On a star-filled night in 1966 two Boy Scouts were nestled into their sleeping bags in the shadow of the high peaks of the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. Ross, the older of the two, asked his tent mate if he had memorized the Morse Code yet.

“No, It is too difficult,” was the reply. Over the next hour and a half, in the moonlit darkness, Ross drilled his companion, dot dash, dot dot dot-dash dash dash, etc. With Ross’s help, the younger scout passes off all the requirements to achieve the rank of First Class Scout.

A year and a half later, Ross, his tent mate of that earlier summer night, and 4 others who had all been mentored by Ross stood proudly at a Court of Honor and received their Eagle Scout rank. Such an event was rare in the small rural town the boys called home, 58 years later those memories of mentoring have spread their influence around the world and will continue generationally to influence thousands and tens of thousands.