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Today is Independence Day. As you may have noticed I have not been blogging since about mid month in June. For reasons that I think, looking back are real silly. I found myself in a bad place when it came to my internet presence.
I suppose this year has just been one of those times of reflection. With our youngest son graduating from high school and getting ready to move away to college, our oldest son across the country in the Army and our daughter hitting the books in college, this year has really provided opportunities to reflect.
It started like most weeks, a Troop meeting on Monday night then the rest of the week was all about my youngest son's High School Graduation from Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon. You may have heard about our little town.
At our Troop meeting last night we got into a good discussion about "kids these days". I contend that the kids are no different, they are still kids. The world is the same. It still spins and the sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
During my recent Vigil Ordeal I had lots of time to sit and think. Being a student of Baden Powell, thought about the book Aides to Scoutmastership. Powell authored this book in 1920 and its contents hold true today. Substitute King and Queen and some of the Victorian era language, and the message Baden Powell…
It's that time of the year.. Graduation season. And in a lot of cases, it's Eagle Scout season too as the young man becomes motivated by his up coming 18th Birthday. So Congratulations to all the Grads and New Eagle Scouts this year.
Communicating effectively became crystal clear for me while I was a Student in the US Army Ranger School. One minute you are chest deep in water slogging your way through a swamp and the next minute you are being told you are now the leader and you have 5 minutes to find out what the…
Allow me to share this video of our New National Scout President. Dr. Robert Gates. You know his resume… so I will not share that. I listened to this 27 minute speech given at the National Meetings with some interest.
Our Nation remembers today those that have given for our Country. Their motives all different, their sacrifice great. John F. Kennedy once said, "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the…
Each passing year brings new or rekindled emotions as we enter the Memorial Day weekend. This past year I have sparked new interest in my status as a Veteran as I have renewed some friendships with men that I served with long ago and have taken a look at my career as a soldier and…
It is interesting to hear what our Scouts think and say. At most of their ages, they have not yet learned to filter their conversations based on who they are around or what the circumstances may be. On the way to our last camp out a younger Scout asked an older Scout what they had…
I always tell the Scouts of my Troop that mediocre is never good enough. Expect more of yourself and always do your best. Don't just do good… Good may not be good enough and if you start early in life expecting more you will achieve more later in life.
The Scoutmaster teaches boys to play the game by doing so himself." "The Scoutmaster guides the boy in the spirit of another brother." "The spirit is there in every boy; it has to be discovered and brought to light." "There is no teaching to compare with example."
The other night I had the pleasure of sitting in as an advocate for a Scout in my Troop at his Eagle Board of Review. I enjoy the position that the Scoutmaster is placed in as the advocate, physically the Scoutmaster sits behind and out of the view of the Scout and mentally, it is…
Maybe it's that I am getting a little older. Could be that my mind tends to view things a little different with the kids growing and moving on with their lives. It may be that I have a clearer understanding of what is really important in my life.
I mean now of course.. I am not one to wish for that simpler time, we can't have that back. What we can do is keep Scouting the way it is supposed to be. Fun, Adventurous, and an organization that builds up men.
It is always a great idea to take time a do some reflection. I do not want to get to deep here, but reflection is a big part of learning and getting better. We do reflections after Scouting activities, games, events, and circumstances that put us in a position in which decisions are made and…
The motto of the Boy Scouts of America is "Be Prepared". Prepared for what? Well, any old thing said our founder. Being prepared for your backpacking trek is an absolute must. When planning your next trek you need to consider those things that can go wrong.
We have picked our destination, did a good map survey, know how long we are going be gone, and are super pumped that we will soon be on the trail. The next thing that we need to plan is our food.
Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you… a thousand times thank you!!! Today.. Easter Sunday the Scoutmaster Minute Blog reached 1000 Followers!!! Thank you all that come here and participate in this community. I hope that I can continue to help deliver the promise of Scouting and not let you faithful readers…
I just wanted to take this moment in your life to wish you a very Blessed Easter. It is in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ that we have Hope. His Life, Death, and Resurrection is perhaps the most significant historical event in the world.
Whether it is for your Scout Troop or you are heading out into the wilderness by yourself or with buddies there are some things that need to be planned before you go. To get the most of your backpacking experience if you follow a few steps, you won't forget something and will set yourself up…
The other day I posted my thoughts on training. I received some great feedback and feel that I need to address a couple of the comments, specifically a question that came up about the leaders themselves in the unit and how our attitude toward training is part of the reason we have great trained leaders.
We often talk about having all of our adult leaders trained. When we speak of training we are talking about the basics. Has the adult completed Youth Protection? Attended their Basic Course for the specific position? And according to the Boy Scouts of America, that's pretty much a trained leader.
Scoutmaster Jerry : Fantastic Trip.. Originally posted on Bryan on Scouting : Tracing the life of Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell takes you not only to his birthplace in London but also to Kenya, where he spent the last few years of his life.
I can not remember where or who I heard this from, but I recalled a quote the other day that I thought was a good way of illustrating our job as Scout leaders and parents. "We are not building roads for our children, we are building children for the roads."
The blog has been a little quiet the last couple days as we have been through an emotional gauntlet over the last week. On Monday night right before the Troop meeting we were visited by two Police Officers from the Gresham Police Department.
Over my many years as a Scouter both at the Cub Scout level and the Boy Scout level, I have often heard folks grip about one thing or another when it comes to our paid Scouters. I have sat in "town hall" or fire side chats with Scout Executives and other paid Scouters and bar…
The other day I got into a debate or more a less a discussion about Scouting and it's Values with a co-worker of mine. He contended that Scouting was too conservative in its values and that is what makes it unappealing in the Portland area.
I have spoken about the five principles of leadership that we use in our Troop to develop both our Junior Leaders as well as our Adult Leaders. To recap, those five principles are Learn to Lead Yourself, Focus on the little things, Model Expected Behavior, Communicate Effectively, and Be a Servant Leader.
Scoutmaster Jerry : Fantastic post from Bryan from the Scouting Magazine Blog. For those of us that love Scouting and the Wood Badge experience, we can follow along with Bryan as he takes to Scouting's Mecca. Great article Bryan, thanks for sharing.
Most Troops already have a committee member or Assistant Scoutmaster that focuses his or her attention on membership. The BSA has created a new position on the Committee at the Unit level to address membership. This position was launched back in November of 2013 and should be in place in all units by now.
Camp Cooper, 2005 Troop is 2 years old. I have been digging through my collection of Troop Pictures and wanted to find some good annual pictures of our Troop, you know, the Summer camp shots that show what a great year of Scouting we had.
I have been giving this some thought lately, especially since becoming our Boy Scout Round table Commissioner. But Scouting is in the trenches. To use an overused cliché. What I mean by that is this. Far to many units and unit leaders rely on the District and Council to make their program happen.
At the end of every Troop meeting our Troop circles up, joins hands, and sings Scout Vespers followed by reciting the Scout Law. This has concluded our meetings for years and has become a great tradition in our Troop. A couple of weeks ago a young Scout asked why we sing that particular song, since…
I have been receiving emails lately requesting information about leadership. I have been pretty heavy on the leadership subject matter as of late. New youth leaders in the Troop, a batch of great new Assistant Scoutmasters and the idea that we really need to focus our attention on leading and not just reacting to the…
Since word is out that our Troop is doing a 10 day backpacking trip this summer as our summer camp, there has been some concern as to how we are going to incorporate all of the "Scouting Methods" that normally come with the summer camp experience.
It is a requirement for all Scouts to build their own First Aid kit. This gets them in tuned with what they need, have, and how to use it all. Being a backpacking Troop, building the personal first aid kit is an important task and requires a little more thinking than just band aids and…
Names are a peculiar thing. We are born and for the most part are given one upon arrival. Some names are given with much thought and consideration, while others…well, not so much. Names are creative at times and at other times follow a family lineage and history.
I think sometimes that you need to go through some time of reflection, ranting, and deep soul-searching before one can come to clear resolution or insightful solution to a problem. With any luck this process happens quickly so you can move on.
One of the big misconceptions in leadership is that the leader needs to worry about the big stuff. Yes, the leader has to know or have vision and that requires a look from the 1000 foot view, but when it really comes down to leading, it is the little stuff that matters.
Heading out into the woods this weekend with the Troop. New Scout Patrol will be stepping off on the Trail to First Class, but not until after a fun morning on the range shooting Shot Guns. Then the older guys will get to shoot all afternoon, but not until they develop some leadership skills in…
The other night I held a couple Scoutmaster Conferences, both for Scouts earning the Star Rank and both of the Scouts good young men. During our discussion the subject of merit badges came up as you need them for the Star, Life, and Eagle ranks.
Scoutmaster Jerry : A good look at our Flag and some thoughts on why the Boy Scouts of America and the United States Military (Army in particular) wear the flag of our Nation. Originally posted on Bryan on Scouting : If you look at the right sleeve of a Boy Scout and of a U.S.
This last weekend I got to hang out with some great Scouters at our Lodge's Rendezvous. A few years back a few of the guys became interested in my hammock set up, which I use every camp out. Slowly the interest became more hammock campers.
This weekend was spent rekindling the fire of the Order of the Arrow in me. I attended our Lodges annual gathering called Rendezvous. Our Lodge hosts three major events each year. The Native American Arts and Ceremonies Seminar, The Rendezvous of the Order, and The Leadership Development Conference.
As most of the country is still experiencing Winter conditions and here in the Northwest, the Winter Camping season is really in full bloom, as late as it is, there are still Troops and Crews that are venturing into the woods for some good winter camping.
Once a Scout has completed all of the requirements and has achieved the rank of First Class, he can be expected to know all of those skills that make a good Scout. Camping, First Aid, Citizenship, and living the Scout Oath and Law.
Ok… all of this talk about being lazy.. and it caught me. Not really. I wanted to get a Saturday Quick tip out this week but once again my Scouting life got in the way of the blog. Saturday, I was at a Staff Development session for the upcoming Wood Badge course.
When we teach leadership to our Scouts the best way to demonstrate that leadership is to be an example of expected behavior. We show them how to lead by being good examples. And we expect the youth leadership to follow suit.
