Through the Eyes of a Leader

We are fortunate at the Boy Scouts of America to have a huge cadre of trained volunteer leaders – close to one million – to help teach the principles of Scouting to America’s young people – all while having a great time out-of-doors, building adventures, providing service in their communities, or learning new skills.

So when I come across a journalist who can share the real-life experience of what it’s like to be a volunteer leader in Scouting, I like to share his/her perspective. I also learn a lot from their experiences. It’s a good test of our training to see how well our leaders are doing out there and learn how we can help our programs become stronger.

I encourage you to read this first-person account from Scott McIntosh, editor of the Idaho Press-Tribune, titled, “If you have a boy, you should take a look at Scouting.” While not involved in Scouting as a child, he did not hesitate to jump on board when his son reached Scouting age, after his wife “volunteered” him to be an assistant den leader. Here’s an excerpt from his column that will probably sound very familiar to a lot of you volunteer leaders out there:

“I was actually pretty excited about it. I never did Scouts growing up, but my dad had an old Boy Scouts Fieldbook that I read cover to cover, over and over just about every summer before heading out on our summer camping trip. I kind of always wanted to do Scouts growing up.

Being an assistant den leader would be perfect. I could help out and learn but not take on all the responsibility of running the den of a half-dozen second-grade boys.

After a couple of meetings, our den leader turned to me and said that he’d been laid off from his job in Boise and he was taking another job — in Twin Falls. Yep, instantaneous den leader.”

I’ll let you read the rest of his story, but I think Scott has the makings of a first-rate leader. His dedication to provide a quality Scouting experience for his son and fellow Scouts is inspiring, and he seems to be having a lot of fun at the same time! That’s the way it ought to be, and I congratulate and thank Scott for his service.

And I’ll reiterate Scott’s closing comments:

“Whether your son is in first grade or fifth grade, it’s never too soon or too late to start. I would strongly encourage you to attend one of the scout meetings this week and see what it’s all about.”

If you haven’t already, I urge those of you already in the Scouting family to invite others to a meeting. If you’re not involved in Scouting and want to learn more, visit www.beascout.org.

Tell me, do you find it helpful to inspire others by sharing stories from leaders who tell how they got started helping others to learn, grow and succeed? It’s always interesting to learn how many of these first-person accounts are very similar to our own approach to helping others. I’d like to hear your leadership stories – please post them below!

Thanks!

Wayne