– Bryan On Scouting

Anniston Murphy (left) and Ava Look It’s been said that the journey to become an Eagle Scout is like climbing a mountain. In many ways, that’s a fair comparison. It’s not easy, and nobody can carry you to the top. When you reach that high point, your perspective improves and suddenly you can see what…

Courtesy of Dylan Slattery Surviving a battle with cancer is certainly cause for celebration, but it might also lead to reassessing one’s life and finding purpose, especially after two bouts with the deadly disease. That’s the case with Dylan Slattery, who earned the Eagle Scout Award in 2009 with Troop 39 of Earlville, Iowa. After…

A cast-iron fence is topped with fleurs-de-lis in downtown Monroe, La. Photo by Dakota-Miller/iStock/Getty Images It’s worn by kings and queens, Pelicans and Saints, and Scouts and Scouters. It’s found atop iron fence posts at private homes and famous landmarks, including London’s Buckingham Palace. And, perhaps most important of all, it has its own emoji:…

Photos courtesy of Bob Trejo Completing an Eagle Scout project is hard — completing one during a pandemic is even harder, but it can be done, as proven by 10 Scouts in Troop 98 of Whitpain Township, Pa. Summer camp was cancelled as was the troop’s two-week backpacking trek at Philmont Scout Ranch, so the…

Courtesy of Paul Dye If you strolled the hallways of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in the 1990s, you would’ve heard men and women talking about the Mission Control, the Mir space station and the space shuttle Atlantis. You also would’ve heard them talking about Scouting. “It was pretty common knowledge that a lot of…

Each year on Feb. 8, the Boy Scouts of America celebrates its birthday. It’s a date officially known as Scouting Anniversary Day. But this is more than an excuse to eat an extra s’more and commemorate another year of Scouting adventures. It’s also when packs, troops, crews and ships honor a Scout’s “duty to God.”…

Photos by Michael Roytek, Dan Bryant This year will mark the first year young women will have earned the highest rank in the Scouts BSA program, the Eagle Scout Award. Those who have completed their Eagle boards of review from Oct. 1, 2020, to Feb. 8, 2021, will be recognized as the inaugural class of…

From left: Evelyn, Elisabeth and Aiden Becker Like all Scouting volunteers, Amanda Becker has a dozen different roles. But her proudest doesn’t come with a badge of office, and it won’t earn her a square knot. The volunteer from the Cascade Pacific Council in Oregon is her family’s Eagle Encourager. She encouraged her three teenagers…

Your Scout found a surprise when his or her latest issue of Boys’ Life arrived: a special collector’s edition revealing the new name of the Boy Scouts of America’s premiere youth publication. Scout Life represents all of the magazine’s readers, providing the same great content enjoyed over the past 110 years. In the January-February 2021…

Drew Scalice (left) and Kieran Foley At a district-level Klondike Derby, the wintry mix of activities is meant to be fun, encourage teamwork and foster a little friendly competition between troops. But, as we learned last month, those same activities can also teach practical skills necessary to save someone’s life. Last month, five New Jersey…