Dan Beard Council Revenue and Competitors

The mission of the Dan Beard Council is to help young people make ethical choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. That is a high calling and is nothing less than a call to guide the future of America herself. We in the Hopewell District are a part of that great mission and have responsibility to the youth of Warren and Butler Counties to do our best to deliver the Scout Promise to them. The Hopewell District includes 3300 youth organized into 84 units served by 800 volunteers. Some of us will be recognized tonight by our peers as being truly outstanding in delivering the Scouting promise to the youth. The job of being Cubmaster, Scoutmaster or Crew Advisor is not an easy one, but if we ask any of you in this room, I'm sure we would conclude that it is truly a labor of love. It's not that we can't say no as volunteers, it just that we want to say yes to the boys and experience first hand their joy as they learn basic outdoor skills. Seeing a Cub Scout pitch a tent for his first overnight campout is still a thrill for me, as I can see the excitement in his face and be a part of the fun that is to come at the campfire. We all love Scouting and what it means. The work, and even all the meetings, is somehow worthwhile when we get to share those outdoor moments with the kids. We are, I believe, the luckiest people in the world. We get to not only enjoy our own children growing and learning, but we get to be a small part of a lot of children's lives. We provide a positive influence in what otherwise can be a negative world. The District is organized to support the units. That is our only purpose in life and our only focus. If what we are doing is not directly contributing to the health and welfare of our units, then we have lost our way. It is my job, and the job of my colleagues on the District Committee, to make sure that you, as volunteers, have everything you need to succeed in your mission to deliver the Scouting promise to the youth that are under your care. That means that we are responsible for making the training available to you (because every boy deserves a trained leader), as well as giving you opportunities to join together in fun programs like Camporees, Klondikes, Pinewood Derbies and the like. We provide counseling for those times when problems might crop up, and we work together to recruit new Scouts and to raise the funds necessary to support our share of the Council budget. As it was explained to me, there are three legs to the Scouting stool: Program, Membership, and Development. If any of the three are missing, we are then unable to successfully provide the Scouting program. We will fail in our mission. If we succeed in all areas, then we will be successful in growing the fine and upstanding citizens that become leaders in our communities and in our nation. What we are about is vital.