It was right after I came home from the United States Air Force..
Life was shifting, slowing down in some ways but also searching for purpose in others..
One day, I took my two youngest kids across the street to the firehouse. They were collecting donations for the Crusade for Children, something close to my heart because of my father, a retired volunteer firefighter..
That is where I met him..
An 8-year-old boy with cotton-top hair.
Full of energy and 110 miles per hour in every direction..
There was something different about him. Something special..
That was Jesse Schott..
I learned quickly that he was a cancer survivor..
But you wouldn not have known it by the way he lived..
He wasn not surviving but he was charging forward..
I was standing there in my Scoutmaster uniform, and Jesse locked in on me..
I want to be a Scout..
And from that moment on he never stopped asking..
For 2 years, he kept at it. Persistent. Determined..
Until one day, his aunt said, Let me talk to my parents..
Three days later.
Jesse Schott became a Scout in Troop 007..
He did not just join the troop.
He became family.
That was six weeks before he became an Eagle Scout.
Not just to me but to all of us.
A son. A brother. One of our own.
And like everything else in his life.
He did not do it halfway.
He set his sights on becoming an Eagle Scout.
Then came the summer at scout camp.
Jesse was 16.
We noticed something, a small spot behind his ear.
At first, it did not seem like much.
But a couple weeks later, the words came back like a storm:
Brain cancer. Again. He went through months of chemo.
And still, he kept showing up.
Back to high school. Back to JROTC. Back to leading, commanding the Color Guard at football games.
Jesse did not shrink, he expanded.
His courage spread far beyond our community.
People everywhere began to hear his story.
He became something rare, a young man who knew his time was limited, but chose to live like it was not. His faith grounded him. He believed Heaven was a blessing. And that our time here was never meant to be forever. Even then he kept pushing forward. He started his Eagle Scout project. Got his drivers permit. Competed in drill meets. He was still building a future Even while facing the end.
Then came May of 2018.
His final PET scan.
Afterward, we went to lunch.
Down by the river, he said.
Where do you want to go? I asked.
Just drive. I will show you.
So I drove from the hospital in downtown Louisville toward the river. As we approached the Belle of Louisville, he said: Park here.
He wanted one last ride on the paddlewheel boat. But it was too early in the season and the big boat was not running but a smaller excursion boat was. So we got two tickets, and one very excited young man stepped on board.
During that ride, something incredible happened. They let Jesse take the wheel.
For a moment
He was not a patient.
He was not a statistic.
He was the captain.
On the way back to the dock, he looked up at me and said: Promise me something. I thought we just had a great day what more could he want?
Then he said it: Promise me you will help one person every day. That was six weeks before he became an Eagle Scout. And just seven weeks before he passed. Seventeen years old and five days. June 25, 2018.
But here is the truth That wasn not the end of Jesses story. That was the beginning of his mission. That promise then became my purpose.
And today, it lives on through
The Roll Call Foundation
and through countless volunteers who carry it forward every single day.
Jesse
We love you.
And we hope we are making you proud.
Mr. Don
And one more thing
Cancer didnt win.
It lost
Because Jesse made sure of it first
Today, Jesse is a vital part of the Roll Call family, often seen mentoring others who are just beginning their own healing journey. His story reminds us why we mobilize every day to ensure that no one is left behind in the struggle for inner peace.
