HATS OFF

The Service Club of Chicago hosts its annual fundraiser miss out on about two years of that.”

May 8 to celebrate the hardworking women who bring its mission to life.

Spencer says Scouts age out at 18, so those in his troop still had to meet all of the requirements of Eagle Scout regardless of the limitation brought on by COVID-19, making their achievement that much more remarkable.

“They had to finish up and something I always say about the Eagle rank is when you're young enough to earn it—because you have to earn it before you turn 18—you don't really appreciate it and when you're old enough to appreciate it, you can no longer earn it,” Spencer says. “They'll appreciate it more and more as they get older.”

Spencer now has two sons who’ve achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and he says what he appreciates about scouting is that it counters a lot of the influences that kids have today due to online technology. He recalls his quest to become an Eagle Scout when he was young. says. “It ended up just being a lot of work in a short period of time instead of doing it over a long period of time. It taught me a lot, mostly about time management.”

The women of The Service Club of Chicago and guests will step out in their finest hats on May 8 as the nonprofit hosts its annual fundraising event. Held at The Langham, Chicago, “The Spring Hat Luncheon” will feature a red-carpet entrance, live music, a delicious lunch, and a hat contest. With a theme of “The Many Hats We Wear,” the event will honor and celebrate the many roles women have in their lives—friend, mother, sister, wife, partner, and businesswoman. The luncheon will feature a special conversation with national talk show host, Whitney Reynolds, to discuss all the hats women wear and how to wear them well.

“I remember a lot of kids that quit Scouts before they hit Eagle, and I remember it kind of set my mindset to be a finisher,” he says. “Like, I’m going to finish this degree, whether I use it or not, and then maybe I will get an MBA or do some something else. If I didn't receive the Eagle, I would not have finished that degree. I would not have done it.”

Scouting, Spencer says, is about everyday decision making and teaching kids how to do the right thing by recalling what they learned in the scouting program.

“It’s about respect for the values. You make decisions every day of your life, but it reminds you, ‘I need to make sure I live up to this. I can't lose my temper in this case because that’s going to be embarrassing’,” he says. “’I have to have a higher standard’,”.

Spencer’s middle son, Andrew, says that as a fourth generation Eagle Scout, it was pretty much inevitable he would follow in his father’s footsteps, but he learned a valuable lesson along the way.

“I knew I was going to eventually become an Eagle Scout because my brother and my dad and grandpa did it, but I put it off,” Andrew

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Andrew Spencer’s classmate and fellow scout, Alex Farkas, a transplant from New Jersey, says he was just looking for some extracurricular activities and ended up getting hooked by the scouting program.

“I ended up joining Boy Scouts because some of my friends are in the troop, and then from there I only had four years to (reach Eagle Scouts), so I started out really strong. I got a lot of requirements done,” Farkas says. “But then my schedule started filling up a bit and boy scouts kind of took a back seat. Then I realized if I wanted to get Eagle Scout, I’d have to pick it up again. It was a lot of work just fitting it into the schedule.”

Both Andrew Spencer and Farkas say despite the amount of work and the time commitment involved to reach their goal, the journey has been worth it.

“There are a lot of lessons, but the two big ones are that anything worth doing isn't going to be easy and you need to put in the work and effort to do it. You have to have the initiative yourself,” Andrew says. “You can't rely on other people. You have to make a plan of what you want to do and get it done.” dent women at the event.

According to event co-chairs of Bethany Florek, Julia Jacobs, and Whitney Reynolds, the goal is to raise funds to support the philanthropic mission of The Service Club of Chicago, enrich the lives of women, and provide attendees with “a memorable experience and information that is valuable to life’s journey.”

“The Spring Hat Luncheon” will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 8, at The Langham, 330 North Wabash Avenue in Chicago. For more information about tickets and sponsorships, visit theserviceclubofchicago.org.