>Who influences the decisions that you make? Or are you a free thinker who needs little help or advice from anyone? I would say that I am one who uses guidance where needed, giving credit where credit is due. Today is one of those days, not because it’s Memorial Day weekend or anything like that, but I was doing some thinking yesterday.

As I was doing a much-needed, overdue cleaning on my car yesterday, my brain kicked into “focus time”…

I didn’t have the radio on, or iPod or anything like that…just the “whirr” of the buffer and the focus on the task at hand. Seeing as I used to own a detail shop, years ago, detailing my car came easy, almost to the point of auto-pilot. That meant the brain didn’t have to focus there…so where should it focus?

Scouting of course…

Most of you know the trials and tribulations that I have been going through the last 6 months, and over the week, another thing hit me in the face. The Scoutmaster for the frontrunning troop resigned, effective at summer’s end. Along with Cubmaster Chris’ news, that made for an interesting week, along with some of the other scouting hiccups that happen from week to week…

When I found out that the SM resigned, I got to thinking and wondered, “What happened? This was sudden.” and “Where does this leave us? The pack and whatnot…”

I made some calls, and pieced together my own hypothesis, set the burner in my head to simmer and put that “kettle of stuff” to the back burner…until yesterday…

I was mad, upset and confused…I wanted to be Scoutmaster of that troop, but got passed over by someone who never even held any kind of leadership position. That was my troop to take over…I felt that I was the logical choice, I had been a lot of these boys Cubmaster, I did this and I did that…why should someone else get all of the credit for the things that I and the other leaders taught these boys as Cubs?

I had also offered my services to be a part of the succession plan…the Scoutmaster was going to step down, but that time frame wasn’t told, but using scout-math, we all figured about a year…I have 3 sons who will be moving through the ranks, and will have a boy in scouts for the next, oh, 15 years…I thought that I would be the logical choice…but I wasn’t even asked.

Then I thought, “Start the new troop, it’s what you wanted to do, just start it again”…I mentioned this to the wife, she didn’t say a lot…but I could tell. She didn’t say it, but I knew it…I wanted to start a new troop out of spite…yup, spite…that was about all that we talked about…she made one more comment and that was it…

Fast forward to me working on the car…”Why do I want to start a new troop? Do I feel jilted about not being chosen as Scoutmaster? What can I do to get what I want?” are things that ran through my mind. I would guess that the biggest question that I asked myself is “Cleary, what do you want in scouting, or out of it?” I then answered myself…I want to be a Commissioner or a Scoutmaster…Why, though?

Then I figured it out…

I have many heroes in my life…my Grandpa, my Uncle, just to name a few, but these 2 heroes really put it in perspective.

How do I honor my heroes? I try to emulate them…and I think that I have done that. Now for these other 2 heroes…

I became a Commissioner because of one guy, Keith Westergaard…it didn’t work out, but not because of anything that he did, but due to a whole lot of other things that I don’t want to dredge up, but he is still my friend and still one of my heroes…

My other hero is the reason that I want to start this new troop. I have seen what he has done with a new group of boys, and in a short amount of time, has taken a program from nothing to almost 40 scouts…so that made up my mind….Thanks Scoutmaster Jerry…I have found my focus again, and I will be starting that new troop…Troop 1363…

So whether your hero is a teacher, a relative or a friend, make sure that you say “thanks” every once in a while….

Thanks Keith and Jerry….words can’t describe what you have done for me and scouting….