-By Warner Todd Huston
Out of Georgia comes a heart warmer about the Boy Scouts for a change. Instead of radical gays attacking this noble organization, instead of extremist left-wing politicians trying to make a name for themselves by attacking one of America’s finest youth organizations, we have a story that makes you smile. And you can bet it won’t make national news.
Rodrigo and Rosa Cano moved to the United States in 1980. A decade or so later Rosa gave birth to David who the proud parents enrolled in a local Boy Scouts troop when he reached his tenth year. They hoped that young David could further help them assimilate in their new home as young David brought home his Scouting experiences.
Young David set a goal for himself as a Scout: to win every merit badge and every Eagle Palm award that the Boy Scouts offered. And, finally at age 17, David became only the third Boy Scout ever to win all 121 Boy Scout merit badges. Cano earned all 20 Eagle Palms, as well.
“I did it for the experience,” said Cano, a member of Boy Scout Troop 1776 in east Cobb. “With every merit badge, there’s a purpose. You’ll learn something new with every single badge. Some are life skills and others are hobbies that will be with you for the rest of your life.”
According to Marietta Daily Journal, Cano had to fulfill the requirements for all 121 merit badges as well as the 1,674 additional requirements to win the 20 Eagle Palms. An Eagle Palm is awarded for every five merit badges earned.
This exceptional young man is not only a focused Eagle Scout, either. He is heavily engaged in his school, too.
Cano is a junior at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell. He has been a member of the school’s football and soccer teams, school band, Model United Nations and is a National Honor Society member. Someday, he hopes to become a surgeon.
“I’ve really enjoyed the Scouting program,” Cano said. “I’ve picked up a lot of friends and really had the time of my life being in this organization.”
Cano’s proud parents seem to be the sort of immigrant that every natural born American should appreciate.
“It did help us to bridge between being Hispanics into the American society in a way that Scouts offers minority boys – whether black, Chinese or Hispanic – the American culture,” Rodrigo Cano said. “This is something that is very near and dear to many American families.”
What a great story all around. An exceptional boy coming to manhood through the Boy Scouts and an immigrant family proud of their son, patriotic for their new country, and seriously engaged in their community.
Sadly, this wonderful story won’t see the light of day on the national scene even though it should.
Congratulations to David Cano and his family. And another great success story had by the Boy Scouts, one of the best youth organizations in the country.
____________
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, RedState.com, Human Events Magazine, AmericanDailyReview.com, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events and is currently the co-host of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Conservatism” heard on BlogTalkRadio. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston
Fair Use: This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in my efforts to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. I believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research, educational, or satirical purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site/blog for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Thanks for this posting Warner. I’m certain this young man will go far. I say dittos to the congratulations due to David Cano and his family. Quite an accomplishment.