Our expedition down the Hudson River in October of '07 was done in tribute to the "Fallen Heroes of 9/11". I can think of very few causes as worthy as the FDNY, NYPD and other real-life heroes who gave all on that fateful day.
While contemplating expeditions in other geographic areas, I had considered some possible causes, but never the Boy Scouts. The folks at Tucker and Associates contacted me with the idea of doing expeditions in locations in and around Texas. When I found out that we would be rowing to honor the Boy Scouts of America, I practically jumped in the air.
You see, scouting has played a major role in my family for generations. My grandfather was the Scoutmaster of my dad's troop, and my dad was the Scoutmaster of the troop that my brother, my cousin and I, and many of our friends grew up in. I am an Eagle Scout. I'd love to take full credit for it, but it was my father who really got behind me and pushed for the last five yards or so. I was carrying the ball, but he, and many others were pushing me into the end-zone. I saved three lives before the age of 18 because of the first-aid training I'd learned in scouts (sure, two of those rescues were performed on scouts, during scout trips, but that's another story). Scouting taught me to plan, prepare, and most of all, to "go for it". If anything I've done in my life is labeled a success - I feel that it's only fair to point towards God, my parents, and scouting.
So it is with great honor that we row with the scout logo on our gondola. Scouting has made a difference in the lives of so many young men. Whenever I get the chance, I encourage parents of "energetic boys" to get them in a troop. It certainly helped this "energetic boy". God only knows the trouble I might have gotten into had it not been for Troop 658 at the Rolling Hills Covenant Church in Rolling Hills Estates, California.
