New River, New Adventures: The Summit National Scout Reserve Unveiled

BSA has formally unveiled their plans for the new permanent National Jamboree site in West Virginia, which I wrote about in September.  ”The Summit: Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve” will encompass over 10,000 acres in the New River Gorge region near Beckley, West Virginia.

“Today is a great day for Scouting. Thanks to the generosity of the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the development of The Summit: Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve will be a source of fun, adventure, and discovery for hundreds of thousands of Scouts and leaders for generations to come,” said Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazzuca. “As we prepare to enter another century of service, this announcement demonstrates that Scouting is as relevant and vital today as it was when our journey began.”

Area residents, Scouts, community leaders, and elected officials attended the unveiling celebration at the Glen Jean Armed Forces Reserve Center. Guests included Gov. Joe Manchin, D-WV; U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-WV; Superintendent of the New River Gorge National River Don Striker; Fayette County Commissioner Matt Wender; and Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr.

“I commend the Boy Scouts of America, Stephen Bechtel, and all of the supporters for working so diligently with our state and local officials to bring this project to fruition. This partnership will reap tremendous benefits for young people across the country and the Mountain State for many years to come. West Virginia is proud to be a part of this new chapter in Scouting history,” said Gov. Joe Manchin.

While I would have liked to see a more centrally-located site chosen for the National Jamboree, I am excited by the opportunity that thousands, perhaps millions, of young men in the Eastern United States will have to experience high adventure at this site.

The Summit: Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve will complement the BSA’s existing three high-adventure bases in New Mexico, Minnesota, and Florida and help meet demand for new high-adventure activities not offered elsewhere. Annually, the BSA’s three existing high-adventure bases serve more than 50,000 youth – with 20,000 or more regularly wait-listed to attend.

The site, located in the Glen Jean – Mount Hope area, will offer unique opportunities for high-adventure whitewater rafting, technical rock climbing, mountain biking, and other extreme outdoor sports. The beautiful backdrop of the New River Gorge serves as a living outdoor classroom, offering activities that build leadership skills and the strong principles rooted in the Boy Scouts’ mission.

I do want to give a tip of the hat to the folks on BSA’s Centennial social media outreach team for getting the word out in multiple medias on this and other Centennial stories.

BSA says they plan to break ground in the spring and take 3-4 years to be up to a full high adventure program.  If Philmont’s full and an Ely canoe trip isn’t on your calendar already start making plans for The Summit.

.

Qualities of leadership stamped into Boy Scouts | Medill | Washington

Qualities of leadership stamped into Boy Scouts | Medill | Washington

Posted using ShareThis

Scoutmaster Minute—The Station

Hidden away in our mind’s eye is an idyllic vision.  We see ourselves on a long trip spanning the continent.  We are traveling by train.  Through the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways; city skylines and village halls; children waving at a crossing; cattle grazing on a distant hillside; smoke pouring out of a power plant; row upon row of corn and wheat; expanses of flatland giving way to rolling hillsides, mountains, and valleys.

But most prominent in our minds is the final destination.  On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into “the station”.  Bands will be playing and flags will be waving.  Once we get there many wonderful things will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle.  How restlessly we pace the aisles, cursing the minutes for loitering—waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.

“When we reach the station, that will be it!” we say.  “When I’m 18!” “When I finish college!” “When I can buy a new Mercedes!” “When I retire, I will live happily ever after!”

Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no specific place to arrive at once and for all.  The true joy of life is the trip.  The station is only a dream.  It constantly outdistances us.

“Relish the moment!” is a good thought, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24:  “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”  It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad.  It is the regrets over yesterday and the fears of tomorrow.  Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.

So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles.  Instead, climb the mountains and swim the rivers, watch more sunsets and less TV;  laugh more, cry less.  Life must be lived as long as we go along.  The station comes soon enough.

 

(adapted from pp.13-14 in BSA Troop Program Resources)

.

A Stamp to Celebrate Scouting

The US Postal Service is unveiling a ‘Celebrate Scouting‘ stamp recognizing 100 years of Scouting in America at an event Thursday 12 November, 10am EST, at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, DC.

The Heart of Virginia Council posted this about the event:

In 2010, the Boy Scouts of America will receive an incredible honor from the United States Postal Service (USPS), the “Celebrate Scouting” stamp. Offering a tribute to the impact of a century of Scouting on the American landscape, the stamp will become widely available during the summer of 2010.

If you’re going to be in Washington, DC metro area, please join us. Scouts, volunteers, BSA professional staff, and community supporters are invited to take part in this momentous occasion.

A “Vice President Sustainability” will represent the United States Postal Service, and an Assistant Chief Scout Executive will represent the Boy Scouts of America.  They will be joined by National Honorary Chairman of the Boy Scouts of America National Hall of Leadership.  The USPS media advisory posted at the Scouts on Stamps Society International website says:

With this stamp, the U.S. Postal Service celebrates the adventure and spirit of scouting. Since the creation of the international youth scouting movement some 100 years ago, hundreds of millions of children have benefited from opportunities for adventure, skill building, leadership, personal development, and community service provided by scouting organizations. To create this original stamp design, illustrator Craig Frazier of Mill Valley, Calif., depicted the images of two different scouts in clothing and accessories that are often part of the outdoor scouting experience – hats, packs, boots and binoculars.

I’m a stamp collector myself, if not very active the last few years. Nations around the world have honored Lord Baden-Powell’s grand idea.  In 1960, the USPS honored the 50th anniversary of the BSA with a Norman Rockwell-design 4¢ commemorative stamp. The new design itself, as you see at top, isn’t bad.  It isn’t exactly Norman Rockwell either.  As BSA has dribbled out Centennial products and initiatives this year, I’ve been as interested in what they say about what the brass in Dallas are thinking about the organization, as I have been about the actual items themselves.

I don’t know how much say the BSA had into the stamp design, but their launch page has a link to a fact sheet-like page (pdf) on the stamp that describes the “international youth scouting movement” founded 100 years ago.  It further notes:

Historically, scouts had to find their way by the stars or map, to notice tracks and interpret their meaning, and to fend for themselves.

Each generation struggles to keep Scouting relevant to the next.  We take what we are given, the heritage of outdoorsmanship and citizenship, and add leadership and technology and other skills for the future.  In a fixed sum system, each addition means a subtraction.  Have we given up more than we have gained?  Do we still remember how to find our way?

Then there’s this bit:

Boys and girls alike have been involved in the scouting movement from its earliest days; female scouts are often called guides. Today, coed scouting is the norm in many countries.

And this is relevant how?  Yeah, as politically correct posturing.  It’s not factually wrong, but damns with faint praise.  It’s just not relevant, thank you very much.

The last bit is enlightening as well:

To create this original design, illustrator Craig Frazier depicted the images of two different scouts in clothing and accessories that are often part of the outdoor scouting experience—hats, packs, boots, and binoculars. At first glance, one sees the large silhouette of a scout peering through binoculars. Within this figure is another scout perched atop a mountain taking in the vista. “I wanted a level of discovery to be portrayed in the stamp itself,” Frazier recalls. He continues, “The small figure and landscape indicate very hard, directional light coming from low on the horizon—either early morning or late afternoon. The sky has that pale blue to indigo transition that happens only at those two times of day.”

Whether or not we see ourselves as pathfinders first, the people behind this stamp see us that way.

And I’m OK with that.

H/T to Scouting News.  If you are a Scout or Scouter with an interest in philately, check out Stamp Collecting Merit Badge and Scouts on Stamps Society International.

.

Scoutmaster Minute—Our Flag

 

Two upcoming events remind me of the sacrifices we have made for freedom—Veteran’s Day on 11/11 marking the end of the First World War and the Fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November which many mark as the end of the Cold War.

 

Our flag stands for freedom and equality. It is the banner of a people who are still willing to lay down their lives in defense of right, justice, and freedom. It is the emblem by which we proclaim to the world that this is “the home of the brave and the land of the free.”

 

Our flag is an emblem of true patriotism—the patriotism of deeds; the patriotism of courage, of loyalty, of devotion to freedom, justice, and humanity; the patriotism of men who have lived and died, not for themselves but for their country.

 

When we look at our flag—its star and stripes, its vivid red, white, and blue—and read its story and hear its message, when we contemplate what our flag means and what it stands for, and when we consider the sacrifices made and the lives given so that our flag could still be flying over us today, we are quietly reminded to cherish, to protect, and to defend it.

 

 

(adapted from p.13 in BSA Troop Program Resources)

Lions Club Scouting Service Award

Do you have long-time Lions Club members helping to lead your Pack, Troop or Crew? Consider nominating them for the Lions Club Scouting Service Award and square knot.

Keeping with the objectives and principles of both Lions International and Scouting, the nominee must have encouraged character development, leadership, citizenship and personal growth for scouting youth.

A Lions Club president can nominate a member registered in Lions for at least five years. The nominee must also have been a registered Scouter for 5 years (any combination of positions), be fully trained, “have strengthened the relationship between local Lions Clubs and Scouting”, assisted Lions Clubs in forming new scouting units; and “Exemplifies the BSA/Girl Scout Law and Lions Motto.”

Yes, you read that right, Girls Scouts qualify as well as Boy Scout leaders.  I saw this on USSP earlier and it slipped thru the back-to-scouting busy-ness.   While our Scouting for Food & Sight project has successfully concluded for the year, I’m thinking this is a good excuse to reach out to our local Lions Club and build relationships for next year’s drive.

The One Sheet is here.

.

Scouting for Food & Sight

Scouting for Food and Sight Annual ‘Good Turn for America’ Drive

Instructions

Place items from the list below in bag and place bag curbside or in plain view outside your front door by 9:00 am this Saturday.

• Soup
• Beef Stew
• Chili
• Cereal
• Canned Fruit
• Canned Meats
• Canned Milk
• Pasta & Rice
• Canned Vegetables

Other items:

• Used eyeglasses, sunglasses & hearing aids

No perishable, frozen or food stored in glass please.

If this bag is missed, please take it to your local food bank.

Learn more about Scouting at www.siouxbsa.org
Sioux Council, Boy Scouts of America thanks everyone for their participation!

[Sponsors]

South Dakota Lions Foundation
BillionAuto.com
Midcontinent Communications
HyVee

United Way Participating Agency

.

Scoutmaster Minute—A Scout Is Considerate

A person is considerate if he is concerned about the feelings of other people. With this basic idea in mind, what characteristics would make you considerate?

Have you heard the story about an old man who went to the Olympic Games in ancient Greece? He arrived late and not a single seat was left. A Spartan youth noticed the old man’s problem and gave him his seat. A group of Athenian boys saw this act of courtesy and began to applaud. The old man turned to them saying, “Yes, you Athenians know what is right to do—but it takes a Spartan to do it.”

Knowing what you should do to be courteous is not enough; you must put it into practice every day.

The courtesy you practice as a boy will make you a better man.

(from p.13 in BSA Troop Program Resources)

.

Scouting for Food Week Proclamation

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, Hunger remains a pervasive intrusion on the quality of life for millions of Americans; and

WHEREAS, Hunger is a problem we can do something about by working together; and

WHEREAS, For more than 90 years the Boy Scouts of America has been an organization committed to community service; and

WHEREAS, The Scouting program instills the positive values of citizenship, ethical decision making, leadership and helping other people as outlined by the Scout Oath and the Scout Law; and

WHEREAS, The Sioux Council of the Boy Scouts of America and its corps of dedicated Scouts and volunteer leaders will coordinate with other groups to conduct a Scouting for Food on October 24, 2009, in this community and throughout the country in a positive example of its longstanding commitment to service of direct benefit to the less fortunate among us.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHUCK LUDOLPH, ACTING MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SLAYTON IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM THE PERIOD OF OCTOBER 18, 2009, THROUGH OCTOBER 24, 2009, AS:

“SCOUTING FOR FOOD” WEEK

IN THE CITY OF SLAYTON.  I URGE MY FELLOW RESIDENTS TO JOIN ME IN EXPRESSING THE GRATITUDE OF AN APPRECIATIVE COMMUNITY, AND ASK THAT EACH OF US CONTRIBUTE AS BEST WE CAN TO THIS WORTHWHILE ENDEAVOR.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the official seal of the City of Slayton this 5th day of October, 2009

CHUCK LUDOLPH
MAYOR

.

HP VP tells Forbes his Scouting Story

Hewlett-Packard CTO & VP Phil McKinney is an Eagle Scout who is still giving back to Scouting. Here’s his Scouting Story:

During a previous interview session I did with Kym McNicholas at Forbes, I mentioned that we had to be done at a specific time as I had to take my Boy Scout troop on a campout that weekend. Kym become intrigued with my involvement with Boy Scouts and asked if she and cameraman could attend one of the troop meetings.

There’s an interesting message here, and maybe a warning. His 3-week final dash to Eagle sounds much too familiar to me. Well done!