Greetings, Dave Smith here from the great Central Division.  Here's a little about myself.  I'm a husband of one, father of two boys and faithful servant of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I reside in Lakeland, FL; attend Victory Church and my local outpost is 169.  I am a Lt. Commander in our Discovery Ranger outpost, COA coordinator and communication point of contact (i.e. "flier/brochure" dude).  I've been involved in Rangers since August of 2005 when my oldest son started Rangers, and took on the role of Divisional Commander in spring of 2008.  I also joined FCF as "Blazin Bear" in 2008. 

In my professional life, I'm a Chief Engineer and Security Engineer for a Fortune 50 company and implement cost saving solutions that make computing more secure for my corporation and others.  I've had the opportunity to travel a lot domestically as well as internationally and really enjoy what I do.  God has blessed our family through my career. 

On a personal level, I believe strongly in the sanctity of marriage and  dislike any talk about marriages where the husband is a fumbling buffoon and the wife runs the house (i.e. head of the household).  That's not what the bible teaches, and is not what I want my two strong sons to grow up believing.  Marriage is a partnership, not a dictatorship on either side.  My boys are homeschooled by my super smart and stunningly beautiful wife and I'm a full-time telecommuter.  That means our whole family is around each other all day every day.  What a blessing!!!  In my 13 years of marriage, my wife and I have never had one single fight.   What a blessing!  Want to know the secret?  Lean down towards the monitor...closer, closer...we've built our house on the Rock and we both try to out give each other.  That's it; simple as that.

I enjoy most things outdoors, hiking, biking, fishing, etc.  At one time, I raced mountain bikes on our local amateur racing circuit. 

Want to read a good book?  Here's what I suggest and would love to hear what you recommend too:  The bible (duh!), Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp; Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson; Wild At Heart by John Eldridge; Epic by John Eldridge; It's Better To Build Boys Than Mend Men by Truett Cathy; The Mind of Boys by Michael Gurian; among others.

I like fresh ideas and shun the "that's the way we've always done it" mentality.  My goal is to keep things new and exciting for boys in my outpost and in Central Division.  For example, just because we've always had Round-up at Camp Wilderness doesn't mean we always have to in the future.  Why not have it at the beach?  Uh...we do live in Florida!  As Doug Mash wrote about in his "Seek and Save" articles, the Gospel doesn't change, but how we deliver it and reach boys must.  I try to find things happening in pop culture and find a way to channel that towards a Christian message.  I like the idea that if a boy is physically able to do something, by all means let him do it.  The "rite of passage" mentality only applies to very limited situations in my humble opinion.  For example, if a Ranger Kid is physically able to go on an overnight hike in the green swamp with his dad and a group of Rangers...why stop him?  I also HATE when people call Rangers a "program"!  AA is a program.  Boy Scouts is a program.  Kiwanis is a program.  WE ARE A MINISTRY!  Finally, all boys do not fit into one single mold.  I believe it's up to us, the "adult facilitators," to foster what each boy is interested in but also expose them to many facets of interest.  For example, from eating worms for competition at a Ranger Kids Day Camp to fine dining at Bern's Steakhouse.  Now, that's a contrast for you!

To end, I'm extremely proud to be associated with such a fine ministry, even more specifically with the great men and boys of Central Division.  These men would give you the shirt off their backs if you needed it.  It's a privilege to serve with such a great group of Christ followers!  I'm humbled to be a part of what God's doing in Royal Rangers and Central Division.