Mike is an Eagle Scout!
The Eagle Scout Award. It’s Scouting’s highest rank and among its most familiar icons. Men who have earned it count it among their most treasured possessions. Those who missed it by a whisker remember exactly which requirement they didn’t complete. Americans from all walks of life know that being an Eagle Scout is a great honor, even if they don’t know just what the badge means.
The award is more than a badge. It’s a state of being. You are an Eagle Scout—never were. You may have received the badge as a boy, but you earn it every day as a man. In the words of the Eagle Scout Promise, you do your best each day to make your training and example, your rank and your influence count strongly for better Scouting and for better citizenship in your troop, in your community, and in your contacts with other people. And to this you pledge your sacred honor.
For every 100 boys that enter Scouts:
30 will drop out the first year.
Only rarely will one appear before a Juvenile Court Judge.
12 will be from families that belong to no church; 6 of these will be brought into contact with a church and continue.
3 will become pastors.
4 Scouts will reach the rank of Eagle Scout.
45 will serve in the military.
1 Scout will use Scout skills to save another person's life.
2 will report that they used Scout skills to save their own lives.
17 will later serve as adult volunteers.
8 will find their future life vocations from Scouting.
5 will receive church emblems.
Only 4 out of 100 boys in the USA will become Scouts, but of the leaders of this nation in business, religion, & politics, 3 out of 4 were Scouts. Only 4 percent of our nation's youth were Scouts, yet 65% of all college and university graduates were Scouts.
26 of 29 of the first astronauts in NASA's program were Eagle Scouts and 133 of the 233 astronauts were Scouts at one time.
A nationwide survey showed that:
Of Senior Class Presidents, 89% were Scouts.
Of Junior Class Presidents, 80% were Scouts.
Student Council Presidents, 85% were Scouts.
School newspaper editors, 88% were Scouts.
Football captains, 71% were Scouts.
Basketball captains, 64% were Scouts.
64% of Air Force Academy graduates were Scouts.
58% of West Point graduates were Scouts.
70% of Annapolis graduates were Scouts.
72% of Rhodes Scholars were Scouts.
85% of FBI Agents were Scouts at one time.
So, 4 out of 100 make Eagle Scout.
What about the other 96 Scouts who didn't make it to Eagle? Is it just wasted time?
The Scouts have "Aims and Methods." There is the Scout Oath and Law, the Patrol Method, Outdoors training, Personal growth, Leadership, and so on. Advancement is certainly one of these, but is only one. Just being part of the program provides the opportunity to "better and belong."
Sure, we know some famous Eagle Scouts like Sam Walton, James Lovell, Neil Armstrong, Hank Aaron, Gerald Ford, H. Ross Perot, Walter Cronkite, Mike Rowe, and Steven Spielberg.
But, how about some "Not-Quite-Eagles" like John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Buffet, Harrison Ford, Merlin Olson, Richard Gere, Nolan Ryan, Jim Morrison, Jimmy Stewart, Joe Theisman, Bill Gates, and Not-Quite British Scout's Queen's Scout - Paul McCartney. The list goes on and on.
SCOUTING MAKES A DIFFERENCE !
Author Unknown