On an ordinary night last year, 13-year-old Samuel D’Urso saved the life of his choking brother by applying the Heimlich maneuver. Sam is a Scout in Troop 135 in Manchester who learned the Heimlich as part of earning his First Aid merit badge. Earlier this year, 18-year-old Valerie Johnston, a member of Troop 58 in Campton/Thornton, became New Hampshire’s first female Eagle Scout. As it has for hundreds of thousands of others, Scouting has set these two exceptional young people on a path for success.

I am honored to serve as Scout Executive for the Daniel Webster Council. Founded in 1929, the Daniel Webster Council serves thousands of youths each year who can experience the growth and fun of true outdoor experiences at either the 3,500-acre Griswold Scout Reservation in Gilmanton, Camp Carpenter in Manchester, or regular troop activities in our great outdoors. Scouts also can work on well over 100 merit badges, covering traditional topics such as Camping and Hiking to more recent ones such as Entrepreneurship, Robotics and Sustainability.

Remarkable Americans who were Scouts include Hank Aaron, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford, Harrison Ford, Bill Gates, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Michael Jordan, Chris Pratt, and Steven Spielberg among many others.

Scouting’s timeless values as embodied in the Scout Law – to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent – gave these leaders, Sam, Valerie and so many others a head start in life.

Scouting sign-ups for the coming year are happening now – to learn more about Scouting units in your area please visit www.beascout.org today!