[Louise] Mandrell never wavers in support for Boy Scouts

fgoodwin · July 12, 2005

Mandrell never wavers in support for Boy Scouts

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14836276

By: STAN VOIT, Editor July 11, 2005

"One of the scout leaders came up to me after it was over and handed me a check," Mandrell recalled. "I said, 'What's that for?' He said it was for my expenses. The scouts had gotten a donation from a man who was so excited about me coming to perform. I said, 'I don't want that check.' He said, 'It's a check already made out to you.'

Thus began a 10-year association with Boy Scouts that moved from Nashville to Sevier County, where she has continued her support of scouting by sponsoring an annual 5K run. The eighth annual event is scheduled for July 23. It starts and ends at her theater in Pigeon Forge. She fires the pistol to start the race, greets the participants as they come back, then has lunch with everybody. She even has donated a tractor as a door prize.

Mandrell announced in April she would be ending her eight-year performance run in Pigeon Forge. She has sold her theater to the owners of the Comedy Barn and Black Bear Jamboree. Her last performance will be New Year's Eve. Then she returns to Nashville where she says she'll put her husband, John, first. After all, she says, for much of their marriage her career has come first, and that's been OK with both of them. But John suffers from reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, a rare and painful disorder that causes intense pain and is hard to control. He is free of pain now.

"We take things day to day," she said. "We don't know what tomorrow will bring. We don't know how long he'll be pain free. He's still working, but he wants to see more of me before we have any surprises. We thank God for the time we have. Each day is a new blessing."

The Mandrells will meet with his doctor in August, "and after that well make a decision about our future and all future decisions. In the past it's always been my husband's support of me, but in the future we'll make all decisions together. I've never done anything before to prove to my husband I love him, so I'm going back to Nashville."

But for now she remains involved in this community, with her theater and charity work. She has "a bunch of causes," but at the top of the list is the Boy Scouts.

"I admire scouting, not only because they keep God in scouting, which is good enough for me, but they also encourage young people to be all they can be," she said. "It gives them self-confidence and pride in themselves, in their country, and a strong belief in God."

I am the father of an Eagle Scout, and I saw what the program did for him. It made my son more mature, it made him set goals and work to meet those goals, it made him more self-reliant, it made him less self-centered. I watched scouts learn important skills that will serve them long after they stop playing team sports.

"I know how much work goes into becoming an Eagle Scout," Mandrell said. "There are so many distractions for these young men. By the time they go after their Eagle, girls come along."

Scouting is under attack these days, for its continued adherence to God - not religion, but God - its exclusion of openly gay scouts and leaders, allegations of inflated troop rolls in some states, the loss of some corporate sponsorships, and a backing away of support from some school systems. Can it survive?

"I don't have a good answer," Mandrell said. "I'm pretty outspoken, enough to get me in trouble. I have a lot of friends in scouting. Some have resigned because they disagree with its positions, some work harder because they do agree. I know that I see young men getting an opportunity to do things they don't normally get to do. It's not about politics, it's about young boys becoming better men. If scouting stopped tomorrow, I'd be very sad, but I wouldn't let it stop what we've been doing."

In the lobby of the Louise Mandrell Theater are some photos, plaques and awards. Prominent among them are the citations she has received from scouting.

"I'm proud of them," she said. "I earned them. I worked hard. The reason I display those, and not many other awards, is that I love kids, I believe in Boy Scouts, and I want people to know I put a lot of time into it. Those are not just awards for donating money. It's for hours of work."

Mandrell will be at the July 23 event for what likely will be her last time as sponsor. She'll autograph T-shirts, dine with the participants, fire that loud starter pistol again, and soak up all she has enjoyed putting together.

"Somebody asked me one time how come I got involved in Boy Scouts when I have a girl," Mandrell said, referring to daughter Nicole. "It's simple. I believe in what they're doing."

So should everyone.

- Stan Voit is editor of The Mountain Press. His column appears each Sunday. Write him at svoit@themountainpress.com or call him at 428-0748.

cajuncody · July 12, 2005

Funny, we have a lot of "Big Names" up here in East Tennessee. Some support us openly, some don't. It just won't be the same with her gone, We will miss her.

Was kinda funny to see my hometown newspaper on this site.

Kristi

I am going to be an _________(?)!!

SR-725

fgoodwin · July 12, 2005

I inadvertently omitted the second para. when I posted the story above -- the full article should read:

Mandrell never wavers in support for Boy Scouts

By: STAN VOIT, Editor July 11, 2005

"One of the scout leaders came up to me after it was over and handed me a check," Mandrell recalled. "I said, 'What's that for?' He said it was for my expenses. The scouts had gotten a donation from a man who was so excited about me coming to perform. I said, 'I don't want that check.' He said, 'It's a check already made out to you.'

"'What should I do with it?' I asked him. 'I really don't want it.' 'Then take it home and give it to the local Boy Scouts,' he said to me. And that's what I did."

Thus began a 10-year association with Boy Scouts that moved from Nashville to Sevier County, where she has continued her support of scouting by sponsoring an annual 5K run. The eighth annual event is scheduled for July 23. It starts and ends at her theater in Pigeon Forge. She fires the pistol to start the race, greets the participants as they come back, then has lunch with everybody. She even has donated a tractor as a door prize.

Mandrell announced in April she would be ending her eight-year performance run in Pigeon Forge. She has sold her theater to the owners of the Comedy Barn and Black Bear Jamboree. Her last performance will be New Year's Eve. Then she returns to Nashville where she says she'll put her husband, John, first. After all, she says, for much of their marriage her career has come first, and that's been OK with both of them. But John suffers from reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, a rare and painful disorder that causes intense pain and is hard to control. He is free of pain now.

"We take things day to day," she said. "We don't know what tomorrow will bring. We don't know how long he'll be pain free. He's still working, but he wants to see more of me before we have any surprises. We thank God for the time we have. Each day is a new blessing."

The Mandrells will meet with his doctor in August, "and after that well make a decision about our future and all future decisions. In the past it's always been my husband's support of me, but in the future we'll make all decisions together. I've never done anything before to prove to my husband I love him, so I'm going back to Nashville."

But for now she remains involved in this community, with her theater and charity work. She has "a bunch of causes," but at the top of the list is the Boy Scouts.

"I admire scouting, not only because they keep God in scouting, which is good enough for me, but they also encourage young people to be all they can be," she said. "It gives them s elf-confidence and pride in themselves, in their country, and a strong belief in God."