by Bradly Baird:
This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of the relationship between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Boy Scouts of America. The anniversary reminds me of the ways in which Scout Leaders play a role in the life of my son - who is in the middle of his Scout experience - and the ways in which those leaders sacrifice much to help my son and other scouts in our ward program.
Last summer, our recently-released Varsity Leader, Joe Coombs, wanted my son to complete his Swimming Merit Badge. He escorted my son and one other scout over to the local swimming pool and put them through their paces. This was no easy task and as my son really hates the water. Joe pushed, pleaded, coaxed, and begged his way through the afternoon; but, he managed to finish all the requirements. Joe never gave up. He stood right there for hours - time he could have spent with his family - until everything was complete.
Thousands of leaders like Joe give much of their time and energy to the Boy Scouts. To honor their work and sacrifice, I put together this video about the Scouting program and the mark it makes on the lives of millions. The images are all by the great illustrator Norman Rockwell, while the music is by the film composer Thomas Newman.
Bradly Allen Baird is the father of two amazing children and has been married for almost twenty years. He served a mission in Finland, though he was really supposed to serve in Uruguay. His professional meanderings include everything from education to economic development, to human capital management in the IT industry (hopefully this one sticks); and spends his Saturdays hanging out with the missionaries in Provo, or racing back and forth between his children's activities in tae kwon do and elite cheerleading. Bradly also survived an MBA program; developed a somewhat limited interest in music, theater, film, urban planning, judaica, liberation theology, politics, israel, and latin american history; studies the influence of graphic imagery on public space; wrote a thesis about Leonard Bernstein, is obsessed with the American Symphonists, and reads publications like The Tablet and the Jewish Daily Forward.
