Eagle Scout Newsletter

Winter 2011

Chairmen's Message:

Please forward this newsletter to everyone you know that is involved in Scouting

"Happy New Year to all of you, since this is our first edition of this Admiral Carey Foundation "Eagle Scout/Washington Scholars" newsletter for this, the 2nd decade of the 21st Century.  The Admiral Carey Foundation continues to be pleased with our ability to help fund the Washington Scholars and also assist in bringing even more proven potential national leaders, of which we consider Eagle Scouts to be near the top of the list, into national youth leadership programs like the Washington Scholars, the United Nations Youth Assemblies, the Admiral Carey Foundation "Distinguished Scholars of America", and the several other such programs that are now being structured.  It is a proven fact that Eagle Scouts excel in life, a fact clearly documented by the number of them that are Senior Military Leaders, Members of Congress, Astronauts, Corporate Presidents and Chairmen, and the entire range of professions and career paths that make up our great nation. 

 

The selection of the Washington Scholars 2011 Summer Class is near completion and there will again be Eagle Scouts who are a member of that class.  There will also be exceptional foreign students who will be in the class, including Oxford University in England, Distinguished Scholars of Canada, Distinguished Scholars of China, and possibly others.  The Admiral Carey Foundation feels this is an exceptional opportunity for some of America's best & brightest potential future leaders to meet and get to know some of the potential future leaders in these other nations, and to form bonds of friendship and mutual respect and networks that will serve all of them well as each moves forward and moves up the ladder of national leadership in their respective nations.  In particular, the foundation will again be sponsoring an Admiral Carey Foundation/Washington Scholars Delegation to the United Nations Youth Assembly to be held at the U.N. HQ in New York City this coming August.  Past Washington Scholar Graduates Jordan Spore of the University of Wisconsin, Fernando Cortes of the University of Illinois, and Jason Nguyen of the University of Maryland, have each served as Head of Delegation to these events in prior years and there now exists a close and friendly relationship between this foundation with the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation, the NGO that manages these youth programs for the United Nations.  These kinds of linkages and bonds and networks can be of high value to all who are involved, particularly those who have a life's career path interest in international relations, international commerce, or international public policy, so we view it as a tremendous opportunity for all the Washington Scholars and Distinguished Scholars of America that are selected to participate.  Anyone with questions regarding this program should contact Jordan Spore, who will again be our Head of Delegation for the program this August: [email protected]

 

We are off to another exciting year.  Enjoy this newsletter, the excellent work of Washington Scholar Graduate and Eagle Scout Dave Arrington of the University of Washington.  Dave is an outstanding example of what we can all accomplish together with each of us taking on our own small piece of continued support for these tremendous programs that are, truly, "Training Tomorrow's National Leaders Today".

 

With all good wishes,

 

Rear Admiral [Ret.] James J. Carey, Chairman

The Admiral James J. Carey Foundation 
www.AdmiralCareyFoundation.org 
"America: Home of the Free Because of the Brave"
 
In Continuing Service To America & Humankind!!!

 

Editor's Note:

"Scouting builds character in young men.  For many, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout is the defining achievement of their young lives.  Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said it best that "we in Scouting believe that personal virtues -- self-reliance, self-control, honor, integrity and morality -- are absolute and timeless."  These are traits ingrained in Scouts at a young age.  By the time a Scout becomes an Eagle, he has been learning and practicing these traits with his fellow Scouts for multiple years.  The process of earning the ranks in Scouting creates a community of boys who learn how to work together to accomplish their goals.  Scouting is an organization that truly trains tomorrows leaders today.

 

Personally, I can pinpoint the specific instance in Scouting that changed my life for the better.  When I was a young Scout, just coming into Troop 301 in Belmont, CA, I had a very rough time.  I had a small stature, and was an easy target.  To make matters worse, I had a habit of being negative when it came time to put in work.  At the time I was naive about the affect this attitude had on others around me.  One day after a Troop meeting the Scoutmaster pulled me aside and said, "The other boys pick on you because you complain.  You need to work harder and longer then anyone else, while having a smile on your face."

 

Those words hit hard, and they stuck.  At the next Troop meeting I was the first person with my hand up to volunteer.  Chairs and tables need to be moved, I'm there.  Tents need to be setup, I'm there.  Other Scouts need help with their tasks, I'm there.  And everything changed.  It didn't take long.  The other Scouts, the same ones that were giving me a hard time only weeks before were laughing with me and welcoming me into the group.  

 

I kept that same attitude, and success followed.  I was elected to the Order of the Arrow, and became the youngest Senior Patrol Leader in many years.  Since earning my Eagle I have tried my best to carry this attitude and work ethic with me everywhere that I go.  It served me well in becoming President of my Washington Scholars class.  It serves me well now as I continue to build my business.  It all began with Scouting.

 

 Eagle Scouts are a perfect fit for the Washington Scholars, and it's affiliated programs.  These programs take the same values learned in Scouting and help young people apply them to real world positions.  That is why the programs supported by the Admiral James J. Carey Foundation are so fundamentally crucial to building a better society.  It is a grand proclamation, and it is with merit.  When I imagine the types of leaders I want influencing my country, I imagine them with the values of Scouting and the Washington Scholars.

 

All the best,

 

David Arrington

Eagle Scout, Troop 301

Washington Scholars Class '05

[email protected]

 

Click Here to read Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates article on Scouting Values

 

Spotlight On Kevin Powell
Kevin Powell

Kevin Powell is an Eagle Scout, a Washington Scholars graduate (military veterans program), and former Sergeant of Marines.  He interned with the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs in the summer of 2010 as a Washington Scholar.  The experience and network of elite contacts he gained through the Scholars program and while interning at the Pentagon gave him an enormous competitive advantage in his search for a career.  Kevin desires to work for one our governments' premier agencies and was able to meet and obtain several executive referrals and recommendations through the Washington Scholars program to a select few of these agencies which are currently considering him for employment pending his graduation from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

 

                Becoming an Eagle Scout in 2000 jumpstarted Kevin's life and search for a career, he then proceeded to join the United States Marine Corps and served three tours in Iraq most notably fighting in the Battle of Fallujah as the team leader for the ground combat element of a Marine special operations riverine unit.  After exiting the Corps Kevin, his wife Sadie and his son Merrick moved to Wilmington, NC so he could attend the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.  As a college senior Kevin currently serves as an Assistant Scout Master for the Pine Valley United Methodist Church Troop 224.  He plans and carries out at least three backpacking trips with Troop 224 a year and teaches the Wilderness Survival merit badge.  Kevin attributes his successes in the Marine Corps and thereafter to his faith and his becoming an Eagle Scout which to him are one in the same.  Without the experience he gained in the Boy Scouts of America Kevin believes that he would not be where he is today and he wants nothing more than to give back by helping groom other young men to become Eagle Scouts as well.    

Please do forward this newsletter to anyone who might be interested in learning about the work being done to promote Scouting through the programs and associations of the Admiral James J. Carey Foundation.