We live in a time of great change, and we know after the last number of years that change is constant. Change is how you progress. Change is how you clear a trail so every young person can become a leader. We are fortunate to be grounded in the roots of the Scout Oath and Law – which even in a sea of change remain steadfast and keep us connected. How did you feel when you attended your last unit meeting and watched the Scouts recite the Scout Oath and Law? If you cannot remember the last time, it is time to get out of a committee setting and into a campsite or pack meeting. It will warm your heart and ground your soul.

In this time of great change, how do we sustain the Scouting movement? One perspective by John Maxwell seems appropriate: “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” We have been in the business of building leaders for more than 112 years – literally changing the lives of millions of young men and women. It is a legacy of which we should be proud, but the legacy alone will not sustain Scouting. Our most fundamental obligation as professionals and volunteers is to preserve the mission of Scouting. We accomplish that goal by building our relationships with each other, with our chartered partners, and with our unit leaders – all united on the common trail to preserve the mission of Scouting.

Looking back at Maxwell’s words, I would suggest that growth is not optional. If we are to grow the Scouting movement, what will be the hallmarks of our teamwork? We need to build relationships with each other in and across every geography. We are one Scout family. Our relationships must be built upon collaboration, trust, and transparency. We need to push each other and learn together how to be nimble and innovative (perhaps those traits have not always been our strength) as we work to support our local units, districts, and councils.

These are the areas of growth where we need to focus, especially on the local unit which delivers our program. We know that a hallmark of Commissioner Service is retention, and we have had remarkably strong retention numbers in many areas, even during the pandemic. Now we need to work together in a major initiative this year to start new units. We need to set goals to achieve unit growth, manage for growth, and hold each other accountable for growth both during the recruiting season and year-round.

Our young people, and frankly our adults as well, need to feel empowered and protected. Youth protection cannot be a course we take every so many years – it is part of our culture and should consciously and unconsciously be a way of life. And we need to let our young people be leaders as well. Many of my most memorable Scout events, whether at a local unit meeting or at the World Scout Jamboree, were the result of giving our young people the opportunity to become leaders. To make that change, we must understand that they cannot thrive if they are just treated as token youth representatives.

Baden-Powell said that the real way to gain happiness is to give it to others. If we follow our cultural calling – Be the Heart, Build Relationship, Change Lives – we will not just preserve the mission of Scouting but execute on a pattern of growth that will sustain Scouting for generations to come.

Thank you for all you do for Scouting.  You are the difference.