OPENING CEREMONY

Wayne Martin Lake Minnetonka District, has sent the following Opening Ceremony for use.  Thank you Wayne.

Heroes All Around Opening

The past few weeks have change America in many ways. One of the most obvious to us now is the fact that heroes are all around us. They are the men and women that run towards danger and disaster when everyone else is running away. There the ones who who risk life and limb to rush to our aid when we dial 911. There the ones who train year after year to fight for our freedom at any time and any where.

Would everyone who has served in the military or reserves please stand . Would everyone is now or ever has work as a law enforcement officer or a fireman or as a EMT or paramedic please stand also. Look around, here, are the real American heroes.

Would everyone please rise.
Please join in saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

Simon Kenton Council

Personnel: Narrator and 6 Cub Scouts

Narrator: "American pioneers have been men with curious minds, strong purpose, courage, determination and a proud, fierce loyalty.  Through every hardship, they have refused to give up.”

Cub #1: "In 1607 some 100 men and several venturesome boys stepped ashore at Jamestown and founded the first English settlement.  Soon others came seeking new homes and religious freedom.”

Cub #2: "During the Revolutionary War, the minutemen and other great patriots fought for our independence and founded our nation.  There were men like Patrick Henry, Nathan Hale, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson."

Cub #3: "Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark and others opened the way westward.  Then came the pioneers, trappers and settlers.  This was the great westward movement over the famous trails with scouts like Buffalo Bill Cody, Kit Carson and Davy Crockett."

Cub #4: "Robert Fulton produced the first steamboat for river travel and Peter Cooper built the first steam locomotive which brought forth our railroads.  Robert Morse invented the telegraph.  Colonel Drake drilled the first oil well; Edison gave us the electric light; Bell invented the telephone, and Abner Doubleday gave us baseball.

Cub #5:  "As we entered the 20th century, Teddy Roosevelt taught us to conserve our resources; Ford gave us a motor car, and the Wright brothers, an airplane.  Lindberg made a non-step flight across the ocean and Byrd explored the Antarctic.  William Beebe began exploring the ocean floor with his bathysphere."

Cub #6: "From the 1940's until now, progress by our people has been ever increasing.  Because of many men in science, we have automatic machines, television, planes that fly faster than sound and rockets on the moon.  It was Neil Armstrong who first stepped out on the surface of the moon and spoke the words heard round the world; "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Narrator: "For us, the United States is still a land of expanding opportunity.  The doors of education are open to every American boy.  You can be trained for any one of thousands of skilled jobs in industry, business, science or social fields.  In whatever way you choose to earn a living, you can look forward to a life of opportunity because of our nation's great pioneers.  Today let us salute the flag in honor of these great people who have gone before us and had visions of today's America.  Please rise and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance."

Opening
Simon Kenton Council

Staging: Six Cub Scouts with signs, large letters on front and sayings printed on back.

T - is for Thanks - many thanks for all we have - food, shelter, family, freedoms.

U - is for uniform - the uniform we wear is a visible sign of what we stand for.

R - is for Respect - respect others, what they are and what they believe. 

K - is for Key - the key to who and what we are depends on our background and heritage.

E - is for Effort - you must expend effort in order to make anything worthwhile.

Y - is for Yes - yes, we are grateful for many things and yes, we accept the Scouting challenge.

Flag Ceremony
Simon Kenton Council

November is the month to vote and sometimes people say "Oh well, what can my one vote count?"  And sometimes they use that excuse to not vote.  If you don't vote, you cannot complain about anything our politicians do.

If you think your one vote doesn't count, listen to this:

In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.

In 1649, one vote caused Charles I of England to be executed.

In 1776, one vote gave America the English language instead of German.

In 1845, One vote brought Texas into the Union.

In 1868, one vote saved President Andrew Johnson from impeachment.

In 1876, one vote made Rutherford B. Hayes President of the United States.

This is the land of the free, where voting is a privilege but also an obligation.  Let us stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance.