Photo courtesy of wgnsradio.com

The Trail of Tears District of the Middle Tennessee Council of Boy Scouts of America held its Friends of Scouting luncheon in April, where it recognized the 2018 Rutherford County Good Scout award recipient, raised funds to support area Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, heard from a 3-star Army general and otherwise celebrated causes core to the Boy Scout mission.

Lt. Gen. Keith Huber, who serves as the senior advisor for veteran and leadership initiative at MTSU, spoke at the event, and reminded those in attendance of the importance of the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared.

“Life is a team sport,” Huber said. “Do you prepare yourself for the privilege of interacting with people?”

Lt. Gen. Keith Huber

The very decorated 3-star general with 38 years of experience in the U.S. Army displayed a sash from his Boy Scout days in the 1960s. Even with all of his medals and accolades, he says he still hangs onto the Boy Scout sash to this day, and is still proud of all of the Scout badges that he earned.

“The concept of developing and leading teams is something I learned as an Eagle Scout,” Gen. Huber said, holding up a copy of the Boy Scout Field Book. “I used this to prepare myself for West Point, to prepare myself for the Army, to prepare myself for training to become a Green Beret.”

The event served both as a fundraising drive for area Boy Scouts—a notable group of community business leaders gathered to support the Scouting program financially, pledging over $103,000 in a single day to help the district continue to operate—and as an opportunity to recognize the 2018 Rutherford County Good Scout Award recipient, Mike Warren.

Warren has been involved in Scouting for 64 years, serving as Scoutmaster for Troop 398 since 1996. He earned his Eagle Scout rank in 1959 with his troop in Birmingham, Alabama. Today, he assists young men in the Trail of Tears district become Eagle Scouts, and has proudly helped 92 boys (and counting) earn their Eagle Scout rank.

“Character can’t be taught, it has to be caught,” Warren said, as he accepted the award. Warren and many other Scout volunteers dedicate a lot of their time and energy toward the pursuit of building character in young people. In Middle Tennessee, over 18,000 youth participate in Boy Scouts. Contained within Rutherford and Cannon counties, known as the Trail of Tears District, are 33 Cub Scout Packs and 22 Boy Scout Troops. In 2017, the two counties combined produced 44 Eagle Scouts.

“I know of no organization on the planet that does a better job of developing character and leadership,” said event chair Steve Dix.

Austen Smith, just one of the thousands of young men who was profoundly affected by Boy Scouts, shared his Scouting story, recounting many great memories such as participating in the Pinewood Derby, sleeping overnight in Cumberland Caverns and attending camp, among other experiences.

“These are things that will stay with me my whole life and I will never forget,” Smith said.

He also has positive things to say about his High Adventures experiences, including staying on a deserted island in the Florida Keys and later hiking nearly 80 miles in New Mexico.

“Scouting helps with academics, citizenship, leadership,” Smith said. “The values are just as important today as they were in 1910.”

A former Scout volunteer, John Harney, told the attendees of the significant changes that Scouting had a role in helping a particularly disruptive kid from a troubled family situation who stuck with Scouting as a youth.

Years later, when this individual was an MTSU student, Harney’s real estate company was able to offer him an internship. Harney gave enormous credit to Scouting for helping the young man focus on education and citizenship, and avoid some potential pitfalls in his life.

“I’ve seen what it’s done for communities,” Harney said of the Boy Scouts organization. “I’ve seen what it’s done for my family.”

For more information on getting involved with the local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, visit mtcbsa.org.

Scout Law

A Scout is:

Trustworthy
Loyal
Helpful
Friendly
Courteous
Kind
Obedient
Cheerful
Thrifty
Brave
Clean
Reverent