Taking the award at bronze and silver levels not only gave me a sense of purpose at the time but has also given me memories and skills that live with me today. My main reward, not just the sense of achievement, was that I could do anything that I wanted hard enough. It taught me that my limitations were set and defined only by me and if I wanted to, then I could. I am still proud of my awards today and grateful that this was available to me. Now I see my children grow up, and my eldest knows of my participation in my youth, and will encourage them to undertake the award too, when they are older.
In hindsight now, I do regret not taking the award to the final level, but unfortunately this was not available to me due to lack of interest in my area at the time (and now age has played its part and am too old to continue.) If an opportunity arises for a special award in memory of the late Duke, then count me in!
I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to undertake this award, at any level, to do so. Not only will you learn so much about your community but more importantly, you will learn new things about yourself.