Scoutmaster's Minute

I've just recently (and I do mean recently - like yesterday) returned from BSA National Camp School, where I was renewing my Camp Management certification. It was, as always, an interesting time, and I was able to make some great new friends (hi Herb, Justin, Mike, Lisa, Jon, Rob, Fr. Nick, Karl, and all various and sundry others), get some new ideas, and share a ton of information.

The instructors were excellent (Hi Ed! Hi Chuck!), and really found the right tone for the course. But, as always, we soon moved away from the big picture of what Scout camp is supposed to be all about and got bogged down in the details.

Ah, yes, the details. The indispensable, infuriating details. Finance, BSA National Standards, State and Federal law, and so forth and so on. They have to be dealt with, and they have to be mastered, but in doing so we often run the risk of losing track of the things that really matter. We get distracted, and when we get distracted we forget what we're really at camp to do.

It has to do with that concept called "success." I shared the following with the group at NCS the morning I left, and I'd like to share it with you now.

We all come to camp with varying definitions of what a "successful" summer will be. All of us. The Scouts come to camp with their own goals, whether it's the earning of their first merit badge, the completion of a rank advancement, or just a plain old good time with some friends. Adult leaders have their own definitions: keeping everyone safe and healthy, making sure the parents of their Scouts realize some value for their investment, keeping the Troop Committee and the Chartering Organization happy, and maybe grabbing some quality time with their own kids. Staff members have their own definitions as well, as do their parents, their supervisors, their Scout Executive, their Camping Committee, their Executive Committee, and so forth and so on. You get the picture.

In such an environment, it's easy for all of us at camp to feel like we're being pulled in ten different directions at once, as if we're trying to meet everyone else's goals, be all things to all people. Make no mistake, the benchmarks that others set for us are important - for many of us, they're the very reason we're at camp in the first place, and meeting those expectations is the reason we're able to keep coming back. But it's also important to remember that, in with all of these other competing interests, each and every one of us has to be at camp at least in part for ourselves. The definition of "success" that others place upon us is important, but equally important is our own definition of "success."

For me, that definition came in the summer of 1998. I was having one of "those" weeks, when it seemed like every single thing under the sun was going wrong. I'll spare you the litany, but let's just say it had me seriously wondering if I'd made a mistake in taking the job again, and wondering if maybe I wouldn't be better off doing something else with my summers.

At about that time, an adult leader came up to me and said "Will, I'd like to talk to you about my son." The way things had been going that week, I expected to hear that his son had spontaneously combusted, or had been carried off by a condor, or something along those lines. Nothing would have surprised me at that point.

He said that he'd just been up in the troop site with his son, a first-year Scout at camp for the very first time. He'd asked his son what he thought of camp so far, and his son had looked at him, grinned ear to ear, and said "This has been the best week of my entire life." The leader said "I just wanted to tell you that, and I wanted to say 'thank you.'"

"The best week of my entire life."

Wow.

That one moment carried me past all my doubts. It got me through the day, the week, the summer, and got me to sign up for another. And another. And another. That one moment became my own definition of success. That one moment became my own benchmark of what's most important at camp.

In the summers since then, I've set myself one goal: to hear that phrase again, or some variation thereof. I haven't been disappointed yet. I pay very close attention to the things others expect me to pay attention to: attendance, budget, regulations, etc. These are the measures of success others have placed upon me, and I accept them willingly. But I also pay close attention to my own definition of success. I listen for that phrase. And if I hear it, I know all other considerations are secondary. I know I've had a successful summer.

What will your own individual definition of "success" be this summer? Will it be dictated by others, or will it be yours and yours alone? Will you judge your own merit only on the expectations others place upon you, or will you - whether Scout, Leader, or Staff member - be able to judge yourself on your own goals, your own measures? It's important to try to fulfill the expectations others have of you, but it's much more important to first fulfill your own.

What is the definition of "success" that means the most to you? What will you look back upon and be proud of come September? Think about it, figure it out, and once you know what it is, keep it close to your heart. It won't always have first place - it simply can't, not all the time - but you can't ever afford to lose it or forget it.

Let your own definition of "success" carry you through this summer. If you can do that, I know you'll be back for another. And another. And another.

Yours in Scouting and All Things Bear Paw,

_______________________

...and in other news:

CONGRATULATIONS to:

--Those who've earned their Eagle since my last Scoutmaster's Minute: Chris, Nate, Chip, Matt, Ian, Troy, Steve, and long-departed staffer Justin (who juuuuuust got it in under the wire...). If I've missed anyone, just holler (there's a lot of you these days!). And congrats to those for whom I've been writing letters of recommendation recently - hopefully we'll see your name in this space soon!

--The new executive officers of Awase Lodge: Ry, Chip, Steve, Matt, and Zach.

--And extra special congrats go to Chip, who'll be working as a Ranger at Philmont this summer. We're all going to miss you, but we're all very very proud of you too.

--And thanks again to the Webmasters, for doing a thankless job, for pursuing a labor of love, and for holding true to their own definitions of "success." Rock on, guys,