SCOUTING SMOKE SIGNALS

Just about 100 adult Scouters gathered at Waynedale United Methodist Church on Sunday, February 20 for the annual Miami District Recognition Dinner. The sheer number of volunteer hours that these Scouters devote to our youth and our community would be staggering to imagine. Let’s just say that collectively this group of volunteers accounts for well more than a four digit total of hours in service to our youth.

Mr. Brad Collins, whose son Preston reached the honored rank of Eagle this spring, was the keynote speaker. Brad is involved at the local level with the Prison Ministries Program. Brad related several scenarios of youth that made poor decisions early in life. And as a result of some of those decisions lives were lost, multiple families dreams were shattered, and the social cost was overwhelming. Brad spoke of counseling one youth who was afraid that after his release he would just continue on that same treacherous path. Brad’s advice to this youth was to chose a mentor from his neighborhood. A good man that deserved and earned the respect of his fellow man. And this youth should model his actions after those of his mentor.

It was a sobering moment as Brad relayed that the young man thought long and hard before he looked up and said, “There is no one like that for me.” If only that young man had been exposed to a “values driven” program provided by the efforts of a great group of people that would take an interest in him, perhaps we could rewrite some of that history.

There is a large group of individuals doing their best to ensure that Brad has fewer young adults to counsel in the future. And that none of these young folks can say that, “There was no one like that for me.”

The City of Fort Wayne and the community of Waynedale are quite fortunate to have these individuals investing so much of themselves to further the program of the Boy Scouts of America.