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SCOUT EXECUTIVE'S MINUTE Dear Scouts: 
This month I would like to focus on the “Buddy System” as an important element to successful Scouting. The “Buddy System” refers to a Scouting procedure where Scouts do not swim alone, boat alone, canoe alone, hike alone, or conduct any procedure by themselves. Scouting truly is a group activity done with your friends.
Just this past month a young Boy Scout from Utah was lost for four days and later recovered alive. I was relieved and glad to hear that the Scout had been found alive and in good condition. Imagine the four days of anguish his parents went through thinking the worst. During those four days many thoughts went through my mind. Did a cougar attack the 65 pound child? Was it a bear? Did he fall on a slippery rock and float downstream unconscious? Was he kidnapped right in the middle of the camp? Or did he simply wander off the camp property into the surrounding wilderness? Then I saw the pictures of thousands of volunteers engaged in searching for the boy. There were people on foot, on horseback, on ATV’s, and in search helicopters. From this distance it looked like a huge effort combing rugged terrain to find one boy. It reminded me of a time just a few years ago when I was involved along with 300 others in the successful recovery and evacuation of a Scout who had fallen from a seventy foot high waterfall in western North Carolina. This Scout had also gotten away from his buddy. Although he survived his injuries, he spent nearly a year in a physical therapy center and missed an entire academic year of high school. What is the lesson to be learned from these two similar experiences? Simply put, Scouting is an activity best and safely done with your buddies. Whether it is conducting a Troop campout, organizing a fundraising campaign, recruiting new kids into Scouting, or chartering a new unit ---- Scouting is done by the “Buddy System” ---- it is not a singular activity, but one best experienced with ones own friends. Use the “Buddy System” in all that you do in Scouting! Stephen J. Taylor, CFRE Scout Executive Northwest Suburban Council |