National Annual Meeting Speeches

Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, United States of America
"When you think about it, the fact that so many leaders have been Scouts should be no surprise. Since its earliest days, the Boy Scouts have cultivated leadership and good citizenship, a service that has been recognized since the United States Congress first chartered the Boy Scouts, back in 1916. The Scouts have been an integral part of our country ever since."
Rabbi Peter Hyman, chairman, National Jewish Committee on Scouting
"The twelfth point of the Scout law is not just about theology. It is also about community. We are a community united by a set of values, reflected on a breathtaking sea of diversity, and those values reveal our character. In our reaching up to God, we find ourselves standing closer to one another. This is the profound lesson that we, the Boy Scouts of America, teach the world."
Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, United States Surgeon General
"I look at Scouting and say, if everybody embraced this creed, we would have a healthier America."

2007 Top Hands Quotes

Rick Perry Governor of Texas
"you represent one of the most important organizations in the world. Under leadership like yours no other organization has salvaged more lives, has built more confidence, has produced more leaders"
"of all the values I learned in Scouting I value most the need to be reverent, to acknowledge God's power in my life and in this world"
Rick Cronk National President, Boy Scouts of America
"children need what Scouting has to offer more than ever in our history. Recent surveys of parents make it clear; they are asking us to assist them with the character development of their children"
Bob Mazzuca Chief Scout Executive
"it is time to leave our bunkers and with complete confidence set about the task of reintroducing the American people to the real Boy Scouts of America—A Boy Scouts of America that we define, not that others define for us"

Additional Quotes

Earl Graves National Executive Board Member; Founder/CEO Black Enterprise Magazine
"Scouting is what has shaped my life and it has the power to do the same as we reach out to the African American community through our faith based initiative"