Selected Quotes
From the pages of Legacy of Honor:
"In this country, you don't have to come with a pedigree. You just have to have the principles and the moral and ethical standards, and then you need to have the drive to get things done. All those things you get taught in Scouting."Ross Perot
"Being an Eagle Scout means that you took control of your own life. You set an objective, a reasonably complex one for a young man, and you pursued it through difficult times."Michael Bloomberg
Mayor of New York City
"The longer I'm around in this world, the longer I look to principles and values as opposed to rules and laws. People always find their ways around rules and laws."Hank Paulson
Secretary of the Treasury
"To become an Eagle Scout takes a lot of determination.... I learned the importance of setting goals and the importance of having the determination to meet those goals and to work hard to get it done and keep working at it until you do get it done."J.W. Marriott, Jr.
CEO of Marriott International
"That old Scout motto, 'Be Prepared,' was very apropos in my situation. Being prepared means being knowledgeable about what you're working with and what you're doing, what the odds are and how you can get out of certain situations."Jim Lovell
Commander of Apollo 13
"Do your best; do whatever you possibly can to help someone. Help other people at all times even if it is going to cost you your life. That is what you do."Scott Strauss
NYPD; received NYPD Medal of Honor for valor on September 11, 2001.
"Scouting played a very large role in my development. It gave me access, it helped me dream. I dreamed that I could go anywhere in the Boy Scouts."Percy Sutton
Tuskegee Airman and Civil Rights Freedom Rider
"I learned two lessons from Scouting. First, I learned how to make good decisions. Second, I learned what to do when you make bad decisions. And I've certainly experienced both sides!"Mark Madsen
forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA)
"In San Francisco, through Troop 14, we met people from different places, backgrounds, races, and points of view. You lose a few prejudices that way. You learn to appreciate people for who they are and I think that, writ large, is what the civil rights movement has been about - treating people on their merits. It starts on a personal level and if that's not clear from Scouting, I don't know what is."Stephen Breyer
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
"Becoming an Eagle was the first time in my life that I believed I could lead others. My Scouting experience gave me the confidence to believe I could be a leader, and incidentally, it also gave me the tools to do so."Robert M. Gates
Secretary of Defense
"I can't imagine a society where giving to others wasn't a theme.... The fact of the matter is there's no issue of fault around so many of these people, just circumstances. Some people don't have the ability without some help from others."Bill Gates, Sr.
co-chairman of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
