He aged out still a first-rank Tenderfoot. But he lived every Scout Law better than any other scout I know.

In my six years of scouting, I can still remember every scout I’ve had the pleasure to work with. Every single kid had a unique personality, for better or worse. They all were great.

But one scout especially sticks in my memory, Eric Miller. In the six years Eric was involved in our troop, he never ranked up. He never advanced past Tenderfoot. That was by his own choice. And I was completely fine with that.

The parents of our troop who were so focused on their own kid’s advancement didn’t know what to make of him. In a way, they perceived him as a threat and a bad example. To them, Eric was a slacker, a kid who didn’t care enough to “move forward.” Parents expressed to me that his philosophy of not caring about ranking up would have a bad influence on their scout’s work ethic. Eric really bothered the resume-building parents in scouting. They had it all wrong.

Eric was the best Scout I ever had.

I’ve had several conversations and Scoutmaster conferences with Eric about his decisions not to rank up. Eric just didn’t care about ranks or hierarchy. (how very punk rock of him 🙂 What he did care about was the people around him. Eric often told me his favorite part about scouting was the friendships he made. And he made friends literally around the world, from all District and State camp trips to National Jamboree.

But let me be clear, Eric was no slacker. In his career he earned approximately 42 merit badges. For context, an Eagle Scout candidate must earn a minimum of 21 badges, 14 of them Eagle Specific. He enjoyed earning the badges. For him, they sparked an intellectual curiosity.

In many other posts, I’ve mentioned the similarity of punk rock vales matching closely with scouting values. And Eric never called himself a punk. He wasn’t into labels. But he certainly lived the values. And that’s what made him a great scout.

He was the first to step up and volunteer. It didn’t matter what the job was. He was quick to recognize something had to be done and he did it. No questions asked.

He embodied “A Scout Is Helpful, Friendly, and Cheerful” better than anyone else. Attitude outvalues rank every single day of the week. It showed. I’ve seen more young scouts go to Eric for help with a problem instead of going to their Senior Patrol Leader. That trait of being trusted and approachable is becoming lost in our ever cooling world. This goes beyond being a great scout and into the definition of being a great person.

He was the most patient mentor. Eric always stood up for the little guy. He stepped in and helped. At one camping weekend, a patrol of first year scouts failed to pack their patrol box properly. Technically, this is the Quartermasters’ fault. Their assigned camping gear box did not contain any cooking utensils. These young scouts didn’t know what to do. They were intimidated and afraid to ask the Senior Patrol leader for help (That’s a big red flag, and another post). The SPL and Eric noticed the problem at the same time. The SPL used his rank and power to berate the first years. He scolded them for not being prepared. He took the tactic of breaking them down hoping the humiliation would prevent the problem from happening again.

Then Eric stepped in.

He didn’t yell. He didn’t posture. He just said, “They are trying their best. Let’s help them instead of tearing them down.”

The SPL didn’t like being challenged, especially by a kid who’d never made rank. He muttered something about “discipline” and walked off. But that moment said it all.

Eric didn’t wait for permission to do what was right. Then he approached the situation differently. First, he solved the problem. He took the young scout’s patrol leader and walked with him from patrol to patrol asking for any extra utensils that can be borrowed. Each patrol came together to help the patrol in need. Eric worked with them, showing them how to use a camp stove and cook breakfast without burning it. That’s leadership. No rank required. That is excellent scouting. It’s also being a good person. I’ll take him as a leader any day.

At that moment, Eric showed me he understood Scouting’s real core value, service, courage, loyalty, not as things in a handbook checklist but as values to live. He was the definition of DIY ethic, making things work with whatever he had.

Over the years, Eric became a “go-to” scout for the troop. I had him lead two of our biggest community service projects, our annual Christmas Tree recycling drive and our fall Scouting for Food collection to help local food banks. He led them flawlessly. Because he didn’t rest on his rank to organize the programs. He had an advanced sense of talking to, motivating and directing the team towards the goal.

Eric’s eighteenth birthday was on the night of our weekly Troop meeting. This will be his last meeting as he ages out. Eric didn’t miss it. Like every week, he showed up on time, uniform in good order, ready to work. We had a surprise cake and celebration for him. Every single kid in that troop applauded, cheered and sang for him. It was clear he made a positive impact on every single one of these kids. Even after the meeting, when he had nothing left to gain, Eric stayed late with the clean up patrol helping stack the chairs and sweep the floors.

When he finally left, he left a troop of scouts and parent who didn’t yet realize they’d just watched what a real Scout looks like. I’ve seen hundreds of kids chase ranks and status, hoping it would make them a somebody. Eric never needed that. He already was somebody.

Scouting doesn’t need more rule followers. It needs more Erics, kids who live the Law without waiting for permission, who speak up when it’s hard, who fix what’s broken, and who stand up for the little guy even when nobody’s watching. And Scouting needs more parents to encourage their kids to be like Eric.

Because at the end of the day, character will always count more then rank. He may have aged out a Tenderfoot, but he certainly outranked us all.

Thank you, Eric.