Letter of the day: Eagle Scout youth ambassador celebrates scouting centennial

As the nation's two-millionth Eagle Scout, and as the youth ambassador for this year's centennial celebration of scouting in the United States, I've had a lot of opportunities to reflect on what scouting means to our country and our communities. Scouting is about service. In scouting and out, I've been privileged to serve others in lots of different ways. As I travel around the country as scouting's youth ambassador, I always look for opportunities to work with a local troop on a service project. To celebrate 100 years of service to the community, Scouts here in Northern Star Council are pledging 100,000 hours of service between May and October. The "Second Century of Service" campaign will be launched at the Adventure Base 100 gathering on May 15-16 at the Mall of America and concluded during the opening of the new Urban Base Camp at Fort Snelling on Oct. 1-2. Over the last 100 years, more than 1 million young people in our area have participated in community service through scouting. We hope to continue that tradition in the century ahead. ANTHONY THOMAS, BURNSVILLE