Happy 4th of July

Tradition has it that this is a day of hot dogs, hamburgers and fireworks. Today should be a day of thanks and introspection. Many things that are going on in our world threaten the existence of our freedom. People all over the world burn our flag and chant hate speech in the streets. We need to constantly "Be Prepared" for whatever might threaten our country.

We have a bright spot. The youth of America that area part of the Boy Scouts. They are the leaders of the future. We need to train them well. They are the spirit of America. God bless America. Happy Independence Day! Celebrate what is best about America.

Planning, Planning, Planning

It is the beginning of May and time for the annual Unit Program Planning Conferences. This year there are a total of five conferences. Details are in the latest edition of The Scouter. It can be found at:
http://www.bsa-gsmc.org/scouter/issue.htm?file=The%20Scouter%2020090428.pdf
The convenience of having five conferences should allow more adult leaders to attend. Every unit should try to send at least two leaders to the conference.

Planning is very important to the health of a unit. To paraphrase a popular saying, a unit that fails to plan should plan to fail. Now is the time to plan, not in the fall. Packs need to spend the fall recruiting and forming new dens. Troops and Crews need to be able to hit the ground running after summer camp and other activities. Spending time now and planning a year out allows time to improve and modify as needed.

Planning should result from input from parents, leaders and most of all the Scouts. Financial planning should also be a part of the planning process. Not only should a budget be developed but also projects for raising money. How much popcorn with the unit sell? Is a bake sale a good option? There must be agreement from all parties in order to be successful. If the leaders plan it and the parents don't buy in, the project may be doomed.

A good year plan can be a great recruitment tool. Parents a very impressed if the unit has a well thought out plan. A calendar can be used for outings and projects. Meeting days and times are overlooked but are very important to new scouting families. Planning can mean the difference between a good unit and a great unit. The choice is yours.

Camp Pellissippi Caboose

I was talking with a fellow Scouter today about Camp Pellissippi and a question came up that I can’t answer. He told me that when he was a scout at Camp Pellissippi, there was a railroad caboose near the entrance of camp. His question, and mine, is what happened to it? When was it removed and where was it taken? Does anyone know? If so, please enlighten the group.

Also to report on some other Camp Pellissippi news, the Anna Bruce Campmaster Cabin is all but finished. This cabin will be used by the Campmaster Corps, a group of trained volunteers who will serve as camp hosts for both Camp Pellissippi and Camp Buck Toms.

On May 23, the 2nd Annual Bikers for Scouts Benefit Ride will take place starting at Tommy’s Motorsports, 2401 Andersonville Highway. All proceeds will benefit the continuing restoration of Camp Pellissippi. Last year’s ride allowed for electricity to be extended to some of the renovated buildings at camp. The Arthur Wood Lodge now has electricity and the Carter Cabin will hopefully have power soon.

As long as we are talking about camp, I want to encourage everyone to consider a $25 donation to the Campership Fund. All proceeds will help send Scouts to camp. In return, the donor will receive a dated limited edition shoulder patch. This is a great program to help needy Scouts. Money is very tight this year and for those needy Scouts, a Campership may be their only way to go to camp.

2010 Jambore Information

Time is counting down (literally, see below) to the 2010 National Jamboree. If you are a unit leader or a jamboree leader, here is a bit of information that might be critical to your boys who are participants. If the boys have simply paid a deposit at the council office, they are not truly registered for the Jamboree. The council will accept their money but the Scout needs to go online at scouting .org and follow the MYSCOUTING link . At the MYSCOUTING login an email address and password will be necessary to get to the individual account. You must set up an account if you do not already have one. At the MYSCOUTING portal select the Event Registrations link. That will show available events, including the Jamboree. Enter the Jamboree event link and complete the information. Nearly one third of the participants have not yet registered online. If the Scouts do not register online, they could lose their spot. Troop leaders also need to complete the registration online. Make sure to select the proper application. Troop leaders need to be sure to select the Adult Troop Leader Application and not the Jamboree Staff Application.

Camping

The Order of the Arrow used to be know as the Brotherhood of Honor Campers. In the old guidelines, it stated that fellow campers voted in those worthy of membership. Note that it does not say fellow Scouts, it says fellow campers. The Order of the Arrow has evolved to become much more than a society of campers, but the roots of the organization are undeniable. All that being said, this discussion is not about the Order of the Arrow but about its roots, that is -camping.

Camping is now and always has been a large part of Scouting. The so called Urban Scouting emphasis of the early to mid 1970's nearly killed Scouting. It wasn't until the BSA got back to basics with camping, hiking and the outdoors that the numbers turned and growth began again. Scouting can not exist without camping. It is a tool or from training terminology, a method of Scouting. Scouting uses camping to teach leadership, organization and planning. These skills can then be transfered to many other life skills areas. Camping also allows all the "back to nature skills" such as ecology, conservation, plant, bird and animal studies, cooking and self-reliance.

So here is the question, beyond first class, what are you as a Scout or Scouter doing to promote camping? In your unit, do you promote a campout a month? Or is your camping experience limited to camporees and summer camp? When you are planning your calendar, are the campouts planned first or last. If you are planning your campouts as a afterthought, please re-read the second paragraph. Camping is not an end in itself, but a door that opens many other doors.

Scouting Magazine

How often do you really read Scouting magazine in depth? I don't know about you but I can't keep up any more. We are overloaded with information from every direction. As much as I try to keep up with Scouting, I find new things at an alarming rate, that I don't know about. Scouting magazine certainly helps with this information management but I still see things in Scouting magazine that are totally new to me. Most things I see are things that have at least crossed my desk, but Scouting magazine gives me that concise explanation that I need. This month is no exception. There were several articles that really caught my eye.

The first was about foiling trailer theft. We have talked about this because it has occurred in our council. There are some good points covered in the article.

This month's Front Line Stuff discusses getting parents excited about Scouting. They make the point that inactive Scouts tend to have uninvolved parents. There are great ideas here to involve parents.

In the Scoutmaster's Toolbox, the Scoutmaster Conference is discussed. This is all information that you have heard before but it never hurts to hear it again. Fresh ideas many times comes from rereading familiar material. This is written by Mark Ray, who is the author of The Scoutmaster's Other Handbook.

Finally, there is an article about the OA's Scoutreach Mentoring Program. Scouting Honor Society is not just for camping anymore. The Order of the Arrow is being used to strengthen the crossover from Webelos to Boy Scouts and now to offer guidance to rural and urban Scouting. The OA is a service organization and this program offers a great opportunity for the Scouts being served as well as the OA members offering the service. The Order of the Arrow Web Site has the program booklet for download.

The End of an Era?

I have reported previously that the 2010 National Jamboree will probably be the last at Fort AP Hill. The Boy Scouts of America is seeking a permanent, BSA owned spot to hold future Jamborees. I know that is old news. What is new is a release from the Army stating that because this will be the last Jamboree at Fort AP Hill, no new improvements or additions will be made at AP Hill.

The end result in the decision is that no additional sub-camps will be set up and the limits on numbers will be about what they were in 2005. Everyone knows that this may be the most popular Jamboree ever, but there may not be space for everyone who wants to go. Those people who are thinking there may be an additional troop in the 2010 Contingent may be disappointed. But maybe not!

There is another little factor that many people must consider - cost. Councils all over the country are still wrestling with the cost of the Jambo. What is gas going to cost during the summer of 2010? For far councils, the cost of air fare has got to be creating more than a few gray hairs. The cost may prevent many from attending in 2010. That cost alone may allow some closer councils to add a troop at the last minute. I would not count on it, but it is possible.

Long range, lets say 2014 and beyond, will the Jamboree as we know it survive? It is difficult to say. Remember it is not just travel costs. How about food costs? They have spiked along with fuel costs. How much is too much for a Jamboree?

We have the same costs under consideration for the other High Adventure camps, also. Will the Boy Scouts of America become more regionalized for High Adventure? Will the Boy Scouts High Adventure program become too expensive for most boys. Any ideas?

The end of the era may not be the Fort AP Hill location, it may be the Jamboree experience itself. What do you think?