A Boy Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
For 100 years, boys have been repeating these words, with the idea that they will live by them as youths and as adults.
For a century, the Boy Scouts of America has shaped the minds, bodies and characters of young men. In today’s edition of The Valdosta Daily Times, readers will find a special section celebrating a century of Scouting.
From Cub Scouts to Webelos (we be loyal Scouts) to Boy Scouts, Scouting can direct youths from their elementary-school years through their 18th birthdays, even further with Scouting’s Explorer program.
Boy Scouts rise in rank of Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life and Eagle. They rise in rank as they accomplish both personal achievements and serve in leadership roles.
They earn merit badges to master the arts of tying knots, camping, first aid, as well as gain knowledge of how to be better citizens in their communities, nation and world.
Scouting aims to help boys develop a confidence in their abilities, to become more self-reliant, whether they are on their own or leading a patrol. Scouting provides an opportunity for boys to develop into men of character, men of strength, men of awareness.
Each time a group of Boy Scouts meet, they make this promise. They recite this oath: “On my honor, I will do my best/To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;/To help other people at all times;/To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.”
They are words which Boy Scouts have lived by for the past century. In saluting our region’s Boy Scouts, we hope young men will continue living by such a credo in the centuries to come.
