Dennis the Menace

The special guest comic today is the daily Dennis the Menace by long-time Scouter Marcus Hamilton.  Dennis the Menace was created by Hank Ketcham over 60 years ago and is carried in over 1,000 papers internationally.  The daily single-panel cartoon is done by Marcus Hamilton, with the Sunday multipanel cartoon is drawn by Ron Ferdinand. (Stay tuned for tomorrow!)

When Jamboree Today's staff cartoonist, Rich Diesslin, put out a general appeal to his National Cartoonists Society (NCS) colleagues to  participate in the 2010 National Scout Jamboree's salute to 100 years of Scouting in America, Hamilton was all in.

Three years later, he's back. The reason is simple, for Hamilton, Scouting runs deep.

"My dad, Ernest Hamilton, was dedicated to the BSA for 70 years," he says. "My brother-in-law, Billy Joe Athay, was my Explorer Scout leader, and now my nephew, Webb Athay, is the leader of Troop 230 where I grew up."

It's more that just being in a Scouting family that motivates Hamilton.

"From my first day in Boy Scout Troop 230 at age 11, at Trinity United Methodist Church in Lexington, N.C., the experience has touched my life in a powerful way," he says. "The motto, 'be prepared,' taught me to always learn as much as I can and to never give up, so that when opportunities come along I will be able to take advantage of them."

Hamilton also feels Scouting even helped in his career as a cartoonist.

"The opportunity to draw Dennis the Menace presented itself at just the right time in my life," he says. "Being prepared and persevering are the two Boy Scout traits that had an influence on my taking advantage of the opportunity."

So Jamboree Today thanks Marcus Hamilton for his special guest comic and passion for Scouting.  Learn more about Dennis the Menace at www.dennisthemenace.com.