The SPL was always my Right-hand man and the right-hand man with my Assistant Scoutmasters. The SPL would be the key link between the youth and the adults. Over the years I worked with some pretty outstanding young men who did great things. We both learned a lot. I was always impressed to work with these great young men. Many of them have been lifelong friends, and some I miss a lot. The good ones are the real heroes of the Troop. As a Troop that ran as a Youth Run troop, the programs were always in their hands. Without the good program, Scouting was nothing. Sure we had some bad meetings, but to keep so many scouts involved for so long, and to have so many make it to Eagle Scout is a testament to the great job these scouts did. They lead the other leaders in the Troop to be better people as well. I often ask older scouts, especially Eagle Scout candidates at their Eagle Scoutmaster Conference who was a good youth leader as they went through the program, almost always was the SPL or the PL or both. My hat is off to all those who served as an SPL or any other leadership position and did it was the passion required to do a great job. Some have asked me, who was the BEST SPL, and I am not sure I can answer that because they were all different and had the talents they brought to the table. I believe the longest-serving one was Mike Grant (pictured) who served for 2 years (4-terms). Mike was SPL when the Troop went from 30 to over 55 scouts and did a nice job with that. He and his cast of comrades were always kept on their toes as we grew. I would not get the credit I do if these youth were not so good at their job, they made me a good Scoutmaster, thank you!
Comments