Post edited 1:27 pm – January 25, 2010 by ScoutingAsWeGo
Post edited 1:27 pm – January 25, 2010 by ScoutingAsWeGo
Post edited 1:28 pm – January 25, 2010 by ScoutingAsWeGo

Listening now (from Austria)!!  Congrats on 5 years.  Hope you're not going anywhere soon as I still have a few years in CS'ing. 

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edited:  Okay, just finished.  Awwww, I could tell you got all emotional at the end.  I'm a new listener (probably been listening for about a year now, maybe a little less) and you really have no idea how you've helped me as a leader.  Here's what I get out of the show:

1.  You give lots of great ideas.  Even when you mention an idea that I've heard of before, you always seem to have a way to do it even better and with more excitement – for the boys! 

2.  You keep it real.  You don't make being a Scouter sound all rosy all of the time.  You vent frustrations, but share victories too.  When I have a crappy meeting or day or event or weekend of Scouting, you help me feel normal – we all have ups and downs.

3.  You bring a great sense of humor to Scouting.  I distinctly remember you giggling about the very expensive 100th anniv. Scouting Knome on scoutstuff.org.  I was sitting there listening and giggling right along with you.  We all need laughter in our lives. 

4.  You bring an INSANE amount of enthusiasm to your listeners.  Sometimes I'll catch myself thinking, "Oh man, I have to plan another meeting/activity badge/event.  Why did I get myself into this?"  But then I listen to you talk about your plans for Blue and Gold or pie-throwing or a pack meeting and your enthusiasm bleeds right through the internet and gets me fired up to tackle whatever Scouting obligations that I have with similar enthusiasm. 

5.  You drive this idea home:  It's all about the boys – as long as they are having fun, that's all that matters.   We had a Webelos den meeting today and I decided to share a few jokes with the boys.  I was really just sharing the jokes because they went along with our theme/project – the Webelos Craftsmanship AB.  Well, my joke telling spun into a joke-telling extravaganza.  The boys were howling.  Initially, I was thinking, "Man, these jokes are so dumb, why are they enjoying this so much?"  But these kids were just going nuts sharing jokes.   I had to step back for a second and remind myself who I was working with – 9 year old BOYS.  Of course they were having a blast – we were just being silly.   You've made it clear that it doesn't take much to make these kids happy. 

I could go on.  I totally forget how I even stumbled upon the podcast, but I am so glad that I did.  Keep up the good work – you are serving the Scouting community (WORLDWIDE!) better than you'll ever realize. 

Kerry