SCOUT EXECUTIVE'S MINUTE

Many years ago at the G. Harry Carson Elementary School in Pennsauken, New Jersey a force to be reckoned with was Mrs. Marion McCarty. As the sole sixth grade teacher she headed up the Safety Patrol, served as the Assistant Principal, headed up the rest of the faculty, was the all-around best teacher in the school, and was feared by both student and rookie teacher alike. She handled almost all of the student disciplinary violations like chewing gum in class, walking on the wrong side of the hallway, being tardy for class, being impolite in the lunchroom, and making noise during assembly. She was firm and fair, physically imposing, and always dressed in a commanding fashion. Those that went beyond Mrs. McCarty’s level of infractions were sent to the Principal, Mrs. Patella, and those poor soles were never seen again at the school. Mrs. McCarty was important in my formative years of learning right from wrong.

One of Mrs. McCarty’s favorite items to impress upon the young mind was to NOT point at other people. She would demonstrate by directing her index finger toward an imaginary person and say something like, “When you point at someone, you have three remaining fingers that point right back at you. Accept your own personal responsibility for the situation. The fingers pointing back at you indicate that YOU are three times more responsible than the other person.” It’s been forty years since the last time I saw Mrs. McCarty, but her legacy lives on through her impressionable students. I wish everyone had a great teacher of life like Mrs. McCarty.

To bring it home to the Northwest Suburban Council, I grin every time I hear someone say, “The Council did it” or “The Council didn’t do it” or “It was decided by Council.” The Council is you and me. It’s our dedicated volunteers and our great staff. We have Council Committees of various sorts; the Council Executive Committee, the Council Executive Board, the Council Budget Committee, the Council Finance Committee, the Council Marketing Committee, the Council Program Committee, and so on. These committee are paralleled at the District level in each of our six Districts (yes, six not four). These groups are where issues of the day and of the future are discussed and decided as a best course of action. And each group struggles to make the best decision for what issue they are attempting to resolve. They are all dedicated Scouters who can disagree without being disagreeable, debate, discuss, and resolve issues so that they are friends when they started and friends when they left the meeting together. That’s because the bottom line is “what’s best for the kids” is always at the forefront of their thoughts.

Let’s trust our fellow volunteers and professionals that they are being responsible to consider the best course of action on a given topic and not just use the phrase that “It’s the Council…” Remember the lesson of Mrs. McCarty regarding personal responsibility.

Best regards,
Stephen J. Taylor, CFRE
Scout Executive
staylor@bsamail.org