Why Do I choose to be a Leader for the Scouting Movement

Why Am I a Leader?

I'm not a Scout Leader for the easy hours, high pay, parents' gratitude, power or prestige.
Scouting is definitely not and never will be only a hour a week commitment if you are truly fulfilling your duties as a leader. Yeah we all will joke about how long scout takes out of us on a weekly basis. For me personally the meeting maybe be scheduled for 1.5 hours but for me I usually end up have a two hour meeting. Then sometime during the week on one or multiple occassions I am on the phone for a average of 30 minutes per week. Then working on one of the continually going scout projects that I have usually will take another 4 hours out of my week. So the minium that I spend for scouting per week is 6.5 hours and that does not include weeks I have a service project or campout. That may be a minium that I figured out but the true number is about 15 hours per week. You may not believe it but it is true.

I'm a Leader because I want the world for other scout whether or they are related to me.
Yeah I know that even though I have a huge potential I may never change the world but a scout that I have influenced could grow up with the nurturing provided in the scouting environment to create a radical new idea. I may be foster the next hero or I could end up fostering the next super villian of the world, so I must always watch what I am doing even when I think no body is looking.

A world they can share and help shape: a world of love and laughter where they can show compassion.
Compassion is such a wonderful gift when humanity has learned how to use it. In scouting we have the ability to teach young boys just like me the great joy of laughter. Laughter to me allows me to temporarily escape reality and delve into my own perfect world. Laughing about something instead of just getting made at a subordinate can be the greatest tool in arsenal when you appropriately. I can not give you a textbook definition for when it is appropriate to use the tool but I am sure you can figure it out for yourself.

I want to help them learn to finish anything they start and do it well and to guide them to know their self-worth with a deeper understanding of themselves.
Society has grown to become a quitter society and I am definitely guilty of just getting up and walking away from my problems instead of facing them straight on. If their is a skill that I could perfect in my self and others that would be developing self confidence in all areas of life, even the ones that make you freak out at the mention of their name. Being a quitter will dig you deeper into a hole that you will not be able to get out of. I know that some habits you just want to give up and get rid of but to me the appropriate word is not quitting the habit it is erasing the habit from your memory.

I want to help shape men and women who have strength of character and are sensitive to the needs of others.
One of the hardest areas in my life to deal with and for other teens to deal with is that of being sensitive to the needs of others, especially of those who are close to us. Instead of playing the blame, lets first stop, back away from the situation you are involved in, and develop a appropriate solution. When examining the situation remember to try to understand where the other person is coming from and why he/she believes what they do. Also do not let society step on your character. Stand up for what you think is right even if you are standing alone because as soon as you submit to the other person's idea, the sooner you loose track of who you truly are.

I want them to be the best they can be - whether as career people or tradesmen, young adults who are the hearts of the family.
Whatever you are doing or are going to do in your life, do it to the best of your ability. Doing something to the best of your ability means that you are putting your mind and all of your heart into meeting the objective or overcoming the obstacle. we as the leaders of the scout movement are here to support you in whatever activities you choose even if it means that you are not a very active scout. we must respect your wishes and you should respect ours to the best of your ability as well.

In giving my time and myself I reap rewards far beyond what I give. I receive a better world for my children and future generations.
To me the rewards can not be sorted into a monetary value. If someone tried to put a price tag on the rewards of me being a leader in this movement, their is no sum of money that could be brought forward to replace the feeling I get when I am leading, learning, and teaching as a scout leader. Every leader and follower in this world can allows learn a new skill, you must just have a open mind and heart. Allow the opportunity to learn to rush in and embrace it no matter what happens.

I'm a Scout Leader because I care.

Hopefully this makes sense and you are not thinking that I am just trying to sound smart as a teenager.

Yours in scouting
Mark W
Troop 1616
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster

The Final Countdown to 2008 Begins Now

Wow 2007 has come and gone so quickly but instead of dwelling in 2007 lets lot to 2008 and make that a year to remember for our units. Yes the holidays are a time to think about family and have a temporary break from the struggle of weekly meetings but this does not mean that we have a right to just drop everything scouting for these two weeks of holiday. A lot of people just end up spending their time in their home town at home.

For your new years resolution lets make a commitment to our Scouting Units to make a difference and reach a certain milestone by the end of the year. personally for my unit I am making a commitment to develop youth leader training for a small troop because I want the other youth leaders to develop their skills. By helping them develop their leadership potential I am not only teaching them about themselves but I am giving myself that rights I said ME a OPPORTUNITY to DEVELOP MY OWN POTENTIAL CAPABILITIES. Learning by improving my unit is definitely something I strive for.

You may be thinking that I am acting like i have all the answers for every little problem my unit encounters but the truth is that I do not know the solution to every problem but until I experience the situation or task I will never know if I have a big enough toolbox to solve the problem. I am not talking about I tool box full of maintenance tools but a toolbox of traits, abilities, and skills that can be used to deal with "People Problems". Every person that the leader meets and is incharge of is going to have a problem that is hard to deal with in the eyes of the leader.

Hopefully I did not bore you too long and hopefully you think I am on the right track with the ideas of the scouting movement. Please feel free to comment on this post. As long as it does not include too much slander I will approve it for public viewing.

Until next time, have a wonderful holiday season and the best of luck in 2008

Yours in Scouting
Mark W
Troop 1616
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Here is a great story about scouts who are willing to give themselves to service in others and shows what the "Spirit of Christmas" really is. Here is a like to the video and the story.

<http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=5852557>

Or you can can read the story below:

BLUE BELL, Pa. - December 23, 2007 -- A group of boy scouts have done a very good deed for a Philadelphia family who lost their home to fire last Sunday.

The Boy Scouts of Troop 444 armed themselves with gifts. Led by Santa, the boys marched down Shoal Creek Drive.

Their mission was to turn the Dunphy family's holiday tragedy into a Christmas they'll never forget.

"It was so wonderful. The people have been so amazing," Janet Dunphy said.

The Dunphy's Somerton home burned down a week ago and with it went all the family's gifts and belongings.

"You see it on the news, happening to somebody else, you just don't expect that it could happen to you and your family. It's been very devastating," Michael Dunphy said.

"We were going to sell wreaths to make money to get a trailer, but when we heard about this, we thought this would be a better cause for the money to go to," Bob Sharkus of Troop 444 said.

These scouts certainly understand the spirit of the holidays. They sacrificed to make this Christmas better for the less fortunate.

"It was really nice. It's really what Christmas is all about," Sharkus said.

"They really made this special," Janet Dunphy said.

This is what Scouts in Action can accomplish. We all have the power to make a difference in this world but it requires action not inaction to make a change for the better. Scouting is such a powerful movement no matter what others try to say about it. Keep your head strong and stick with it. The program is well worth the effort.

Yours in Scouting
Mark W.
Troop 1616
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster

Community Service

Why is community service such a hard concept to teach scouts in today's society. Is there something wrong with the approach we use to promote community service is is that we are not doing are jobs in making a service project sound appealing. I have been on probably more than 50 service projects in my scouting career. Service projects to me are not a big deal. Let me let you in on a small truth that I believe is true no matter what other people say, SERVICE PROJECTS ARE A FUN AND ENTERTAINING EXPERIENCE. I can not count the number of times that I have laughed about some joke a another volunteer or a participant has made to me and the truth is that unless you are at that event you will never experience that laughing matter. Service projects are designed to not only teach you about giving back to your community but they help you develop several areas in your life that are important.

One of those areas is spelled right on in the Scout Oath and It has to do with the three duties that can be associated with this set of words. The first duty is duty to god and country. No matter what religion I have run into in my sixteen years of living I have never been able to experience a religion that did have a god or godlike figure that did not promote giving your time and talents to others. The second part of the firs duty is that of duty to your country and a responsible citizens everyday we are called to make a commitment by the leaders of this world to create a future of positive influence by helping those who are less fortunate than us. Remember a service project does not have to have a large scope like a Eagle Project hast but could be a simple task that could take you a maximum of 5 minutes to complete. The amount of time does not matter, it matters what your intentions are going into the project. Our second duty is that of duty to others and by making the world a better place for someone or something is definitely fulfilling of your duty to others. To me fulfilling this duty of others makes my heart beat true and proud to know that I have been able to make a difference in someone else's life.

Our founder Baden Powell was once asked by another scout "What should we be prepared for" and I can tell you that you must be prepared for everything possible in your life. Being prepared related to service projects means that you are willing and ready to give your time and talents when asked by your Troop, another organization, or a friend. I know that we are not going to be able to do every service project that comes our way but remember that a little can go a long way when we are talking about giving back to others.

Our slogan as a Boy Scout in the United states is that of:
"Do a Good Turn Daily"
Now I know that each one you are going to say that a Good turn can be a small simple item like saying something to cheer someone up, to bring hope into your lives but I am here to tell you that is not the original intent. I believe that the original intent was to get scouts and leaders to become active role models in their community by giving back at a community function.

Here is the last item that I believe that service projects accomplish and that is it gives us as scouts a good opportunity to be able to increase our numbers of scouts and volunteers in the Troop by being out in the community. By being out in the community we are making it easier for people to come and question about what scouting is about and how to become involved. Remember that you are never to old to get involved with scouting. You can get involved with scouting from the age you are in kindergarten all the way up until you did. This recruitment aspect goes along with what National Says is a good public relations campagain. Have this public relations campaign is very important to be able to ensure the successful growth and prosperity of this wonderful organization.

Hopefully I did not ramble too much on one aspect.

Yours in Scouting
Mark West
Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616