WATCH THE FAITH & FREEDOM RECAP
As America celebrated 250 years of freedom, more than 500 Trailmen from across the country gathered at Valley Forge. They fired muskets, toured historical sites, competed, laughed around campfires, and learned new skills.
And standing where George Washington and the Continental Army endured one of the darkest winters in American history, Trail Life USA CEO Mark Hancock reminded the boys gathered there of something President Herbert Hoover once said:
"The glory of the nation rests in the character of her men. And character comes from boyhood... For the world of tomorrow, about which all of us are dreaming and planning, will be carried forward by the boys of today."
That is why Trail Life exists.
In his speech to the Trailmen at the event, CEO, Mark Hancock said, "When God's eyes span across this country looking for a generation that is going to stand against this tide, where do you think his eyes settle? Where do you see men gathering with men with the express purpose of turning the next generation of boys into Godly men? Where does it happen other than this place?
“Listen young men, you are not just an audience for this story that created One Nation under God, you are the next chapter.”
Adventure forges character. Every manageable fall teaches something.
That is why boys need campfires, trails, real responsibility, outdoor adventure, brotherhood, and godly men who walk beside them. A boy who is never allowed to try hard things will not magically become a man who can withstand hard things.
As Theodore Roosevelt observed, "Character is forged on the anvil of experience."
The next 250 years of American freedom will not be secured by ideas alone. They will be secured by the kind of men we are building in Trail Life right now. It’s not about nostalgia or trying to relive the past. It’s about raising up the men who will lead America for the next 250 years. Trailmen are standing on the shoulders of those who went before… and then reaching higher.
All year, Trail Life has been highlighting some of the amazing young men who exemplify what it means to walk worthy, young men who exemplify the very traits our founders displayed in building this nation.