Scounting Makes a Difference - and People Make Scouting

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Angie usually writes these posts, but I (Matt) wanted to post today and talk about my favorite scouter - Angie.

First, a little background that tells you why I'm writing: My times in scouting as a boy weren't always easy. To not put too fine a point on it, my records kept getting lost as we moved around. You can only hear "We only have record of your First Class rank." so many times before you wonder what is going on with the program as a whole. (I was a Star the first time I heard that, and a Life Scout only a couple of badges from Eagle when I heard it the second time. In two different states. The first time I went ahead and re-earned the badges I needed to get back to Star. The second time, well, I hate to say I gave up. Truthfully, I'm not sure I even had enough time to go from First Class to Eagle at that point unless people waived the waiting periods. I never received my Eagle, and it is one of the few things I look back on and wish something could have been done differently.) I enjoyed the activities, but how can a leader not make sure the boy's hard work is recorded! Later - as a Round Table Trainer, I tried to really help the unit leaders understand the importance of record keeping and the administrative side of Scouting.

Angie and I talked about that experience many years ago. She told me that if she ever had the chance, she would try to make sure that every single boy she could impact had a better experience with the administrative side of scouting than I did. She went on to help me keep the records when we worked together as Webelos leaders, and then for the 11-year old scouts. I always marvelled at how important she saw it as being that the records of any advancements or changes went in immediately. Making sure they went in was important, but she tried to make sure that they went in the next day whenever possible! I know she was trying to make sure none of our boys had an experience like mine.

For the last couple of years, as Primary Second Counselor - under the direction of our COR (2nd Counselor in the Bishopric) - Angie leads up our Ward's Cub Scout program. She has been working really hard to train and help her Cub Scout Pack get with the program and really internalize the importance of every facet of the Scouting program - including the record keeping, planning, and other administrative aspects. She has worked tirelessly with her staff - training them, helping them understand who is supposed to do what, and then filling in the gaps when something falls through the cracks. She has had - and has now - some really great staff, but there have been times that I know she has had to carry several unit positions herself to make sure they got done. My wife is an amazing person - always giving of herself, her time, and anything else she can to help others. She has really thrown herself into her position - both in Primary and Scouting - and I really think she deserves recognition for everything she has done and does every single week to make things move as smoothly as possible in our Cub Scout Pack. She spends HOURS every week helping our local unit and our community - and as frustrating as it can get when people aren't following through, she still goes out and gives of herself. That deserves our thanks.

Thank you, Angie. I love you and appreciate everything you do for our family and others. Thank you for being you.