My Scouting Story

By William S. Sessions
Partner, Holland and Knight
Former Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation

My journey in Scouting began in 1942, in Troop 136 in Kearney, Nebraska while my father, Will A. Sessions. Jr., was a U.S. Army chaplain in the south Pacific. Although he had never been a Scout himself, he recognized there was great value in Scouting. When he was separated from the Army, we moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in December 1945, where he became Pastor of the Independence Boulevard Christian Church. It was there that he wrote a "God and Country Handbook" which achieved national distribution. He and my mother encouraged me to rejoin Scouting in Kansas City, so I joined Sea Scout ship 57, and it was there that I earned my last merit badges and my Eagle rank.

During the summer of 1945, before we moved to Kansas City, Missouri, I had saved up $100 for the life-changing experience of spending a month hiking, horseback riding and fishing at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. We camped in tents with backpacks that we had made ourselves and the entire troop hiked up the 12,400 feet of Mount Baldy, where we spent the night. It all added up to an unforgettable boyhood experience that has now been shared by my sons, Pete and Mark, and they with their sons.

It was in Scouting that my sons discovered their love for camping and the outdoors. My wife Alice and I have always encouraged our children to attempt to achieve goals that they thought they could not. Scouting reinforced the spirit of challenging yourself, and we saw our children grow and change into ambitious young people who were not afraid to undertake difficult and challenging actions. And, through continued involvement in Scouting, they now share these same ideals with their children.

My son Pete (Congressman Pete Sessions of Dallas, Texas), earned his Eagle rank many years ago. After the Eagle badge was pinned on him, I reminded him that his journey with Scouting was not over just yet. He had an obligation to repay that had been given to him by so many others. I was so proud when he did not put that challenge aside. He has diligently pursued making the Scouting experience available to his sons and many others.

At age 30, Pete became the Scoutmaster of an ailing troop in New Jersey. He was joined shortly thereafter by his wife, Juanita, as the Assistant Scoutmaster. They helped rebuild a troop that was down to a handful of boys and over the course of three years, produced 13 Eagle Scouts. Pete even invited me to come along to Philmont with his troop after I had become director of the FBI. I made the trip — and even made it back to the top of Mount Baldy. To this day, Pete still keeps in touch with a number of his Eagles.

Scouting continues to bring me immense pride and pleasure as I watch four of my grandsons participate in the Scouting program, where they learn and accomplish on their own. Pete's son, William Steele Sessions II, has earned his Eagle, and the others are well on their way. I am reminded that you never know just when or how you can capture the imagination of a young person, nor what they will do with the tools you help them acquire. What we give through Scouting is an education in character - the drive to stay with the tasks they have undertaken by doing their "best."

I have frequently reminded my grandsons and other young Scouts of the words of the Scout Oath," On my honor, I will do my best..." They know, deep down, when they have done their best — and it has a direct and immediate impact on their character and life. It is what we have asked, and will continue to ask, of each generation of the Sessions family as we continue our tradition of Scouting into the next 100 years.

I am greatly honored to serve as the National Honorary Chairman of the 2010 Boy Scouts of America Centennial Silver Dollar, a commemorative coin issued by the U.S. Mint in 2010 to honor 100 years of Scouting in America.