A really cool King
Here is a personal reflection by John Geoghegan on what he witnessed in West Virginia.
"A really cool King"
A surprise appearance on stage by His Majesty The King of Sweden had 40,000 young men and women in the American Scouts going wild. Mid way through the national jamboree's "big show" (a rock concert to you and me) the King of Sweden appeared on stage.
I'm the King of Sweden he said, but I'm also a Scout. And Scouting is something I love to do. With the young audience hanging on every word of his inspiring speech, he encouraged them to take leadership in their communities and he ended with a Scout "yell" for which the Swedish King has become famous in Scouting circles. Like an accomplished rock star the King led these teenagers in his signature yell. And 40,000 Scouts followed with the energy of an rock concert audience. He left the stage to cheers.
The next speaker, Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T, started his presentation by saying that when he heard he was to follow the Swedish King he knew it would be difficult. When he saw that this was "a really COOL King" he knew it would be really, really difficult and when he heard them all cheering and laughing with him, that was it! He didn't stand a chance!
His Majesty also participated in a fundraising event of the World Scout Foundation which raised pledges of over four million dollars for programmes of local capacity building, street kid protection, education initiatives and various leadership training programmes in the poorer countries of the world.
His Majesty ended his two day visit to the BSA National Scout Jamboree during which He and Queen Silvia spent time with hundreds of Scouts from all over the USA and overseas, discussing programmes ranging from inter religious dialogue, environment protection, wilderness adventure and building a global network of young community service leaders within Scouting's 35 million global membership ... And of course every Scout who shook their hands knew they had just met two people who really care!
