Boy Scout Day

Boy Scout Day celebrates the birthday of Scouting in America. On February 8, 1910, Chicago publisher William Dickson Boyce filed incorporation papers in the District of Columbia to create the Boy Scouts of America.

Scouting groups across the country celebrate this day. Often a cake will be served at the weekly meeting or on a camp out. Scout Sunday, the Sunday nearest the 8th of February, will often be marked with a church service, followed by a pancake breakfast. 

Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts offer a tremendously valuable program of life skills and values for millions of boys. It has been popular ever since Lord Baden-Powell founded Boy Scouts in the early 1900s in Great Britain. The top award of Eagle Scout, is an accomplishment that reaps recognition, rewards, and benefits for a young man throughout his life.

The Boy Scout motto is "Do a good turn daily."

In 2013, Scouts provided more than 17 million hours of service to their communities. Based on the national volunteer-hour value, that's more than $377 million of service.  

My son did scouts from the Cub Scouts thru his 18th birthday.  He served on staff at White Stag Camp - which is usually called the leadership training camp in other states.  He is also an Eagle Scout.

To earn the Eagle Scout rank, the highest advancement rank in Scouting, a Boy Scout must fulfill requirements in the areas of leadership, service, and outdoor skills.  A number of specific skills are required to advance through the ranks—Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, and Eagle. To advance, a Boy Scout must pass specific tests that are organized by requirements and merit badges.  21 merit badges must be earned to qualify for Eagle Scout.   Of this group, 13 badges are required, including First Aid, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World, Communication, Cooking, Personal Fitness, Personal Management, Camping, and Family Life. In addition, a Scout has a choice between Emergency Preparedness and Lifesaving, Cycling, Hiking, and Swimming, and Environmental Science and Sustainability.

While a Life Scout, a Scout plans, develops, and gives leadership to others in a service project helpful to any religious institution, school, or the community.  In addition to providing service and fulfilling the part of the Scout Oath, “to help other people at all times,” one of the primary purposes of the Eagle Scout service project is to demonstrate or hone, or to learn and develop, leadership skills. 

Famous Eagle Scouts

• Neil Armstrong, First man on the moon
• Stephen G. Breyer, Associate justice, United States Supreme Court
• Steve Fossett, World record holder, first person to circumnavigate Earth solo in a hot air balloon
• Bill Gates, Sr., CEO of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates
• James A. Lovell, Jr., Retired U.S. Navy officer, former astronaut
• The Honorable Richard G. Lugar United States senator, Indiana
• J. Willard Marriott Jr., Chairman and CEO, Marriott International
• H. Ross Perot, Founder of Perot Systems Corp., former presidential candidate
• Mike Rowe, Host of “Dirty Jobs” on the Discovery Channel
• William S. Sessions, Former federal judge, former director of the FBI
• Steven Spielberg, Academy Award-winning film director
• John Tesh, Recording artist and performer
• Togo D. West Jr., Former United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs