Closing Show Starts/Ends with a Bang

Nearly 75,000 attendees were not disappointed after standing in long security lines to enter the Fort A.P. Hill amphitheatre Sunday. President George W. Bush took the stage on cue, after being delayed twice before.

President Bush opened with a message of condolence for the 4 fallen Scouters earlier in the week, stating that they were role models to the Scouts whom they led.

The President continued to commend the Scouts of the organization for having the values that are necessary in society, and the moral preparation to know right from wrong. “Scouts have made America a stronger and better nation,” he said. He recognized the more than 1.4 million hours of service to communities across the nation by the national Good Turn for America program. President Bush asked scouts to remember that “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.”

The President charged Scouts to be community leaders and “men of conviction and character.” He charged those present to follow three lessons: Listen to your mother, always remember where you came from and what you believe, and realize that life will grow in meaning when you serve a cause greater than yourself.

President Bush then left the arena, but not before shaking hands with many of the Scouts, military personnel, and dignitaries that were on stage and in the front of the crowd.

The highlights of the show included a National Court of Honor convened by Chief Scout Executive Roy L. Williams and National BSA President John Cushman, to recognize the extraordinary bravery of Scout Kendell Call, who at great risk to himself saved the life of his father during the tragic accident earlier in the Jamboree. Kendell was awarded the Honor Medal with Crossed Palms.

The show closed with a thunderous display of fireworks and a laser light show, to the delight of the Scouts, Scouters, and guests in attendance.