By Pete Murray
Just recently we felt we had three ladies who needed special recognition for services rendered to the Pack. Well, I thought I was in charge of getting them, and my Committee Chair thought she was, and we both still forgot till the day before the Pack meeting. She remembered first and called me to say she had gotten three key chains from the Scout Shop. Three key chains .... hmmminnn...
I was also fully aware of how many other opportunities I had missed to recognize these and other parents as well, that I felt I HAD to make these three key chains MEAN something... three key chains... Well, the right time came, and out of nowhere a little insight hit me. It worked so well, that I thought I would pass it on here...
"As many of you know, there are many obstacles in life. Things that stop us from doing other things we want to do. Sometimes these obstacles look like tall walls... no way around or over them. But if you look closely, you just might see a door. Now It could be that all you need to do, is go over to the door and turn the knob, but then again, hey! That door just might be locked. We need a key, something, or possibly someone who can open it for us. Then we can get on with doing what we wanted to do in the first place."
"Our Pack is blessed with several people who are indeed keys. We run into an obstacle and they clear it away for us. Something needs special care or attention and they are right there. They are Key People in every sense of the word and we would find it difficult to serve our boys without them."
"One big problem with keys though is that sometimes we forget and then lose them. We need something to make that key stand out, and we feel that every key needs its own key chain to remind them just who they belong with. Tonight I would, like to present three people with their key chains, so will know just how much they mean to us."
And of course, I needn't bore you with the rest. I talked about how each of them had been a key to the Pack, and how grateful we were to each one individually. One had tears in her eyes when she finally got to the stage. I hope this might be of some use to you all. The recipients loved them and they like to show them to me every time I see them. The idea had modest beginnings, and yet with a mere $2.00 Scout key chain investment, we have made these ladies feel loved and appreciated. To be sure, I don't plan to stop here, I want to include more parents in this type of recognition and will probably start seeing fights as to who gets to chair an event.