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John Long

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From the RoundTable blog

I ran into my friend Tommy Pendleton at Boy Scout camp a couple of weeks ago. That's not too surprising, since Tommy is a professional Scouter whose job keeps him out in the woods fairly often. I first met him when he was a kid on the camp staff. Now he's an executive for the Blue Ridge Mountains Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

"Hey, John! Written anything on Scouting lately?" Tommy asked me.

"No, but I need to. I know there are some good things going on," I replied. "What's new and exciting?" I didn't know the half of it. Neither do you, most likely.

Some of you might hold to an antiquated view of Scouting. Maybe you picture a few boys in funny neckerchiefs who meet in a church basement and play dodgeball, then go camping on weekends. OK, we throw a few balls and pitch a lot of tents, but the Scout troop you knew in decades past has moved into the 21st century.

Tommy told me about one ground-breaking program he oversees, designed to introduce Scouting to a new generation. Soccer and Scouting combines the excitement of the sport with the timeless values of Boy Scouts. "Fútbol" is, after all, the sport of choice for many youth, especially the growing number of Hispanic youth in our communities. Suddenly a traditional program is being introduced to a whole new demographic.

Tommy also oversees Scoutreach, an innovative program to expand Scouting opportunities into the inner cities and into remote rural areas. The initiative represents BSA's commitment to extend Scouting opportunities to all youth, regardless of their circumstances, neighborhood or ethnic background. Respect for the community, dedication to Scouting ideals, and excellence in all areas are the essential values of Scoutreach. Not long ago, Tommy told me, the first Eagle Scout badge was awarded to a Scoutreach youth in our council.

Meanwhile, the old Explorer program of my youth has folded into a forward-thinking program called "Learning for Life," featuring a school component and internship opportunities for high-schoolers. The more adventurous stuff -- mountain climbing, scuba diving, etc. -- was transferred after 1998 to a new program called Venturing. Geared toward older youth, it's the fastest growing component of Boy Scouting. It's also a coed program.

I was already familiar with the Venturing program. Many of the boys in Boy Scout Troop 8 (for which I am a volunteer) also are part of Venturing Crew 8. Venturing activities and opportunities usually go beyond what a normal troop can pull off. Crew 8 represented the entire U.S. a few years ago at an international Scouting meeting in Jamaica. Tomorrow's leaders are Venturing today.

Tommy also bears the enviable title of director for the Blue Ridge Scout Reservation in Pulaski County. It's the biggest council-owned Scout camp in America, and a hidden treasure in our back yard. With two base camps, a trail camp, the new Claytor Lake Aquatics Base, a Mountain Man program hearkening back to frontier days, and myriad other opportunities, it's a great place for boys to learn to be men.

The Boy Scouts of America is poised to celebrate its centennial next year. In 1910, according to legend, American businessman W.D. Boyce was lost in London. A boy helped him find his way, and when Boyce tried to tip him, he refused on the grounds that Boy Scouts can't accept payment for such service. So impressed was Boyce that he helped found a similar program for American youth.

Scouting tends to make headlines only when something goes wrong -- an accident, a lost hiker, a trouble-making leader, a protester. That's a shame, because things perpetually go right with the program. Boy Scouting makes a difference, usually hidden from public view.

To illustrate, look elsewhere in this paper. Chances are, most of the societal problems, including the vast majority of crimes, about which you'll read are caused by young males. Then imagine a program that takes millions of young men and instills in them the values of honor, duty, responsibility, leadership. Not every problem would disappear, but the world would improve. Every day, right under our noses, Boy Scouting is making that very thing happen.

Long, director of the Salem Museum and a history teacher at Roanoke College, is a Roanoke Times columnist.