The Capitol was crawling with Scouts last Wednesday as delegates from four local councils around Colorado convened along with parents and friends to present the 2016 Report to the State for the Boy Scouts of America.

“This year marks the 107th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America,” said the Denver Area Council’s Rudy Reynolds, an Eagle Scout and Tahosa Lodge chief for scouting’s national honor society, the Order of the Arrow. “Our mission remains the same: prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by teaching the values of the scout oath and law.”

State Rep. Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, who attained the rank of Eagle Scout in his youth, introduced Reynolds for the morning presentation in the Old Supreme Court Chambers and welcomed the scouts to the Capitol. Later, he accompanied three scouts who presented the colors in House chambers as the legislative day got under way.

“Scouts have remained the same over time,” Lundeen told The Colorado Statesman after kicking off the event. “You think of the values a Scout represents – a Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, reverent,” he said effortlessly.

“Those are some values, immutable values, and they’re still alive in scouting as they were a century ago. That’s an important part of what scouting does, is it retains values we hold as a society in common, and it keeps those values alive and active.”

Through the day, Scouts of all sizes gave tours of the Capitol, including Mr. Brown’s Attic and the newly refurbished gold dome.

Reynolds led off a cavalcade of Scouts who delivered the annual report, detailing the number of young Coloradans involved in a wide range of scouting activities, along with the impact of scouting across the state.

For instance, he said, more than 16,000 adults volunteer to help the state’s 51,270 youth members “be prepared,” as the Scout’s motto says. That includes 20,299 Cub Scouts – some of them are Lions, a newly launched pilot program for boys in kindergarten – and 14,894 Boy Scouts, 2,474 Venturers, 11,171 boys and girls in “learning for life” character education programs, 2,416 teens exploring career-based programs and 262 younger STEM Scouts, taking part in another pilot program launched two years ago.

Eagle Scout Reed Coker from Troop 78 in Boulder, part of the Long Peak Council, reported that 935 Scouts earned the rank of Eagle Scout in Colorado last year by acquiring 21 life-skills merit badges and completing an extensive service project before age 18.

“The Boy Scouts of America prepares young people for service by providing opportunities for them to help their communities through service to others,” said Nicholas Choi, a 2nd Class Scout from Troop 62 in the Pikes Peak Council. Scout projects in communities all over Colorado include food, clothing and toy drives, he said, along with serving food to older residents and at shelters, visiting nursing homes and collecting coats for the homeless.

Collectively, Choi said, Scouts logged 325,898 volunteer hours last year – valued at more than $8.4 million based on national volunteer accounting – and gathered 145,200 pounds of food to help stock food banks.

“Scouting means to me that I am learning to be prepared and following the rules,” said 7-year-old Michael Crump, a Wolf Cub Scout with Pack 538 in the Denver Area Council, who strained a bit to reach the microphone at the central lectern. “When I am prepared I have the right supplies and take care of myself and other people. When I follow the rules I am learning to be a good person and am obedient, kind and a friendly Scout.”

“Our values are not for sale as Scouts,” said John Cabeza, Scout executive and CEO for the Denver Area Council as the report neared its conclusion.

“The one critical point I want you to remember is duty to God. Our values are not for sale as Scouts. As Scouts, we promise to do our duty to God and our country and help other people at all times. That’s the one thing in 107 years that hasn’t changed,” he said.

Reflecting outside the Old Supreme Court Chambers, Lundeen said that attaining the rank of Eagle Scout more than four decades ago made him a better person and left an enduring mark on his life.

“You get those grounding of values, and it prepares you,” he said. “The early ranks of scouting are about personal developments – learning to manage yourself and move forward as you achieve goals. The later ranks are about how you react with other people, interpersonal relationships, leadership, how you engage with other people to pursue the same goals you’re pursuing. That set of skill developments – first personal skill developments and then interpersonal skill developments – have been very helpful to me over the years and have made me, hopefully, a more effective leader because of the scouting experience I’ve had.”

Considering the vast impact scouting has on the state – Lundeen mentioned some of the numbers the Scouts had reported – he added that the importance of the Boy Scouts couldn’t be overstated.

“It keeps incredible values active and moving forward, and it infects, in a positive way, our society with values and the energy of youth the desire for a great America,” he said. “In this building, we tend to think this building and government are society. That’s not true. Society is things like scouting that have a positive influence and give the fabric of our society meaning and strength.”

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com