EDITORIAL: Boy Scouts still have relevance

Since being incorporated Feb. 8, 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has had a 100-year run of turning boys into our leaders of tomorrow.

Of the current 111th Congress, 211 members have participated in scouting. South Carolinians on that list include U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and U.S. Reps. Henry Brown, James Clyburn, John Spratt and Joe Wilson.

John F. Kennedy was the first Boy Scout to become a U.S. President.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong was an Eagle Scout before becoming the first man on the moon.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates was a Life Scout before changing the world through computer technology.

Before changing the way America shops with his Wal-Mart chain, Sam Walton was the youngest boy ever to earn Eagle Scout in Missouri as an eighth-grader.

Before slugging a Major League Baseball record 755 home runs from 1954-76 for the Braves, Hall-of-Famer “Hammerin’” Hank Aaron was an Eagle Scout.

Here in the Pee Dee, the Boy Scouts’ area council executive board is dotted with politicians, business leaders and doctors.

Clearly, scouting — a commitment that requires hours, days and years of dedication — can lead to great things.

According to “Values of Americans,” a Harris Interactive study released in 2005, men who were Boy Scouts are more likely than those who have never been Scouts to have higher levels of education, higher earnings and own their homes.

The study reveals 33 percent of of men who were Scouts graduate college compared to 19 percent of non-Scouts.

On average, the study concludes men who were Scouts have annual household incomes of $75,000 compared to $61,000 for non-Scouts. And 74 percent of men who were Scouts own their own home, compared to 65 percent of non-Scouts.

According to the Boy Scouts of America, 2,832,636 youths and 1,165,828 adult volunteers participated in Scouting in 2008.

As the Boy Scout Law suggests, boys in scouting learn to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

The good Scouts do is felt all over the world, including here in the Pee Dee.

According to the Boy Scouts of America, more than 2.8 million Scouts and nearly 1.2 million volunteers logged 35,194,360 service hours in communities across America in 2008.

That translates to $712,685,790 of service, based on a $20.25 Independent Sector value of volunteer time for 2008.

Most of that service time was devoted to food collection and distribution, litter cleanup and community beautification, conservation projects, serving food at shelters, and military support and appreciation.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Scouting, Pee Dee area Scouts are conducting a photo competition titled “Capture the Spirit of Scouting” that will culminate with exhibits at the Black Creek Arts Center in Hartsville and at the Boy Scouts office in Florence.

An opening will be in Hartsville on Thursday from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and photos will remain on display there through February.

The showing at the Florence office will be Monday from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The exhibits are great opportunities for Scouts to gather and reflect on good times, and opportunities for the public to commend Scouts for their hard work.

— Unsigned editorials represent the views of this newspaper: Editorial Board members are Mark Laskowski (regional publisher), Sam Bundy (sports editor), Kimberly Ginfrida (content manager), David Johnson (regional circulation director), Charles Tomlinson (Lake City News & Post editor) and Jackie Torok (metro editor).