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A few other unrecognized "great leaders":

 

parents

grandparents

siblings

teachers

religious leaders

 

 

A few I personally know:

The young scout who helps look after his grandmother with Alzheimers.

The boy who has kept up with his classwork even though he was in the hospital for chemo treatment.

The elementary school principal who is at every after-school event -- skate night, dances, etc. even though no one requires him to be.

The Scouters who take their vacation time to attend Summer Camp so the boys can go.

 

 

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The Scouters who take their vacation time to attend Summer Camp so the boys can go.

 

Trust me...no false modesty...I enjoy being at Summer Camp with the boys. It's the spouses that allow us to go that are making the sacrifice...or maybe we just think they are ;)

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Rooster, I am really glad we can always argue over Reagan cuz being at Summercamp is another thing over which we are in complete agreement.

 

We always encourage our scouts to be active, to go on the scheduled activities if they dont have a merit badge class or go to the waterfront or something. One rather precoscious scout wanted to know why he had to be active when I spent thursday afternoon in my tent "resting my eyes". I told him he should rememner he was at Boy Scout camp and I was on vacation. Except this year our camp week includes our 25th Wedding Anniversary. I may not make the entire week :(

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OGE, allow me to be the first here to congratulate you and Mrs. OGE on 25 years. I think your scouts will understand if you miss a few days of summer camp this year.

 

My wife and I celebrate our 25th also this year. Since I missed our 20th and 23rd while away on scout canoe trips, she laid down the law and said no canoe trip on our 25th. Our canoe trip this year departs 2 days after our anniversary. Our troop is very accomodating. :)

 

Rooster, you are quite right when you honor our spouses who let us go off with our scouts. No doubt because all of our families know the value of what scouting brings to our young men.

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Actually, two adult leaders I know did have their anniversary party up at camp. The cook staff arranged for a large cake that was shared with everyone at camp that week, and everyone sang to the couple. It was a wonderful way to mark their thirtieth.

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Looks like the original thread may have run its course, but reading it all in one go, the following thought struck me:

 

Perhaps we ought to make a distinction between "great leader" and "admirable (or, if you prefer, heroic) person."

 

Both are important categories, but neither one necessarily implies the other: Hitler was a great leader (charismatic, forceful, decisive, compelling) BUT otherwise a loathsome human being. Captain Bligh, of Mutiny on the Bounty fame, was admirable for his single-minded determination to save the 18 men who stayed loyal to him (even though it meant sailing 4000 miles across the Pacific in an open boat), BUT first on the Bounty and later as governor of Australia he was spectacular failure as a leader.

 

Just a thought (occasioned by the realization that, much as I admire John Lennon and Sally Ride, I wouldn't call either one a "leader," great or otherwise).

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The point above is well taken. It may well be that some of our wives are still with BECAUSE of the time spent away instead of IN SPITE OF the time away.

 

Getting back to the thread....

 

Apologies to Lech Walensa. If Vaclav Havel makes the list, Lech Walensa certainly makes the list.

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I would also add Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall to this list. Both were willing to risk their life for a cause they believed in. Both, with minimal training but an abundance of guts and perseverance, revolutionized our knowledge of primates. Both worked as tireless supporters of the environment. Dian Fossey even gave her life in the line of duty.

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  • 4 weeks later...

My list of great people would include Bishop Tutu and Nelson Mandela for the truth in Apartheid commission that has allowed South Africa to heal the wounds caused by apartheid.

I would also have to include Evangeline Cory Booth of The Salvation Army the first woman to be head of a Christian Denomination.

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