mistakes. It’s one thing to not know that everyone is tired of the same game each week and plan it anyway; it’s another thing to not show up at the PLC or not follow through on your commitments. The biggest part of your success as a leader is showing up and keeping your commitments. The adult leaders will coach you so you can do the job. You will make mistakes. That’s part of the fun. Those become the stories we tell.
Is there anything else you would like future Scouts to know about Troop 650 or scouting in general?
Scouting is changing. Everything changes. Keep the core of why scouting exists, and it will work out. Scouting uses the outdoors as a place to allow youth the opportunity to do things on their own, make good mistakes, and learn that they can do stuff. Any youth who shows up can be a scouting success. You don’t have to make the team in a tryout. You don’t have to be the smiling, popular person to get votes. You can even be like I was: unathletic, awkward around others, and probably with a ‘syndrome’ that I would have to go to a therapist for if I were born 40 years later. There is a place for you in scouting. Scouting is still that, even with all the changes.