About Rod D. Martin
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by Diana Chandler
May 2, 2018
IRVING, Texas (BP) — Boy Scouts of America is striking gender from its Scouting program titles in 2019, ushering in the change with a “Scout Me In” campaign for Cub Scouts.
“Starting this summer, all kids are invited to say, ‘Scout Me In,’ as they join the fun, adventure and character-building opportunities found in Cub Scouts,” Boy Scouts of America (BSA) said in announcing the change today (May 2.) “Starting in February 2019, the name of the older youth program will be ‘Scouts BSA,’ and the name of our iconic organization will continue to be Boy Scouts of America.”
Trail Life USA (TLUSA), a Christian alternative to Scouting birthed in 2013, described BSA’s transformation as a “lost journey into the woods of co-ed political correctness.”
In 2017, TLUSA had 30,000 members in 750 troops spread across 48 states, but membership has “rapidly grown” in response to BSA’s changes, TLUSA said in a press release today.
“Well-intentioned as these kind of [BSA] moves may be, they are alarmingly all wrong,” TLUSA CEO Mark Hancock said. “Confined to classroom settings more suited to girls, and denied rough-and-tumble experiences that help them learn and grown, it is no wonder ‘boys are struggling.'”
The loss of such gender-specific environments leaves boys “losing out and not developing as strong, capable men because we are not letting them be fully boys,” Hancock said. “Weakened expectations and participation trophies have led to our culture producing unproductive narcissists.”
BSA’s Scout Me In advertising campaign includes girls and boys, and is BSA’s latest move to open its programming to girls as announced in October 2017. BSA began an evolution in 2013 that extended Scouting to homosexuals, and in 2015 opened leadership and employment to gays and bisexuals.
“The Scout Me In campaign celebrates the BSA’s expansion to serve families and welcome girls and boys into Scouting in communities across the country,” BSA said. “It reinforces that the mission and core values in the Scout Oath and Scout Law are welcoming, inclusive and foundational for both young men and women.”
Since BSA opened Cub Scouting to girls, more than 3,000 girls have enrolled in the BSA’S Early Adopter Program and are participating in Cub Scouts, BSA said in its press release.
Girls Scouts of the USA countered the BSA move with the blogpost “No Contest: Girl Scouts is the BEST Leadership Organization for Girls” at blog.girlscouts.org.
“Girl Scouts is the premier leadership development organization for girls,” the blog quoted Girl Scouts CEO Sylvia Acevedo. “We are, and will remain, the first choice for girls and parents who want to provide their girls with opportunities to build new skills; explore STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and the outdoors; participate in community projects; and grow into happy, successful, and civically engaged adults.”
Girl Scouts accepts transgender youth on a case-by-case basis, the organization announced in 2011.
BSA includes nearly 2.3 million youth members between the ages of 5 and 21, and about 960,000 volunteers in the U.S. and its territories, BSA said. Age qualifications for its programs are 6-10 for Cub Scouts, and 11-17 for Boy Scouts.
Girl Scouts has 1.8 million members and 800,000 volunteers, according to the Girl Scouts website. Its programs are open to youth in kindergarten through high school.
—Boy Scouts Change Called ‘Co-ed Political Correctness’ originally appeared at Baptist Press News.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
The future of technology is the future of America. Rod Martin sees that future clearly, and also sees how to shape it for the betterment of all. He is firmly rooted in the traditions of faith and patriotism that have made America great. That’s why he has made, and will make, so many outstanding contributions in so many areas.
