The Scoutmaster Offers Lessons in Service and Leadership from an American Hero

WordCrafts Press and author Brooks Eason are pleased to announce the July 1, 2023, release of The Scoutmaster, the poignant and inspirational biography of the author’s father.

The book is a celebration of an American hero, Paul Eason, who devoted his life to serving others, with the official release date set to commemorate the tenth anniversary of his death. July 2023 also marks 72 years of consecutive monthly camping trips for the Boy Scout troop Eason led.

Paul Eason became the Scoutmaster of Troop 12 in Tupelo, Mississippi, in 1947 when he was 25 years old and continued in that position for 45 years. He served as an assistant Scoutmaster for an additional 15 years. His remarkable 60 years of volunteer service with the Scouts had a profound and positive impact on three generations of young men in Tupelo, Mississippi. Under his leadership more than 350 of them attained the rank of Eagle, the highest in Scouting.

The Scoutmaster includes interviews with prominent men who became Eagle Scouts under Eason’s leadership in every decade from the 1940s to the 1990s. Accolades from these men are both profound and effusive.

  • “Paul Eason’s wonderful life has made a difference to thousands.”
  • “He was the most principled man I’ve ever met. People like him don’t come along every day. He was one in a million.”
  • “The inspiration to do good that Paul Eason instilled in so many will ripple throughout the world forever.”
  • “In all my years, including the thirty I spent in the Marines, my grandest experience was with Paul Eason in Troop 12. It was the finest time of my life.”

“I never met Paul Eason, but as as Eagle Scout myself, I can personally attest to the impact a scoutmaster can have in the life of a boy on the road to manhood,” said Mike Parker, publisher for WordCrafts Press. “The Scoutmaster is far more than just another tribute to an unsung hero. It truly is a guide for servant leadership that is needed more today than ever.”

From the Book

Leroy P. McCarty Jr., known to one and all as Buddy, was one of the boys who learned from Daddy and became an Eagle Scout in Troop 12. Buddy is nearly eighty years old, but he has not forgotten about his time as a Scout and his love and admiration for his Scoutmaster. After learning that I was writing this book, he sent me a long message that included a story I’d never heard:

My most powerful personal memory of Paul is from the summer of 1957. The only requirement I lacked to earn my Eagle Scout badge was the three-quarter-mile timed run for Personal Fitness merit badge. I had not yet begun my high school growth spurt, was a bit chubby for distance running, and could not run the distance in the required time of six minutes. So, for weeks on end, on Monday through Friday during that summer of 1957, Paul picked me up after he got off from work, took me to the Robins Field track, and trained me.
Weeks into the training I wanted to quit, but Paul would not allow it! He was encouraging, he was tough, he was kind, he was patient; he knew exactly what he was doing. He consistently let me know that I could succeed. He never once raised his voice and was always positive. The result? After weeks of training, I completed the run in the required time, with thirty seconds to spare!
The experience was a valuable lesson that has served me well throughout my life. I am forever grateful to Paul for teaching me much more than how to run. Thanks to Paul Eason, I am an Eagle Scout.
Paul Eason is an authentic American hero.

The Scoutmaster has already struck a chord with readers as the title cracked the Top 10 on Amazon.com’s Hot New Releases in the Southern US Biographies category, debuting at # 8. The Scoutmaster also debuted at #52 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases chart in Business Mentoring and Coaching and at # 68 Hot New Releases in the Fatherhood category.

About the Author

Brooks Eason became an Eagle Scout under his father’s leadership more than half a century ago. He has three children and five grandchildren and lives in Madison, Mississippi, with his wife Carrie, three rescue dogs, and an orange tabby cat named the Count. The Scoutmaster is his fifth book.

You can order an inscribed copy at brookseason.com