At age twelve, Reid Christopherson was given an opportunity which has impacted his life since. A friend asked if he'd like to join him at a Boy Scouts meeting, and later that week, a camping excursion. One could say he got hooked, and Boy Scouts has now been a part of his life for 53 years.
On May 28, Christopherson was awarded the Silver Buffalo, the highest honor possible to be bestowed by the Boy Scouts of America. It is awarded to those who have shown exemplary service at the national level, and is similar to being installed into the Hall of Fame. Only 10-15 people per year receive the distinguished award, and only three men from South Dakota have ever received it since it was introduced in 1925.
"I know that myself, along with many other young men, have grown into the leaders we are today because of my dad's dedication and commitment to scouting," wrote his son, Nathan, after Christopherson received the award.
"The Boy Scouts of America could not exist without the tireless effort of volunteers across the country and, in some cases, the world. From weekly den meetings to National Jamborees, the BSA can’t say 'thank you' enough to the volunteers that make it happen," wrote Aaron Derr of Scouting Magazine.
"It's not something someone sets out to attain," Christopherson remarked. It's only given after a nomination, and the nominator must obtain letters of recommendation from others.
Christopherson, for his part, is more grateful to the people who make Boy Scouts a great organization. He has worked hard within it since he started at that first meeting, held at St. John's Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls.
There, he discovered a love for everything the Boy Scouts of America provides- camping and hiking opportunities, primarily- and it grew from there.
"[It was] a wonderful troop," Christopherson said. "We had much more of an emphasis on outdoor activities and just good hard work than it was on advancement. It was a little unusual. I was one of the first in many years to attain the rank of Eagle Scout."
An Eagle Scout is the highest rank one can attain as a youth, and may only be attained after several requirements have been met: active participation, Scout spirit, merit badges, position of responsibility, service project, and unit leader conference. All this must be accomplished prior to the scout's 18th birthday, and the rank is not given lightly.
Once his high school years with the Scouts were complete, Christopherson moved on to military service.
"I often joke that I joined the Air Force to see the world," Christopherson said. He instead served four years at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City.
He didn't spend that time twiddling his thumbs. He got involved in the local scout troop, becoming a Program Director for the Black Hills, and earned two associates degrees at Black Hills State. Upon the end of his service time, he took the G.I. Bill benefits and went to South Dakota State University, where he majored in Animal Science.
He credits his pursuance of the Animal Industry merit badge for his choice, noting that even though he grew up in Sioux Falls and was a city boy, it lit up his interest in agriculture and animal science. He intended to work with livestock and other animals, working for a short time with Zip Feed Mill in Sioux Falls after obtaining his Master's degree at SDSU.
Due to the instability of the agricultural market in the mid-80's, however, Christopherson soon moved to a full-time position within the Air National Guard in Sioux Falls. He thought he'd be there just until the agricultural markets stabilized. Instead, he served as a commissioned officer for another 28 years until his retirement seven years ago.
It didn't last long. He joked that retirement wasn't for him.
"I didn't last for one afternoon," he said, and started a position as the executive director of the South Dakota Wheat Commission the following Monday. In that work, he aims to protect and stabilize the wheat industry.
He credited the leadership skills he developed with the Boy Scouts in high school for many of the opportunities that have come his way.
Over the past forty years, he's been instrumental at the local and national level with not only the Boy Scouts, but with over 30 organizations, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) Synod, the board of Sioux Valley Energy, Sioux Falls Visitor and Convention Bureau, and the Lions Club. He currently serves as a chair or a board member for 14 organizations.
Wife, Ruth, often reminds him that he was the one who signed up for this.
"They tell me there's a word called 'No,' and I'm not sure how to apply it yet," he said.
Despite his service with other organizations, the Boy Scouts has been a common thread for him. He's been a troop leader, a program director, and president and commissioner of the Sioux Council.
He credits them not only with his leadership skills, but also with the way Scouts builds confidence and respect. The organization as a whole encourages troops to be youth-led and adult-advised.
While each troop is different, none of them can exist in a vacuum, Christopherson said. Each troop is chartered by an organization, which is tasked with using the troop as an arm of their youth outreach programming. In Garretson, for instance, Post #23 of the American Legion charters Cub Scout Pack #115. The charter is required to be renewed on a yearly basis.
This makes the organization unique, and builds accountability into the system. Troop leaders are trained extensively to be there for advice, background, guidance, and safety, but ideally, they would stay somewhat in the background. The youth are trained to eventually lead, organize, and delegate.
The Boy Scouts Association founder, Robert Baden-Powell, is credited with saying, "Scouting is a game with a purpose."
Nobody gets into it because they want to build leadership skills and confidence, Christopherson said. Instead, it's the activities- camping, hiking, computer science, archery- that get youth involved first. The other pieces are just perks built along the way.
The cross-section of ages encourages youth to teach each other as well as to self-teach. One of his most memorable experiences as a high school student was his help in saving the life of another teenager by providing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in the back of a canoe, a skill he had learned at a scout meeting in the church basement.
Despite all the positives, the organization hasn't had an easy time over the past 15 years. They've been dealing with abuse charges and bankruptcy, as well as "activity fatigue."
"We're working hard to communicate that they're a safe program and a wonderful opportunity for youth to experience citizenship influences, character-building, outdoor experiences," Christopherson said. They didn't want to add to families' stress levels, especially as youth activities become more commonplace. They've been ramping up a new initiative in encouraging more family activities. During the pandemic, they've been encouraging families with a theme of "Escape the Great Indoors" and to get out into nature.
Christopherson pointed out that Scouts has always been a family-oriented organization for him. He and his wife consistently involved their two children, Nathan and Rachael, into the activities as much as they could. Despite not allowing girls into the program until just recently, Rachael joined them on a backpacking trip through Mexico and has also served at the national level in Scouts. He's glad to see the family orientation of the organization develop.
He's also grateful to the friend that invited him to that first meeting. "I continuously thank him for starting the greatest adventure of my life," he said.
"Too often we don't invite people because we don't think they'll be interested," Christopherson said. But we never know what might change someone's life, and how far that influence might spread.
As a part of his receipt of the Silver Buffalo award, Christopherson plans to give a formal presentation at St. John's Lutheran on August 29, where he will formally thank his troop leader and his parents, who have been so influential in his scouting career.
