AREA BOY SCOUTS MEET PRESIDENT BUSH AT NATIONAL JAMBOREE

(August 1, 2005 – Pittsburgh, PA) Boy Scout Jimmy Craig says meeting President George W. Bush at the National Scout Jamboree Sunday evening was “an amazing experience.” Alex Lee said “it was cool being on the same stage as the President.”

Craig, 16, from Prosperity, PA, and Lee, 13, of Washington, PA, joined about 80 other Scouts who were handpicked by their Scoutmasters to personally greet Mr. Bush after he addressed the Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, near Fredericksburg, VA.

More than 300 area Boy Scouts and adult leaders, the largest-ever group of Scouts from the Greater Pittsburgh Council, are attending the 2005 Jamboree, which ends August 3.

The President offered words of sympathy and comfort to the 43,000 at the arena show following the deaths of four adult leaders last week in a tragic electrical accident. Bush, who was a Cub Scout, told the crowd that key members of his administration were Boy Scouts, including Chief of Staff Andrew Card, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

“I think my Scoutmaster, Larry Brown, chose me to meet President Bush because of my interest in politics,” Craig said. “We were waiting, then all of a sudden the Army band starting playing ‘Hail to the Chief’ and the President came on stage. After the speech, he greeted us. It was just amazing, and it meant a lot to me.”

“I’m not sure how I got picked,” Lee said. “It just shocked me, but it was a great experience.”

Craig, a Life Scout from Troop 1017, is a student at McGuffey High School in Claysville. Lee has attained the rank of Star Scout in Troop 1022 and attends Trinity Middle School in Washington.

Boy Scouts of America, Greater Pittsburgh Council serves more than 48,000 youth across southwestern Pennsylvania, including Allegheny, Beaver, Greene, Washington and parts of Westmoreland and Fayette counties. The Council’s mission is to help instill values in young people by building the cornerstone of their character in ethics, morality and commitment, while preparing them for life’s challenges. To learn more, visit www.gpc-bsa.org.