By Stephanie Rebek

Imagine being a Boy Scout and building wooden cars, then being accepted as an Eagle Scout. You became so involved that you were able to deliver the Report of the Nation of the Boy Scouts of America in Washington DC.

For Dan Carriveau, sophomore resort management and accounting major at Lakeland, delivering the Report of the Nation became a reality last week. The Report of the Nation is a report presented by Boy Scouts of America representatives to the President of the United States, Secretary of the Senate, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives indicating everything that the organization did in the past year. The Boy Scouts of America are required to present this report to congress because it is one of the few organizations chartered by the United States Congress.

The Report of the Nation is given in a short oral presentation to the aforementioned people.  It is also provided to representatives in other areas such as the Department of Education, the Department of Health & Human Services, the CIA, and the Pentagon in a leather binder containing a two page report.

During the six days that he was in Washington DC, Dan was able to go behind the scenes at a lot of different attractions such as the Goddard Space Flight Station and the International Spy Museum.

In addition to giving the report and seeing attractions, Dan and his eight other companions also took time to do community service activities while they were there. The group volunteered at Friendship Place, an organization that provides food, shelter, and other services for homeless people. In conjunction with the people in charge of the shelter, they aided in the organization, cleaning, and painting of the building’s kitchen and office areas.

Dan was also able to meet a lot of important people, like Karen Hass, Nancy Erickson, Bill Bennett, Ron Johnson, Herb Kohl, Nancy Pelosi, General Dempsey, and Mitch McConnell.

Dan said his favorite person was Nancy Pelosi. He said she seemed genuinely interested in all of the Boy Scouts of America representatives present and asked them questions. Her aides were trying to keep her moving, he said, but she just kept talking.

Dan has been a part of the Boy Scouts for 14 years but became more active once he earned the Eagle Scout award in 2007 and realized more involvement beyond the unit level. Throughout the years he has been a Chapter Chief, Lodge Chief, Area Venturing President, Regional Venturing President, and National Venturing President. As the National Venturing President, Dan became one of the people who could give the Report of the Nation.

Dan said Boy Scouts of America builds character and life skills. He also said it has helped him become a more effective communicator and a strong leader, and taught him how to act in the business world.

This year as the National Venturing President, Dan represents nearly 3.7 million youth and adults in the Boy Scouts of America. His job is to look over and advise the four regional presidents throughout the country, create and review awards, promote the program, administer Venturing at a national scale, and other various projects depending on what is going on in the Boy Scouts of America. Often, Dan is stuck traveling all around the United States; already this year, he has traveled approximately 25,000 miles.

“I tend to see the inside of my windshield quite a bit,” he said. He said his duties have allowed him to take trips to Illinois, Ohio, Kansas, San Diego, Florida, and Texas.

Beyond working with each regional Venturing  president, Dan attends conference calls and is on several National Committees. Just to name a few, he is in Youth Development, Program Impact, Council Operations, and National Executive Board.

In addition to all this, Dan somehow manages to get time to sleep and do his homework.

Dan said he is very good at staying organized and managing his time, and the demand of being the National Venturing President has not made it difficult for him to complete his school work.

View original article