As the proud parent of an Eagle Scout, I had the pleasure of watching my son grow up from a young boy to a man through scouting over 11 years. My husband and I encouraged him to join scouts as a Tiger Cub; our daughter was active in Girl Scouts.
Scouting started with a group of young boys and their parents learning about scouting by participating in Den meetings and Pack meetings, Pinewood Derby events, Rocket Days and a few hikes. After the first year, things progressed and the boys went on to Cub Scouts, and they started earning awards and badges that eventually resulted in their earning the Arrow of Light. I had the pleasure of being one of their two Cub Scout leaders. I learned how to better organize my time and prepare for the meetings and events. As their Cub Scout leader, I felt pride with each of their accomplishments.
After Cub Scouts it was then time to find a Boy Scout troop that we thought our boys would enjoy. Several of our families from Cub Scouts visited Boy Scout troops to get more information about meeting dates, times and expectations of the families and scouts. We found a local troop, Troop 508, which was perfect for our son. The first 6 months of scouting was also a time of learning for both parents and scouts. Now it was time for the boys to participate more in leadership roles and the parents to step back and allow the boys to make decisions on which events were to be planned for the year. I was approached to participate with the Advancement Committee, for rank advancements from Tenderfoot to Eagle. I worked with Mr. Orv Burley for almost 1 year as Co-committee Chair for Advancements. When his son turned 18 years of age, I was asked to step in as Advancement Chair. I enjoyed meeting with the scouts during their Board of Review, each scout sharing their views on campouts and earning merit badges. Over the 5 years as Advancement Chair , there were some challenges, such as meeting the scout for a Board Of Review during the Christmas break, some a few days or weeks before turning 18 or off to college. With the help of many adults in the troop we were able to accommodate each and every request.
Over the 11 years it wasn’t always peaceful at my house. When my son was starting scouting with Troop 508, he thought he would like to quit scouting. He didn’t want to go to all the meetings, he always enjoyed the outings, but the commitment was tiresome for him. As he matured and advanced through the ranks, he decided that Eagle Scout was the rank we wanted to accomplish before turning 18. He didn’t know it at the time, but it was always our hope to keep him in scouting until he turned 18 years of age, so he could experience all the variety of adventures that his father and I could not provide for him. We encouraged him to try everything once, and repeat the outing if he enjoyed it. We were extremely happy that he had the physical strength to participate in the week long Emigrant Wilderness trip and to participate in the Philmont Scout Expedition, where he celebrated his 18th birthday. If you ask our son, he will tell you that his climb to the top of Mt. Baldy at 12,441 ft. to see the sunrise, was his most memorable event at Philmont.
Both my husband and I would like to thank all the adult leaders of Troop 508 for their time and commitment with scouting. Through scouting, our son has met several Civic Leaders, an Eagle Scout who is currently an Astronaut with NASA, Order of the Arrow adult scouts and others that continue to give and support scouting. Our son is very proud of his Eagle Scout Rank and we also are proud of the fine young man he has become.
