Life Member of the National Eagle Scout Association

Having earned his Eagle Scout Award in 1944, and desiring to continue to actively promote, support and apply Scouting ideals through Service, Looie became a Life Member of NESA in 1989.

Looie loved being invited to speak at an Eagle Court of Honor.
Here's his special message to YOU, who may have just earned your Eagle Scout Award. This message is also for those of you who are about to earn your award, and as a refreshing inspiration to those of you who are long time Eagles:

"There are no more important people in this room tonight than these new Eagle Scouts. They are among the most important people in America.

I say this because our new Eagle Scouts are the worthiest members of the greatest youth organization in the world - the Boy Scouts of America.

While we are not alone serving the needs of children and youth, the BSA is almost the oldest and certainly the most successful!

As you young men are presented the rank and honor of Eagle Scout at this Court of Honor, you join the two-percent of all Scouts who have achieved this highest goal. Just think! Of the millions of boys who have joined Scouting since 1910, only TWO out of every hundred has become an Eagle Scout.

As I address my remarks to these young men, I hope they may be of benefit to some of you other Scouts, parents and friends.

You are 'Marked Men.' By achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, each of you has proven to yourself, your community, your family and your country that you are a CAN DO, WILL TRY person.
Everyone will expect more from you now.
You are at the stage in life, however, that other things will be competing greatly for your time. You will have to make choices now that you have not had to make before - to set priorities. I have here a document called "RULES FOR LIVING." It has to do with making choices. It is a favorite piece of inspiration that I reread often. Here are the Rules for Living:

1.) You are issued a body when your life begins. You may or may not like it, but you should take care of it since it is the only one you will get.

2.) Life consists of a series of choices. You may or may not want to choose, but you will anyway, because, not choosing is a choice.

3.) If you choose wisely, the operation is called a success. If you choose unwisely, the operation is called a lesson. Lessons are some times, incorrectly, called mistakes. Every so-called mistake is a lesson.

4.) Lessons must be learned. If you do not learn a lesson the first time, it will be repeated until you do learn it. You are not allowed to go on to the next lesson until the previous lesson has been learned.
God has endless patience with slow learners.

5.) Lessons never end, no matter how old you are. As long as there is life, there are lessons to be learned. Some of them you will recognize as old friends you have forgotten.

6.) During the course of life, you will meet and learn to live with many other people. Some things about them you will like. Some things about them you will dislike.
The thing you like and dislike in other people will tend to be the things you like and dislike in yourself. It is much easier to see these things in other people.

7.) You cannot love another person without loving yourself.
You can not hate another person without hating yourself.
Hating yourself is harder if someone else loves you.

8.) God has put many answers to hard questions inside of you. You will find them there only after you have looked everywhere else first.

9.) Rules ONE through EIGHT are all things you already knew, but have forgotten. You are amused at how much sense they make. You will not forget them.
When you run across them again, you will be amused at how much sense they make. This process is called "education."

I taught High School Math for several years. Many a time students would come to me with sad faces to say they had not completed the problems assigned to them. From what they would tell me, it seems that nothing was their own fault. They work after school a certain number of hours per week - or there was a party for someone the night before - or 'I can't remember all of this stuff,' - or 'you just aren't being fair.'
Remember the Rules for Living. What YOU make of your life is up to YOU. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.

One other little story as we talk about making the right choices. This has guided me through much of my life.

One time many, many years ago, there lived a nobleman in Europe. He had a very large estate, and many people worked his land. He was different from most of the noblemen we read about in school, for this nobleman loved his people.
He saw they were well paid for their work. If they were sick, he would send food and medicine and many times take it to them himself. Because of his love for them he was deeply loved by his people.

As he got older he began to think about what he could leave to his people as a legacy upon his death. He finally decided that they needed most a new church, so he would build them a church.
He called in the best architects in Europe. After the church was designed, he brought in some of best artists and craftsmen. He used his own people in doing the work that they themselves could do.
After several years the church was completed. No one had ever seen the inside except for those who worked on the church.

The day for the dedication dawned brightly. The Bishop arrived on time, the choir sang like angels and the altar boys made no mistakes. The service was really grand.
When the service ended everyone left the church to celebrate in the streets. There was much food, music and dancing.
One man, however, remained inside the church. He walked around the sanctuary several times staring at the walls and ceilings.

Finally he went outside and walked up to the nobleman. He said, "Sir. I have traveled over a good part of Europe and have seen many churches, and this is by far the most beautiful church I have ever seen. However, there is one thing I do not understand. I have looked all over the sanctuary and I cannot find any lamps. How is this church to be lighted?"

The nobleman took him by the arm and led him back into the church. He walked him to a side aisle and pointed to the walls. He said, "Do you see those brackets on the wall? Every family in this church will be given a lamp. Whenever they come to church, they will bring their lamp and hang it on the nearest bracket to them. When all come, the church will be lighted. But if one family does not come, there will be darkness in that part of the church."

When considering your choices, I hope that you will consider this. If you have a responsibility to someone and you fail to fulfil your responsibility to them, there is darkness in the person's life as well as your own. If you avoid a Scout meeting or any other event, even if you do not have a responsibility at that time, perhaps life has dimmed a bit for someone you could have helped had you been there.

I want once again to congratulate you on attaining the highest award in Scouting. We are all proud of you and we Eagles know that you will never do anything to tarnish the image that the world has of Eagle Scouts." - H. Louis Chandler

"Louis was guest speaker at my son Jeremy's Eagle Court of Honor. Jeremy passed away in January 2000, and I know he was happy to greet Louie at the gate."
- Lee Watkins

Pictured left to right: Troop 201 Scoutmaster Jack Smart, Eagle Scout Chris Long, Louis Chandler, Eagle Scout Jeremy Watkins and Eagle Scout Daniel Brown.

"It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than 'try to be a little kinder.'"
-- Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) British novelist

"Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold, but so does a hard-boiled egg."
-- Unknown

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind."
-- Henry James (1843-1916) U.S. novelist

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
-- Mark Twain

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H. Louis Chandler's Personal Representative c. 2000