“Be Yourself”

Steve Fosset a great Scout, an internationally inspiring adventurer and great leader left us a poignant, enduring and relevant message. There have been many great Scouts but in recent years none have encapsulated the Scouting spirit of adventure better than Stephen Fossett who was tragically killed in an airplane accident in September 2007. As well as being a Scout Steve was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a successful businessman, aviator, sailor, and adventurer and the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon. He also held 116 records in five different sports.

Despite all this fervent activity Steve never forgot that he was a Scout and what he took as a boy he replaced a million fold later in his life. As an adult he served in many volunteer positions including the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, the World Scout Committee and the World Scout Foundation. But it was in his work direct with young people that Steve really gave his best: he always had time for young people who asked for his advice, or just wanted to talk to him, their hero!

Despite his fame Steve was a modest and straightforward person and would sincerely say. “I am relatively average in my abilities; I just set out to succeed with hard work and planning.” And his advice was poignant. “I would advise any young person to figure out what he or she is capable of doing and choose those fields to go after. Figure out how to pursue it rather than follow in the footsteps of someone else. I would not suggest anybody try to be like me. Be yourself!” Steve was true to his Scout Promise – he did his best, he helped other people, he served his community and his legacy remains inspirational.

Disappearing boundaries

Rabbi Peter Hyman is a life-long member of the Boy Scouts of America and is Past-Chairman of the BSA’s Jewish Committee on Scouting.

You cannot help but be moved, impressed and inspired by the opening ceremony at a World Jamboree. Spectators watch as Scouts and Scouters from every corner of our world, each dressed in a uniform of his/her country, proudly assemble in the main arena, all anxious to begin the “Mondial”. French red, Swedish blue, American khaki, Scout by Scout and nation by nation, the central arena transforms into a color-coded directory of international scope. World Jamborees officially begin with the opening ceremonies and conclude with closing ceremonies. At the opening of the jamboree, everything is delineated and compartmentalized. Every participant has a place; each country occupies an assigned spot; every nation stands in a specific location. All participants are in uniform and identifiable by those uniforms. From Albania to Zimbabwe, in the arena unfolds a patchwork of national hues and tints, and a cross-stitching of cultures and countries. Over the next ten days borders disappear. Boundaries, keeping people from people, and nation from nation, dissolve. Historic, time-entrenched animosities dissipate. Sub-camps cease being campsites and turn into world sites. Children meet other children, smiles greet smiles and fingers lock together, not to make fists but to make friends through a handshake. Uniforms are swapped. A Dutch girl Scout proudly wears an American “Class A” shirt, a Japanese Scout sports a kilt, a Ugandan Scout shows off the Brazilian jacket he exchanged for a gazelle horn and a water buffalo slide. Uniforms no longer match a Scout to a country. At the closing ceremony, a mystical change has occurred. Countries still occupy assigned spots and stand in designated locations. But, the patchwork quilt has gone, dissolved in a sea of confetti not American Scouts or Canadian Scouts; not Israeli Scouts nor Jordanian Scouts, it is impossible to tell who is from where. Some are smiling, some crying but most are sad that the end has come, though each and every one has been uplifted, touched and changed by the power and the promise of those ten days. Even so they remain Scouts, just young people but now no longer islands. Perhaps here lies the secret and mystery, the hope and the challenge of a Jamboree. For a moment there are no boundaries and the world truly is united.