Goodbye

Written by Amit Srivastava

The Chinese have a saying, “The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.”  There’s a lesson for us in that. I am thinking of advancement. If you come to troop meetings without ever looking in your Official Boy Scout Handbook   and if you never ask how to pass a requirement  or who to see about a merit badge, you’ll never advance very far in Scouting.  In Scouting, and in life, the rewards don’t come to those who sit back and wait for something to be handed to them on a silver platter. I would like to see every one of you set the Eagle Scout rank as your goal in Scouting.  As a step toward that goal, I challenge each of you to pick out some award you can earn for our next Court of Honor.

Whatever goal you set for yourself, remember that only you can take that first step toward it. No one else can do it for you. Once you’ve taken that first step the next step becomes easier.  And the ones after that will be easier still because you’re on the way along the Scouting trail. Today we are here to celebrate the success of the steps you have taken on that journey.

Spock once said, “Change is the essential process of existence.”  Today I would like to announce one such change. I would like to pass the Scoutmaster baton in  the excellent hands of Arul Ivaroo.

I have had the pleasure of being in  service  of the troop for 3.5 years.  And in those 3.5 years I have had an incredible experience seeing young boys develop into young men. I have had the privilege  to preside over 5 eagle Court of Honors. In  interacting with these boys and seeing  them at troop meetings, camp outs and  summer camps, I have seen the aha moments  of learning. The  wonderful moments of team spirit in camp wide games. Their growth in maturity as they take steps in leadership. So I selfishly say the pleasure of taking this role has been mine. I know that Arul shares the same compassion and  beliefs.  As you know boy scouts is a volunteer led organization so I know that the troop is in good hands with all the parents and support you will provide to support him.

I am not going very far , I am  stepping down as ScoutMaster and will continue to be involved in troop activities as an ASM as much as I can. Thank you.