- We share and teach these principles: Respect Yourself, Respect Others, Respect Authority, Respect the Environment.
- We teach kids to build trust with adults and others.
- Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches – Please consider helping us plant the seeds of a new life for troubled youth.
By Bill Frye, President – Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches, Inc.
As I write “My Perspective” for our quarterly Rancher Magazine, I am sitting at the dining room table in my home in North Carolina. I drove up after a very busy and engaging Easter weekend with our grandchildren Jackson and Cora Rose. It was a planned getaway as I had much to do with writing, meeting preparations, upcoming evaluations and visits. I just needed to be away from all the hustle and bustle of the office and have some quiet time to put my thoughts in order before reengaging with everyday work. While I truly love what I do, it does at times become overwhelming, and in those moments, solitude can be very healing, especially if you take the time to be still and spend time in prayer. So off to the mountains of North Carolina, I fled, taking with me everything I needed to work on.
Driving alone can be very therapeutic, especially if the traffic is not too bad. Sometimes it allows you to reflect on past events or come up with new ideas on how to move a project forward. However, most of all, it allows me time to give thanks to God for all that has been provided to me and others over the years. This drive was no different because it gave me time to be still and remember the little blessings I somehow overlooked.
As I began my ascent into the mountains, I noticed the variations of colors; the trees were just beginning to produce new leaves as spring was arriving. In the lower elevations, the leaves were fuller and darker in color, and as I drove upward, they became lighter in color and much smaller in size. When I arrived at my home, the trees were still bare, and colder temperatures had not yet allowed new leaves to form. Looking down the mountain, you could easily see the transition. By the end of this week, I am sure it will be much different.
As I stood in my dining room and looked out the window toward the valley below and the brown-leaf-covered landscape, something caught my eye. Growing on the side of the mountain was a tulip plant with three beautiful red blooms. The blooms stood out against the barren landscape that had yet to come back to life after a hard winter. Seeing those tulips started me thinking and remembering how our lives are filled with many blessings.
Like when a child first arrives at one of our summer camps. They sometimes arrive with a frightened look on their faces, scared of the new environment, wondering if they will be liked or accepted. Will they make new friends? Will the counselors be nice? Are those deputies going to be mean? The landscape of their arrival is sometimes barren because of their fear of the unknown. Then, just as those beautiful red blooms changed a bleak mountainside into something remarkable, the counselor’s smile, the deputy’s warm greeting, and the introduction to the new cabin mates melt away the apprehension, and the 
landscape begins to transition. By the end of the session, it’s like looking down the mountain and seeing the brown winter vegetation becoming lush green vegetation of spring and summer. The child who arrived frightened has blossomed into a happy, smiling camper with new friends and special bonds with their camp counselors and the deputies who spent time with them. As they leave, they carry their own positive memories because of everything they experienced and accomplished.
The same is true for the children who come to live with us at one of our residential campuses. While they choose to come live with us for many reasons, they often arrive with frightened looks, wondering if they will be accepted and liked by the others already living there. Many arrive with so much emotional baggage from life experiences that they find it difficult to let go of past hurts, disappointments and fears they encountered in their young lives. Their personal landscape is barren and void of hope, with only the fear of the unknown. However, with the love and support and tolerance found within our ranch community – from our cottage parents to our 
support staff – kids can become free of their past baggage and discover new life. All with the help of those who are committed to their care and well-being. Then, as they grow up and build lives of their own, they too will be better prepared to face the future not with anticipation and fear, but with resolve and determination.
In this day and age of negative events being broadcast through news programs and social media, the landscape around us often looks barren. In some ways, our country and communities are like my mountain landscape after a hard winter. However, there are blessings to be discovered, and for me, those blessing are found within my family, my beautiful grandchildren, our donors, sheriffs, supporters and alumni who make it possible for our wonderful staff and volunteers to help improve the lives of children who come to us for care.
I pray that each and every person reading this 65th Anniversary edition of the Rancher Magazine discovers the many everyday blessings being provided to children because of your kindness and generosity.
God Bless.
From the publisher of ShareTheOutdoors – About Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches: The mission of the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches is to prevent delinquency and develop lawful, resilient and productive citizens through a broad range of services. In 2023, the Youth Ranches will serve over 4,000 boys and girls. This charitable, nonprofit organization was founded by the Florida Sheriffs Association in 1957 and operates three residential care campuses along with three summer camps. Additionally, it provides community-based services to as many of Florida’s neglected, troubled children as funds will permit. Voluntary contributions are the primary source of funding, especially thoughtful gifts made through special bequests in wills and trusts. To donate in any of several ways, please visit https://www.youthranches.org/index.php. The Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches, Inc. is nationally accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc. and the American Camp Association. If you would like more information about the Youth Ranches, please contact us at 1-800-765-3797, or email us at fsr@youthranches.org.
Please note that the photographs, forms, videos and this editorial copy are the property of the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches, Inc. We have requested permission to reprint in order to help others learn about this successful youth program.