Stephen Ashton

Stephen Ashton
Stephen Ashton is the National Director of Marketing for Trail Life USA and serves as an adjunct professor at Clarks Summit University and Anchor Christian University. Prior to his work at Trail Life, he spent 15 years working with at-risk youth in residential therapeutic wilderness programs and served as the Vice-President of the Wilderness Road Therapeutic Camping Association. An author and a speaker, he has written for journals and published a book chronicling the foundations of therapeutic camping. He frequently speaks on the topics of fatherhood, biblical masculinity, outdoor education, and wilderness therapy. Stephen lives in South Carolina with his wife and 4 sons.
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Recent Posts

Stephen Ashton

Mentoring Let Boys be Boys Masculinity

Letting Boys be Boys in a “Toxic” Culture

No matter what our culture says, boys and girls are different. Discussions about “toxic masculinity,” a blurring of gender lines, fewer and fewer fathers in the home, and the watering down or extinction of programs that train and equip boys to become men have left too many boys frustrated, fearful, and floundering in ...
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Stephen Ashton

Parenting Let Boys be Boys History

Herbert Hoover: A Boy's Bill of Rights

There are two jobs for American boys today. One is being a boy. The other is growing up to be a man. Both jobs are important. Both are packed with excitement, great undertakings, and high adventure.
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Stephen Ashton

3 Lessons Every Boy Must Learn

“The greatest tribute a boy can give to his father is to say, ‘When I grow up, I want to be just like my dad.’ It is a convicting responsibility for us fathers and grandfathers. . .The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is a legacy of character and faith.” - Billy Graham
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Stephen Ashton

Mentoring Masculinity History

Theodore Roosevelt: Character and Success

Bodily vigor is good, and vigor of intellect is even better, but far above both is character. In the long run, in the great battle of life, no brilliancy of intellect, no perfection of bodily development, will count when weighed in the balance against that assemblage of virtues, active and passive, of moral qualities, ...
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Stephen Ashton

Top Trail Life Posts of 2020

1. FIRST-EVER NATIONAL BACKYARD CAMPOUT WANTS FAMILIES TO MAKE MEMORIES MARK HANCOCK APR 1, 2020 9:23:27 AM
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Stephen Ashton

Let Boys be Boys Troop Adventures

Jim's Daniel Boone Friction Flamed Coffee

The boys came prepared in teams of four for a highlight challenge of the Daniel Boone Base Camp Event. Each year Trailmen compete to build a fire tall enough to burn a marker string, boil water, and steep coffee for their Troopmaster to drink. This year, however the planning team added a twist. The fire had to be ...
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Stephen Ashton

Masculinity History

The Power of Christian Young Men

A 1914 Address to the Christian Men's Association "When I think of an association of Christian young men I wonder that it has not already turned the world upside down. I wonder, not that it has done so much, for it has done a great deal, but that it has done so little; and I can only conjecture that it does not ...
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Stephen Ashton

Service

Fallen Officers Honored for Greatest Sacrifice

On Peace Officer Memorial Day, Trailmen from Trail Life USA Troop TN-0101 in Clarksville, TN got word that the ceremony to honor local officers had been cancelled due to Coronavirus. Without any delay, the Troop chose to conduct a wreath-laying ceremony at the Clarksville Police Department’s Protector Memorial to ...
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Stephen Ashton

Parenting

A Prescription for Adventure

"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning, but for children, play is serious learning.” -Fred Rogers
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