To the Editor:
Is the Boy Scouts of America still relevant? In my opinion, yes, definitely!

It is still the best leadership development program available to our youth, where Scouts have the opportunity to hold positions of responsibility they may not be able to experience elsewhere. I have seen the benefits of the program in my two Eagle sons as well as the other Scouts I mentored during my seven-year tenure as Scoutmaster.

Our troop met weekly and camped all 12 months of the year. Every Columbus Day weekend was our “historic” trip, having us visit places such as Philadelphia; Salem; Gettysburg; Washington, D.C.; and Colonial Williamsburg.

On these longer trips, to avoid the need of extra cars to transport camping gear, we would stay in a hotel.  One of my assistants never went on these trips because it was not real camping.

Scouting is not all about knots and making fires. The program is geared to meet the mission of the Boy Scouts of America, “to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.” 

And as stated by William “Green Bar Bill” Hillcourt, “Scouting is a game with a purpose.”

We always followed the patrol method, and although these trips started out with four boys in a room, the wakeup call might find 10 or 12 in a room. One night, my son knocked on my door. The boys had ordered pizza to be delivered to their room and he was a few dollars short. Some of these boys had never been in a hotel without their immediate families.

We also held a yearly whitewater rafting trip and a ski trip. One winter, we did an overnight dog-sled trip in Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada. Where else would the Scouts get to experience all of this?

One year, a Scout asked if the troop could go away and camp somewhere as a troop just to have fun. It’s their program, so we did.

For less than the cost of a week at summer camp, we spent five days and four nights tenting in Acadia National Park in Maine. We visited a rock quarry, the Ben and Jerry’s factory, and spent a day in Boston.  

The trip included a lobster dinner. The boys sat on the outside deck; the adults were inside. A half-hour after being seated, a waitress walked over and asked the adults if the table of boys on the deck were ours. 

I thought, OMG, what did they do? The waitress said, in all her years at the restaurant, she had never seen such a well-behaved group of teenagers. It was all please, thank you, may I. Even her regulars had asked: Who are these boys? It was a proud moment for me, proof the BSA mission was being met.

During the past few years, the BSA membership has decreased drastically. One reason was COVID. It was hard to retain and recruit new members when all scouting activities had stopped.

Another reason was the sexual-harassment lawsuits, causing many families to be hesitant to have their child join the organization. I am not at all downplaying the wrong that was committed; however, the organization has made great strides in implementing their youth-protection program and I am glad to see they are making restitution to those affected.

Unfortunately, many councils are selling properties to meet their part of the financial obligation. I hope, after all is settled and the BSA restructuring has been completed, the youth membership will increase. In the interim, families should not be hesitant to have their children join a unit.

One of our mantras is: Scouting may not be for everyone, but everyone should try scouting. And parents should get involved as well. Adults can have as much fun as the youth, and you will become friends with some really great people.

Ken Guarino

Berne