Paul Ryan tells Provo crowd 'this is the most important election of your lifetime'

"I was so excited to call the parents," Mix said. "I mean, how many times can you call up a parent and say, 'The future maybe vice president of the United States wants to meet your boy tomorrow.' It's just unique. You don't ever have that happen."

The scouts were excused from school to attend, and parent Dirk Astle said the experience was worth it. "They all said what a normal guy he was, which is really cool," he said. "To hear them say that obviously gives them hope for what they could become."

Ryan was in Utah even before he was selected as the GOP vice presidential nominee, back in June to raise money for 4th District congressional candidate Mia Love. Wednesday, Love was named to Romney's Black Leadership Council. 

Democrats responded to Ryan's fundraising stop in Utah even before his plane touched down.

Wayne Holland, the former Utah Democratic Party chairman, called Ryan's visit "a little surprising" in an interview from Charlotte, N.C., site of this week's Democratic National Convention.

Holland, now the Western States campaign liaison for President Barack Obama, said Ryan would be better off spending his time in one of the battleground states up for grabs in the November election rather than Republican-dominated Utah.

“Of course," he said, "the Romney campaign has used the state as its ATM for a couple years now, so I guess fundraising could make some sense.”  

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