The Rotary Club of Jacksonville maintained an annual tradition that began in 1987 when it hosted members of the local Eagle Scout Class of 2012 on Monday at the Omni Downtown.
Last year's group of local young men who achieved Scouting's highest rank numbered 306, the most ever in the history of the North Florida Council Boy Scouts of America, said club member Percy Rosenbloom III, who introduced each Eagle Scout.
The council covers 17 counties in North Florida.
Keynote speaker Glenn Adams shared some of his Scouting experiences with the Eagle Scouts, their parents and sponsors and Rotarians.
Adams is the president of the National Eagle Scout Association and serves on the national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America and its national foundation.
He owns or co-owns several natural gas and oil exploration companies, including ADEXCO Production Co., Texas Shale Gas Resources and EF Energy.
Adams said the Rotary Club of Jacksonville and the Eagle Scout program have in common a 101-year history, both having been founded in 1912.
"Scouting and Rotary share many core values," Adams said, including devotion to service to others and leadership.
"I developed self-confidence and leadership skills through Scouting," he said.
Adams and his three brothers achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
"Scouting has one of the best leadership programs ever developed for teens. Success and failure take place in the context of a small group, usually only five or six Scouts," said Adams.
He used Israel as an example of the importance of being allowed to fail. Israel has a population of 7 million, but the country produces more startup companies than Japan, India or Korea — each of which has much greater populations.
"In Israel, there is no cultural shame in failure. Part of what you learn as a Scout is how to fail, regroup and then succeed," Adams said.
"Where else can a teenager have that experience? No other organization on the planet offers that opportunity," he said.
Adams cited data gathered in 2012 as part of a study conducted by Baylor University.
He said former Scouts are 72 percent more likely to patronize plays, concerts and arts performances; 53 percent more likely to donate money to charity; 73 percent more likely to vote; 92 percent more likely to work in a group that protects the environment; 85 percent more likely to go camping; and 124 percent more likely to have an emergency preparedness kit than a non-Scout.
"No surprise there," Adams said of the emergency-preparedness kit data.
In addition to developing outdoor skills and making a commitment to faith and the values of Scouting, one of the requirements to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout is for the candidate to develop and implement a community service project.
Adams said in the past 60 years, Eagle Scout candidates have contributed more than 200 million hours of service to their communities.
"The Eagle Scout program is the largest youth volunteer program in the United States," he said.
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