The ManKind Project(tm) . Missions of Service

Philadelphia -2007 Ron Hering Award Winner

Tristan Smith (posthumous award)

Personal Mission: I create a world of love, integrity and acceptance by mentoring and leading.

Action in the World: Tristan Smith, our New Warrior brother, gave his life for his country in Iraq on August 26, 2006. During his life in this world he served in his youth as a firefighter and actually saved a couple from a burning building, as well as assisting time and again with emergency and rescue operations. He was a committed SWET and New Warrior brother who mentored young men to "walk the talk", as he tried to do this himself every day. A soldier in Iraq said that even though there is a lot of opportunity for cruel acts in times of war and to live far from a life of integrity, Tristan never gave in. He embodied integrity up until he was killed doing his duty for his country and making the ultimate sacrifice. Tristan made an incredible impact on those that knew him in life, and continues to impact them after his death. In all the places he walked, whether it be the Scouts, Fire Company, School, the Military, SWET, or New Warrior, people are looking to him as a model of how the ordinary can become extraordinary and how much he continues to inspire people to strive to be something better. Many men have come to SWET and New Warrior after his death because they want to honor his call for them to show up. Boys are looking to do extra because Tristan did, soldiers are struggling to find and live with a greater sense of integrity in this awful thing called "war" because Tristan did so. Tristan is honored by some because he sacrificed his life for others, and that is, in some's judgment, a noble thing. But mostly, Tristan is being honored because of how he lived, and honored even more this year, because of how his influence continues to not only live, but to grow and help others, and yes, change the world, one person at a time..

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