What is Scouting?
Scouting is unlike anything your child has ever experienced before. Unlike school, organized sports, or perhaps even in the home setting, in a Scout troop the youth are the ones who are in charge. THEIR desires become our agenda. THEIR ideas for adventure, fun, and excitement are what the adults use to guide them, and turn it into reality. Scouts work together on every issue, from what to eat at camp, deciding who will wash dishes and shop for food, they learn and PUT INTO PRACTICE communication, public speaking, teamwork, conflict resolution, and leadership.
By taking advantage of more than 135 possible merit badges, they gain exposure to areas of interest ranging from Rifle Shooting to Chemistry, from Small Boat Sailing to Aviation, and from Reading to Nuclear Science. Statistically, the Merit Badge program often leads to life-long hobbies and even career choices. At a minimum, Merit Badges help a young man try things he may never have had a chance to do if not for the Scouting experience, such as rifle shooting, archery, sailing, or camping. While boys are busy "being Scouts" and having fun, they start to embody the virtues of Scouting defined in the Scout Oath and Law.
What is Scouting? It's "fun with a purpose."
Be Prepared. That's the motto of the Boy Scouts.
"Be prepared for what?" someone once asked Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting,
"Why, for any old thing." said Baden-Powell.
The training you receive in your troop will help you live up to the Scout motto. When someone has an accident, you are prepared because of your first aid instruction. Because of lifesaving practice, you might be able to save a non-swimmer who has fallen into deep water.
But Baden-Powell wasn't thinking just of being ready for emergencies. His idea was that all Scouts should prepare themselves to become productive citizens and to give happiness to other people. He wanted each Scout to be ready in mind and body for any struggles, and to meet with a strong heart whatever challenges might lie ahead.
Be prepared for life - to live happily and without regret, knowing that you have done your best. That's what the Scout motto means.