Across their khaki Boy Scouts uniforms, many of the teens gathered at Little Rock's Riverfront Park on Sunday wore a white sash with a red arrow.
They walked through a scattering of tents set up along the river, each with information about the 100 years of the Boy Scouts of America's national honor society, the Order of the Arrow.
Little Rock was the 18th stop in the Arrow Tour's road trip to 20 cities in Southern states. At each stop, a team of six Order members works to educate Scouts about the history of the honor society and the society's continued pledge of "serving cheerfully," said Wesley Seaman, the crew chief for the Southern tour.
"We do this because we really want people to catch the energy of the Arrow Tour and feel the sense of pride we have in being a part of it," Seaman said. "Scouting is definitely alive, and Scouts do really important service work."
The Order of the Arrow was founded in 1915 and now has more than 171,000 members, according to its website. Members must hold the First Class rank in Boy Scouts and have experienced 15 days and nights of Boy Scout camping, including one long-term camp of six days and five nights.
Though the past 100 years have changed the sash and some of what the Order does, Seaman said the mission of the society has stayed the same: "It's still about serving and about brotherhood."
A few members of a Jonesboro troop agreed. Fifteen-year-old Blane Baugh said he feels privileged to be a member. "I've learned about friendship and discipline," he said. "I've done really cool service projects."
A fellow member interrupted Blane and told of the hiking trails the group helped lay. "We did it cheerfully," 15-year-old Alex Li said. "We just get to have a lot of fun."
Noah Smith, 14, said he was happy to get to celebrate with scouts from other troops across the state. "I'm enjoying seeing everyone celebrate 100 years of this," he said. "And I'm happy they invited us to come celebrate, too."
In one of the tents set up along the river, 16-year-old Kolton Breeding of White Hall wrote down some of his favorite Scouting memories and placed them in a time capsule.
He wouldn't share what he wrote, but after 11 years in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, he said, he has a lot of good memories.
Now a member of the Order of the Arrow, he said he's proud to be a member of the society with a 100-year history of recognizing top Scouts.
"I joined Scouts for the skills," he said.
"I've learned a lot of them. Now it's about giving back and serving."
Metro on 07/27/2015