Customer Service Place an Ad Become a Carrier Contact Us About Us Mobile Edition E-Mail Updates Report Cancellation
| Subscribe Now Customer Service Place an Ad Become a Carrier Contact Us About Us Mobile Edition E-Mail Updates Report Cancellation
|
 |
 |
|
Weather  Calendar Obituaries Classifieds Jobs Autos Homes Rentals Coupons Ad Center |
Bloomington-Normal, Illinois
|
Home News Sports
Free Time Life Money Nation/World Opinion Blogs/Columns Archives Site Map |
 Monday, September 8, 2008 12:23 PM CDT |
 Comments (0) |  E-mail this page |  Print this page |  Enlarge type |  Reduce type |  Search archives |  RSS feeds |  Add to My Yahoo! |
Area scoutmaster honored for 25 years of service
Eagle Scout-turned-scoutmaster Fred Hoyt of Normal kids a little when he talks about the "dangers" associated with Boy Scouting. He doesn't talk about mosquito bites, the poison ivy or the minor scrapes and bruises that come from physical activity outdoors. And, he doesn't lose much sleep over the wild critters that live in the woods near places where scouts pitch their tents. The danger Hoyt talked about was a situation he faced when he was a scout growing up on the streets of Chicago. He was mugged while wearing his scout uniform. The culprits stole his favorite scouting neckerchief slide. "Kids today need to be driven everywhere. But then, you'd hike until you reached a bus line or got robbed," he said, laughing. Hoyt, 66, was recently honored for 25 years of service as scoutmaster for "Troop 19, the best you've ever seen." Catchy slogans like that one come naturally to the marketing professor at Illinois Wesleyan University. But scouting has more to draw young boys than a quick turn of a phrase, he said. The Boy Scouts offer life lessons that have endured nearly 100 years despite modern pressures like video games, the Internet and a younger generation fighting obesity. "What's the best thing I do as a scout master? I keep kids away from electronics for two weeks," Hoyt said. "We sail, kayak, cave, hike, bike, camp, cross-country ski. ...We live in igloos. It's a incredible high to watch the sun go down, then watch the meteor showers and pray for the sun to come up so you can get out of that igloo and go back to the 21st century and take a hot shower." Area scout troops, including Troop 19 based at First United Methodist Church, are in the midst of a recruiting drive. Brian Miller, Boy Scout district director in the Bloomington area, estimates about 3,500 boys will be involved in scouting in Livingston, Logan, McLean, DeWitt and northern Ford counties when the drive finishes this month. The boys range from first-graders in Cub Scouts to young men in Boy Scouts up to age 20. Even girls can join a high adventure program the Boy Scouts operate called Venturing for kids ages 14 to 20. Groups are organized around activities, such as scuba diving and rock climbing. Troop 19 has grown nearly 50 members, about twice its size, in the past two years. Hoyt and others, including boys in the troops and their parents, talk scouting up with other boys, and the troop hosts informal informational get-togethers. Last year, Hoyt used some of his marketing know-how and started contacting former Cub Scouts who didn't make the transition to Boy Scouts when the time came. The outdoor opportunities are a strong draw, Hoyt said. The troop spends about 45 nights outdoors a year. Some of the trips are to nearby camps. But others take them far away. For example, they've gone "beyond the end of the road" in Manitoba, Canada, Hoyt said. The scouts flew to a place where they loaded canoes and just kept going. Adam Nichols, 18, a recent Eagle Scout and son of Mike and Kelli Nichols, said being a scout has given him experiences others his age have missed. He has white-water rafted, mountain-biked and hiked at the scout's Teton High Adventure Base outside Jackson Hole, Wyo. He also spent six days and nights canoeing in the remote backcountry of Maine, toured Quebec and sailed in the Florida Keys for two weeks with the scouts. "It was lots of fun," said Nichols, a senior at Bloomington High School who's known as "Buddha." Like a compass, family and friends often point the way to scouting. Many scouts have dads who were members. Hoyt's dad was a scout and Hoyt's son, David, also achieved Eagle Scout. Nichols' father was a scout, too. Boys who stay active in scouting also tend to achieve in other areas, Hoyt said. Nichols plays percussion in the BHS band and wants to study music in college. Miller, who also made Eagle, lettered in several sports and also was active in music. Hoyt admits scouting is far more than learning to pitch a tent or bait a hook. The outdoor activities provide a classroom without walls to help boys build character and self esteem that will help them succeed throughout their lives, he said. He told of a recent trip where it rained all but two days. Mosquitoes "were something out of a Stephen King novel." They had to work hard to portage their gear. They saw very few people, and they had no contact with the outside world. Throughout it all, the boys learned not to take hardship personally and to persevere. "It was relentless, it was challenging, and we loved it," he said. "I learn nature is mean to everyone, not just me, and I'm good because I did it, and anybody who does it can be good. You get to be good in sports by beating someone else, but does that necessary mean you are better? In scouts, the standards are what are you up against and how bad do you want it. Think about the high you get when you push yourself to do things you didn't think you could do and you do it. That's where growth comes," Hoyt said. "The outdoor stuff is neat, but the outdoor stuff is a means. The real goal is to teach kids who they are, and what they can do. ...It's kind of deceptive. It's an adult program in kid's clothes. You learn without realizing what you're doing," Hoyt said. Nichols joined Cub Scouts at age 8. As he matured, he saw that scouts offered a way to learn leadership skills he can use throughout his life. Scouts also offered him an opportunity to serve. In addition to learning lots of merit badges, candidates for Eagle Scout must do a project that helps their community. Nichols mentioned the requirement to a man at church who is an official in Ambucs, a service organization that builds wheelchair ramps among other things. Nichols learned of a woman who had a stroke who needed a ramp built before she could leave the nursing home. He did the planning and carried out the construction. "I still drive by there sometimes to look at it," he said. "Scouting is very important in my life. It really gives opportunity for boys to experience new things. It's a very rewarding experience to turn 18 and get your Eagle and think, 'Wow, this is all that I've done and all that I've learned.' " Miller, who also achieved Eagle Scout, said he thinks scouting has endured in America nearly 100 years after its birth in the Central Illinois town of Ottawa because the 12 points in the Scout Law its founder W.D. Bois gave scouts in 1910 are as true now as they were then. "A Boy Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. ... "I believe it (scouting) stands the test of time because we are living up to the scout oath and the scout law. We've been unchanging in that for almost 100 years. If you live up to the 12 points every day of your life, you really can't make a wrong decision. If you are doing those 12 things, you are helping yourself and helping those around you," Miller said. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
|
||||||||
|
 |
|
Top of Page | Home | News | Sports | Free Time | Life | Money | Nation/World | Opinion | Blogs/Columns | Archives | Site Map | RSS
Customer Service | 301 W. Washington St., PO Box 2907, Bloomington, IL 61701-2907 | Ph. 309-829-9000 | 800-747-7323
Copyright © 2008, Pantagraph Publishing Co. and Lee Enterprises. All rights reserved. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
|
