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Decades after getting their start as scouts in their youth, proceeding to have long careers, retiring and diving into work with the Alamo Rotary Club, Steve Polcyn and Jack Thompson were surprised to have scouting come back into their lives, when they heard they would be jointly presented with the Outstanding Eagle Scout Award this fall, for community service work throughout their careers and in retirement as Rotarians.
“In a way, it’s probably a tribute to all of the things that Jack and I have done both throughout our careers, and with the Rotary and scouting,” Polcyn said after receiving the honor on Oct. 6.
Polcyn and Thompson were both heavily impacted and inspired by their time as scouts in their youth, despite having come to the program in different ways. While Polcyn started as a Cub Scout and worked his way up the ranks, Thompson came to the program later, when he immigrated from Cuba with his family at 10 years old.
“I think one thing you could say is that the Eagle Scout program is geared towards creating good citizens, who contribute, who have morals and a sense of honor, and all those kinds of things,” Thompson said. “And that’s really been the foundation for success in my career. And for me, it helped me become more American, so that’s a really big deal for me.”
Thompson said that joining the scouts was a critical move when his family came to the country during the summer.
Although he found himself learning fast as he became immersed in the culture of the United States, and became familiar with aspects of it that had been foreign to him until then, such as TV and the English language, it was scouting that allowed him to develop relationships and settle into his new home ahead of his first year in a U.S. school.
“The real involvement was with the friendships that we made, with all the kids that I ran around with in the scout troop, and that’s really what the focus of my training to become an American was,” Thompson said. “It was a perfect way for me to meet kids my age and learn English, and make friends.”
Thompson and Polcyn both said that their foundation as Eagle Scouts set the stage for community service and civic engagement throughout their careers, and in turn, their work with the Rotary Club.
“I think you sort of get sensitized early and then you just sort of keep with it,” Polcyn said. “Here we are, we can do something about it, we have more money, and we have more time.”
Thompson said that although both the Eagle Scouts and the Rotary Club have adapted with the times, with the former stepping into the 21st century in its recent decision to allow young women into the program, and Thompson, Polcyn and other local Rotarians seeking to increase youth involvement, the fundamental values of both programs remain the same.
