A surprise guest at our troop meeting

[Trevorum]

Near the end of our troop meeting last night I noticed a new adult face at the back of the room. I had just finished passing out a bunch of merit badges, and before I had a chance to say hello, this 30-something fellow came on over and introduced himself. His name sounded vaguely familiar but he was not the parent of a prospective scout as I had first thought - I recognized his name from the troop's Eagle Roster. He had recieved his Eagle from our troop back in 1985!

 

He was visiting his parents and, realizing that it was a Monday night, he dropped by the meeting hall to see if his old troop was still around. From his grin, I could tell he was pleased that we were not only still around but were thriving and carrying on the same traditions he fondly remembered. I asked him if he would say a few words to the guys and he succinctly challenged them to stay in Scouting and earn their Eagle. It was great!

 

He was just passing through town and his visit was purely fortuitous. However, it got me to thinking that Eagles from the "early days" are a great source of guest speakers for any troop's CoH!

[bbng]

That's super! This is one of those things that demonstrates a good program to me; the Scouts remember and come back. My sons are in a troop in which this often happens. COHs are held on the same night as troop meetings; in fact, only camping trips are held on other than the troop meeting night. The SM and SAs have been around long enough that one will recognize a visitor, and the visiting Scout is always welcomed before the troop. I'm personally very impressed by that, and I'm glad you had that experience.

[jr56]

Great story, thanks for sharing. Prior troop members who come back and speak to the boys always have a much bigger impact than anything we adult leaders can say.

[LPC_Thumper]

We have engineers from JPL, a West Point Cadet, a mormon missionary, a Sea Bee, and a Green Beret among other good guys as alumni from our troop. The thing I like about us, is that they all are warmly greeted and encouraged to talk to the current scouts. It is very common for those that are away at college to drop in during the summer as they wait for their buddies to get back home. This summer I've learned that many of the more "propeller headed" of them have figured out how to set up VOIP and talk on the internet. They visit from each other's college dorm room and compare the food to what they ate at Jambo, or Philmont, or NT, or some other summer camp.

 

Our troop has an anniversary dinner, and we read the names of the boys that have been in the troop. We also send out invitations to those families that aren't currently in the troop. Their parents come and spend 30 seconds talking about what alumni of Troop 26 are now doing.

[Kahuna]

Always a great feeling. I've had the same experience and it makes you feel very special. You must be doing something right.

[SemperParatus]

Trev,

Good story...like a ghost from scouting past. I was that guy once. I know what he was feeling and I am sure his heart skipped a beat when he walked in and saw 'his troop' in action.