Today I am the Scout Troop leader, and every Scout night, I measure my actions by the way my scout leader taught me

It seems to me that BC Conservative Party leadership candidate Dan Brooks, really has a way of connecting with people.  I have seem it through my own interactions with him ... and in observing him speaking with, and listening to, others.

The other day I had a recent letter passed to me by an old acquaintance of Dan's.  I think it speaks to the character of who Dan is ... how, if elected, he will lead the BC Conservative Party ... and from there show the leadership needed to govern our province, when elected to the legislature, with our team of BC Conservative MLA's.

Have a read, and see what you think:

As a young man in the Scouts Canada program I experienced first hand the great out doors of Beautiful British Columbia. From the seat of a canoe and under the shoulder straps of my first back pack I learned to enjoy nature and recognize the testimony it presents of the beauty of life.

But Scouts, believe it or nor,  wasn’t always so pleasant.

Putting several teenage boys together in a classroom or out in the wild can be quite hectic, and even dangerous. Dan Brooks knew how to take those – so called – difficult years of a boys life and mold them into the “bar” of his life.

On more than one occasion in my adult life I have found myself asking; “If this were scouts, would I be giving up?”

Three lessons – in particular – have always stuck with me and pushed me to stretch myself to greater heights.

The first; Respect, and we never forgot it. Second; Chap stick, thank goodness we had it. And third; “Your going to do it, your going to like it, and your going to be happy.”

On Dan’s first scout night as our newly called leader, he taught us to respect ourselves, girls and women, your parents and leaders, and the out doors. The second scout meeting he taught the same principal. The third meeting, once again; we learned respect. Every meeting and scout camp there after we learned to respect.

I still find myself naturally opening doors for women, looking some one in the eye when they are speaking to me, listening when being spoken to or taught, having something of value to add, and reporting back. A habit developed as a boy.

Second; chap stick. It’s a long, involved story of which I urge you to ask Dan about yourself, but for me the memory and life lesson was behind the funny experience. It happened on a cold winter night in the shoulder deep snow between home and Kennedy lakes.  The younger scouts stayed at home lake while Dan and the rest of us broke our own trail and headed for Kennedy – a distance of approximately 8 km’s. 

By 6 or 7 km we were so exhausted we found ourselves taking breaks every 100 ft or so. I was scared, thinking, “I am wet, cold, hungry, and its getting dark. What can possibly be done?” In a broken, but confident voice Dan kept urging us to give a little more, and not to give in. It was late, but we made – I made it. In that moment of exhaustion I learned how to push myself,  and know that I could accomplish great things.

Finally, “Your going to do it, your going to like it, and your going to be happy.” My favorite of all Dans’ commands.

This threw out the possibility to whine, and say that it can't be done, and passing the task to someone else. We learned to be positive, to find joy in misery, and to learn from our experiences.

For Dan – it seemed – Scouts wasn’t about camping, knots, and hiking. Scouts was about boys learning to become good Husbands, Fathers, and Citizens of this country. Scouts was about others and giving back. It was never about him or about me. 

Today I am the Scout Troop leader myself, and every Scout night I measure my actions by the way my scout leader taught me.

If Dan Brooks can lead this province just as he led our scout troop – and I believe he can – then let's give back to BC, and vote for Dan Brooks.

Brian K

I'm seeing more and more comments like this every day ... and with them ... I know the BC Conservative Party, and our province, can and will be in good hands with Dan Brooks as leader.

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops.