Scouting, Volume 64, Number 2, March-April 1976 Page: 39
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VITAL
FACTS
ABOUT
CUD
SCOUTING
BY DONALD H. FLANDERS
Don Flanders is president
and general manager of
Flanders Metal Products,
Inc. In Scouting he reached
the top as a Scout, earning
his Eagle Award in 1940.
As an adult volunteer, he
served as president of the
Westark Council in Arkan-
sas, member-at-large of the
National Council, and Re-
gion 5 Executive Committee
member and chairman. He
presently serves as a member
of the national Executive
Board and several national
committees, chairman of the
Cub Scouting Committee. He
also serves as a member of
the South Central Regional
Committee.
His colleagues in Scouting
honored his achievements
with the Silver Beaver in
1963, the Silver Antelope in
1966, the Silver Buffalo in
1973. He received the Distin-
guished Eagle Scout Award
in 1970.
In 10 great years as a Cub
Scout, Scout and Sea Explor-
er, no one ever had a finer
Scouting experience than I.
It changed my life. I owe an
unrepayable debt, and the
debt keeps growing. My 25
years as a volunteer has per-
mitted friendships with the
finest people on earth — vol-
unteers and professional
Scouters from all over the
globe. During my adult life I
have been constantly chal-
lenged by trying to measure
up to these great Scouters,
who make me want to be a
better person and to render
a more meaningful service to
the lives of others.
Scouters, I found, love to
share their successful experi-
ences, triumphs and knowl-
edge of program. I can see a
fellow Scouter's eyes light up
when I mention that my
Scoutmaster in Little Rock
raised over a hundred Eagle
Scouts, and is still at it. I get
the same reaction from every
Exploring-oriented volunteer
when I tell him I was in-
volved in a single evening
meeting that organized 31
special interest posts. Fellow
Wood Badge course direc-
tors are surprised when I tell
them I can play "To the Col-
ors" on the kudu horn.
Council executive board
members become enthusias-
tic when we discuss success-
ful United Way allocations
by Scouters setting the ex-
ample in their community by
the best record of payroll
deductions in their own
firms, or when we talk about
the challenges we have in
developing our tremendous
partner relationships. Other
Scouters get turned on about
how we can improve commu-
nications and public rela-
tions. Others are motivated
when we discuss Boys' Life,
how best we can improve our
professional-volunteer rela-
tionships — or even the most
workable structure for our
districts, councils, areas, re-
gions or the national organi-
zation.
When I mention any of our
high adventure bases Scout-
ers will go on for hours about
the merits of each. If I say
that the finest Scout camp I
ever saw was in Alabama or
Tennessee, some will counter
with "You ought to see the
one in California" or "Ore-
gon." I can even mention our
great new National Eagle
Scout Association and find
that my Scouter friends
agree that it is extremely im-
portant to return our finest
products of Scouting to ac-
tive council service.
But just let me mention
our largest part of the ^pro-
gram — Cub Scouting — and
otherwise knowledgeable
Scouters will say "Baloney"
— that's "mother's work" or
"kid stuff." I am constantly
amazed at how truly little
many Scouters really know
about it.
It is not really a question
of which of the programs is
the most important — yet it
is a fact that no one can be a
knowledgeable Scouter, vol-
unteer or professional, unless
he knows as much about Cub
Scouting as he does about
Scouting and Exploring.
Every (continued on page 55)
39
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 64, Number 2, March-April 1976, periodical, March 1976; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353694/m1/55/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.