The Best Scoutmaster I Could Ask For...

There are many things that I will never forget about my experiences in Scouting. Tying my first Square Knot. Passing my first Swim Test at Summer Camp. Earning my first Merit Badge (it was Woodcarving). Going home with a 102 degree fever 24 hours after starting my first summer as a Counselor in Training at Summer Camp. Spending a week at National Camp School. But of all the things that I will remember about my Scouting experience perhaps the most gratifying ones will be the times I shared with my father.

From the very beginning of my Scouting career my father taught me what it meant to be a Scout. That being Trustworthy was not just about telling the truth, but it was also about living up to your word. That doing a good turn daily wasn't ensuring that you helped an old lady across the street everyday, but it was finding a way to do something for someone else whenever possible and to ensure that my actions created a better world. My father taught me what it meant to be Brave by standing up for what I felt was right and just and to always be Obedient and Courteous when trying to foster change.

It always amazed me that although he is not an Eagle Scout himself, my father truly embodied what it meant to hold that rank. He continually put the members of the troop above himself. He understood that Scouting exists for the boys, and it is not meant to be some place where parents drop off their children and then leave. My father spent every summer with the troop at Summer Camp and was always busy doing something while he was there. Checking up on the progress of the Scouts in their Merit Badges, helping build a gateway or camp gadget with the younger scouts so that they could learn the necessary Scout skills. Inventing things like Wilderness Bocce, Infiltration and the annual Christmas Break Movie Marathon. I never saw him laying down or doing nothing. He was always finding a way to make our experience in Scouting the best it could be.

Of all the experiences with my father attending the National Jamboree in 2005 was by far my most memorable. I will never forget the day my father asked me if I wanted to go to the Jamboree. It was something that we had always talked about because he was scheduled to go when he was a Scout but was unable to attend. Of course when he asked me I said absolutely. It was decided then that I would sign up to attend and that he would sign up to be an Assistant Scoutmaster. When both of us made it onto the roster for the trip, I knew that this would be an experience that I would treasure forever.

Then of course there was my Eagle Court of Honor. Nothing has ever made me prouder than to be able to stand in front of my family, Troop, friends, teachers and so many others that attended and present my parents with their Eagle Scout Mom & Dad Pins. My parents wear their pins proudly to this day. For me, this is a greater accomplishment than the Bachelor's Degree I gained in 2010 and the Master's Degree I will obtain this May.

You see for me Scouting was always something that I did with my Dad. From the time I spent in Cub Scouts building Pinewood Derby Cars to the day I became an Eagle Scout, Scouting for me has always been something shared between father and son. Looking back on this experience, I could not have asked for a better Scoutmaster than my father (that's right my dad was also my Scoutmaster). So I want to take the time to say...

Thanks Dad.

Which brings me to the point of this blog. Over the last year I have blogged, posted, tweeted, spoken and done many things to speak out for change in the Boy Scouts of America. I believe that the discriminatory policy against members of the LGBT community is in direct violation of the values that Scouting is supposed to teach.

How can a Scout be open and honest when he is forced to hide his true self because being gay will get him kicked out? How are we supposed to find the good in every boy and develop it when we have policies that prohibit them from being a member? How do we teach Scouts to be good, moral citizens when we set the example that discrimination is ok?

I cannot imagine denying the opportunity of any boy who wants to be a Scout. I also cannot see any reason why a gay father or mother should be denied the opportunity to participate in Scouting with their child. How could I be willing to agree to something like that knowing full well what influence being able to experience Scouting with my father had on my life?

There are many great things that Scouting has to offer. It is an organization that I will continue to support for the rest of my life because I believe in the value of the leadership and lifelong skills it can teach boys. It is an organization that I hope my son and I will be able to share together just as I did with my father (who will hopefully be right along side us). But I cannot stand idly and watch an organization I care for so much stand on the wrong side of history and continue to force good, quality members out of its ranks because of their sexual orientation. I consider it my duty as a Scouter to try and have this rule which I believe to be unfair changed in an orderly manner.

I have completed the survey being sent out by the BSA, and I urge all members to respond to it as well in favor of the removal of the policy. Speak out to your Council Staff and encourage your Troops to be inclusive. As Scout Leaders we have an opportunity to teach our Scouts that discrimination is not ok, and it is our responsibility to ensure that the values we instill in our Scouts are those of the highest quality.

As Lord Robert Baden-Powell once said "There is no teaching to compare with example." This is our turn to be the example.