Mayor Christine (Sederquist) of Leander returned to Pack 170 again this year for a fireside chat (literally) with our Arrow of Light scouts to help them earn their “Building a Better World” adventure.
Mayor Christine explained the levels of government with an analogy that Cub Scouts can really relate to. “The federal government is like fifth grade”, she explained, “it’s at the top of heap”. Fourth grade is the state government, and third is the county government. She was a second-grader, of course, as the head of a city government.
Mayor Christine Sederquist
Leander, Texas
There was a lot of back-and-forth with Mayor Christine asking questions like “Who is in charge of the state government?” and “How do you think small cities like Leander afford expensive services like water treatment and SWAT teams?” and the Scouts returning their own questions like “Our water pressure is low and my parents say it is because of all the new housing going in. What is Leander doing about it?” and “My uncle is in a wheel chair and he can’t make some trips on his own because there aren’t sidewalks in places. Does Leander plan to build more sidewalks?”.
Other questions from the Scouts included topics like inclusivity (his word, not mine) in the city government with respect to age, race, gender, and identity. Also about cracks in our roads and the winter freeze this past February.
After 45 minutes of lively discussion with the Scouts in their den and some hard questions from them, Mayor Christine hung around to engage with parents and Scouts on any topic they chose. One of our AOL Scouts continued the conversation started in the den meeting after our meeting had concluded. I think the intent of “Building a Better World” was achieved.
It was somewhat of an eye-opening experience for me because it was apparent that these Scouts are ready to move ahead into greater challenges. They aren’t the little kids they were when they started Cub Scouts.
STEM Fact
The Texas Capitol’s cornerstone was laid on March 2, 1885. A building’s cornerstone is critically important to the entire building. Great care is taken to ensure the cornerstone has the proper dimensions and angles because it is the first stone laid and all other stones are laid in reference to the cornerstone.
Pack 170 wishes to extend our heartfelt thanks to Mayor Christine Sederquist of Leander for once again giving of herself and her time to help our Scouts grow into responsible and engaged citizens. Happy Scouting everyone.
