The Chief Speaks

Ever since I was a little kid I had always been a Notre Dame football fan. As I got older I learned more about the stories,people, and traditions that go along with the Notre Dame football program. As I learned more I really came to admire one of the now former coaches of the team, Lou Holtz.

I heard a speech given by Lou Holtz at a prayer breakfast prior to a Notre Dame/USC game about 10 years ago. In that speech he explained why his team was so successful, and why any group of people achieve success. It is all in three simple steps.

The first step is you have to care. Everyone involved with the function of our lodge has to care. Adults have to care about those they advise, chiefs have to care about those they lead, and each arrowman has to care about the unit and community that they serve.

If we do not care about what we do our results will show it. The harder we work, the more we care about our task, the higher level of quality we can achieve. Think back to your Pre-Ordeal and Ordeal ceremony. The people who performed those ceremonies worked hard to learn the lines, the movements, and to perfect the entire ceremony so new members would have the full impact of it. They cared for those new members, many of whom they had never even met before.

The second step is to do your very best. As a young boy I played sports...well let me change that, I was on a lot of sports teams (I have quite a collection of participation awards, whereas my brother has a wall of MVP honors, but I am not bitter because I got the good looks). In any case, even though I knew I was not the best guy on the field, as long as I gave it my all, everything that I had, my father would still be proud of the work I did.

Again think back to your Ordeal weekend. No matter what your task was you had to work hard to accomplish it. If you did not, others around you had to do double the work, and the full potential of the group was not reached.

Third, and possibly the most important, is to love one another. To love for your man as you have them love you. This awareness for others is the foundation of our order. E. Urner Goodman and Carrol Edson selected the original members of the Order were selected for their outstanding service to other Scouts and people in general.

These three things turn a group of total strangers into a family. Whether it is a group at school, in your troop, a sports team, or this lodge. If we all apply these three things to our lives then we can improve in everything we do. Thank you.