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We're impressed by anyone who volunteers time to the Boy Scouts of America, but when we heard about Tom Lehmier, who has been involved in Scouting for 75 years, we had to stop and share his story with you. Lehmier joined Troop 72 in Bakerton, Pa., in 1935.
Leave No Trace from Michael Ramsey on Vimeo .
After a final count, it's official: 43,434 people attended the 2010 National Scout Jamboree, making it the most-attended jamboree since 1973. As many of you may remember, the '73 event was held on separate sites, one in Idaho and one in Pennsylvania, which helped boost the numbers.
Mike Rowe is funny. Whether he's advocating the removal of the word Clean from the Scout Law or addressing 70,000 Scouts and Scouters as the Ambassador of Dirt, he knows how to make people chuckle. Well, he's at it again in a new video, seen above.
Now, this would be a job Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, would have loved to have. Interviewing Mike Rowe, the Eagle Scout who stars on the television show Dirty Jobs. Scouting magazine's blog, the Cracker barrel, recently posted about a video in which two young Boy Scouts interviewed the tv star.
New Award for Boy Scouts
New Award for Boy Scouts
New Award for Boy Scouts
We have spent the last three days on the Current River in Missouri at the Jellystone Park in Van Buren. We spoke to a number of families during the five sessions we held and introduced a variety of activities, including What Principle Am I?, How Long Does it Last?, Minimum Impact Match from the PEAK…
Our Troop is hosting a Geocaching event the first weekend of September. Our intent is to use this as a recruiting event as well as to spread awareness of Scouting in our community. We've mapped out 12 waypoints (one for …
One way to beat the workday blues is daydreaming about spending a week at one of the Boy Scouts of America's three (and soon four ) excellent high-adventure bases. If it's Philmont Scout Ranch that fills your daydreams, today is your lucky day.
Boy Scout Handbook, 1st edition What is the third best-selling book in U.S. history? Why, it's the Boy Scout Handbook, of course! With over 37 million printed since 1911, the Boy Scout Handbook trails only The Guinness Book of World Records and Dr.
Busy Scouting Week (again) as we had the Court of Honor on Sunday night, Troop Elections/Meeting on Tuesday, Committee Meeting last night, District Kick Off tonight, Boy Scout Day at the State Fair (with Adventure Base 100) Saturday and 4 different service opportunities AND an Eagle Court of Honor this weekend.
Three new awards for recognizing scouts that really get outdoors are available this summer. Or, I guess you could say it's seven awards. The National Outdoor Badges recognize a scout's expertise and participation in five categories: Camping, Hiking, Aquatics, Riding, and Adventure.
I think I found Sasquatch! Spotted on a trail right outside of Salt Lake City, UT. Have you taken the Leave No Trace Big Foot Challenge this month? Check it out at http://www.lnt.org/bigfootchallenge/index.php
It seems that every time I look back at my scouting life, and it is far from over (I hope); I am increasingly more amazed at what a scout can do or what can happen if a scout does his best.
August 15th is the last day you can submit your application to The North Face Explore Fund! The Explore Fund will support organizations that encourage youth outdoor participation, focus on sustainability initiatives, or help to create a connection to nature that will empower the future leaders of tomorrow.
New Lunch Recipe for Boy Scouts
On July 31, the two backpacking crews met at Mt. Rushmore. One crew had just completed it's trek while the second was just beginning. It was interesting to see the 'enthusiasm' of one group and the 'experience' of the other when they got together.
New Game for Cub Scouts
What would the world today be like if everyone was a scout? Imagine every single person living the oath, motto, and law of a scout. For starters, had the Executives at BP been in scouts; would there be the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico right now?
I have recently spent some time designing WordPress themes for UK Scouters and Scout organisations . I have designed them in order to help Scouting webmasters easily set up a website that looks good, is user-friendly, and matches the branding guidelines of the Scout Association.
On June 2nd we announced that Bugling Merit Badge would be discontinued next January. I'm happy to announce that, on Augst 4th, BSA posted a note on their blog stating that that decision has been reversed, Here's their announcement: Bugling reinstated as separate merit badge Have your guys start practicing "Taps," because Bugling is here…
Troop meetings, Planning for the future 4, Scoutmaster's minute Scoutmaster Podcast 30 Feel free to send your questions and comments (you can rate the podcast on iTunes). Use the email link above left or the comments feature of the blog.
The wait is almost over. Today we begin shipping out Scouting magazine's September-October 2010 issue. That means it'll be showing up in your mailbox shortly. Our cover story, written by senior editor John Clark, takes you on a trip to Hawaii with Baltimore-area Troop 315.
Over the years I've found it interesting that some of the hardest people to teach about Leave No Trace are my closest friends. That's not to say that they're disinterested or don't care about protecting the places they love to recreate.
In his 1863 Gettysburg Address in Pennsylvania, Abraham Lincoln uttered these words: "This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom , and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
This is the Cloud Peak Wilderness boundary marker, but it could be any wilderness area. We have special regulations and laws when you set foot past that sign. It's necessary because many people still do not appreciate the value of preserving wild spaces.
Planet Bluegrass celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Folks Fest held every August in Lyons, CO. Camping is available on-site, so for the fourth year in a row, Planet Bluegrass has partnered with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics to promote the "How Green Is Your Grass?"
Here at ClassB, we always strive to give our customers top-quality custom t-shirts along with the best possible customer service. In fact, we go above and beyond to exercise exceptional quality control procedures several times throughout the creation and production of your t-shirts.
New Bigfoot Challenges for August are up for you. Take the challenge this month at: http://lnt.org/bigfootchallenge/index.php
This week Tim considers leadership in Scouting and asks what makes good leadership.
We are back from the National Jamboree, and now its time to share. This recording is from the July 31st recording that Shannon, from the MISS Show and I did while at Jambo. We will talk more about Jamboree in the future.
Did you know that we offer many of our teaching materials, for FREE on our site? It' true! While our online store can't be matched for its quality, some times you just need the info...for FREE. We offer PDF versions of many of our materials for your printing and distributing pleasure.
It's not just custom t-shirts we're creating, we've created a new website design too! This new design will allow you to more easily navigate the site so that you can find exactly what you are looking for - every time. And if you do happen to run into a problem, our toll-free number and email address…
When people are concerned primarily with their own advancement, enjoyment, wealth, and success, even at the expense of others, conflicts are bound to occur. It's common to hear about swindles, robberies, and other similar crimes. We have people in business continually trying to bend or bypass the rules and laws in order to take advantage…
2 April 2011 in Lancashire
One of the things that always impresses me about Scouting is the generosity of everyone who is involved. From the parent who is part of the cooking team at a Cub camp to the Leaders and so on. But it's the stuff that people do which is 'above and beyond' that is always the most…
We ventured into the far corner of southeastern West Virginia on Tuesday for a full day of presentations for the Operation Purple program at Camp Twin Creeks in Minnehaha Springs. Operation Purple is a program developed by our partner, the National Military Family Association, to provide an opportunity for kids with a mom or dad…
Another school year is here, meaning it's time for a fresh batch of high school students to start worrying about standardized tests. But thanks to an alliance between the BSA and eKnowledge, some of the financial worry about getting ready for those tests is gone.
New Song for Cub Scouts
Aerial photography gives a persepctive on the world that we normally miss, down on the ground. Aircraft are a pretty expensive way of getting these images, so amateurs have been using balloons and kites to get aerial photographs for a long time.
Stephanie accepted the challenge to hike a trail she had never hiked before and she shared her experience with us. "I love the Bigfoot Challenge! I went on a 4 day backpacking trip into the Havasupai lands in Arizona. The Havasupai tribe lives 8 miles inside the Havasu Canyon, which houses the Havasu Creek that…
The Scout Association proudly works in partnership with many charities which operate on the frontline of disaster and poverty. Reunion 2010 will give attendees the chance to find out more about this work and the activities they can offer.
Step right up! Have we got a bargain for you. This episode of the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast has not one, but two, (yes, you read that right) two performances by the members of Melrose Troop 68. Once again this footage comes from the troop's 2001 Laughs Lunch Show.
Its that time of the year again when District Membership chairs, Troop and Pack Committee Chairs, and leaders all over Scouting start seeking out the future of the program. Yes ladies and gentlemen, its recruiting season in the BSA and the fever pitch ramping up.
The Buzz is on location at the 2010 National Scout Jamboree to talk about one of the newest merit badges: Robotics! Featuring: Marianne Elden from Internal Communications and Brad Lauer with VEX Robotics.
Beware of "Chang List" Patches (Gilwell.com) What is a "Chang List" Patch? According to Gilwell.com: "They are counterfeits of U.S. CSPs, lodge flaps and other memorabilia being offered for sale through e-mail or on the internet.Offered as overruns, they are often copies of the real thing."
Well, it took less than a day for someone to read the post and fire an email to disagree... thanks for the email... now Mr. Anonymous... I would like to invite you to read all the way to the end of the last post..
Volunteering can be a time-consuming activity. It takes time and effort to make a real difference to our society. And, according to the BBC : Some 60% of 25 to 34-year-olds said they were too busy [to volunteer], rising to 66% among 35 to 44-year olds, and falling to 53% of those aged 45 to 54.
It is time once again to make that trip to your nearest Hallmark store and pick up this year's Scoutmaster Snoopy Keepsake Ornament. This year's ornament, The Fearless Crew , features Snoopy leading Woodstock and two of his friends on a wilderness hike.
Had an odd night off the other day and then thought about how much time a Scouter spends on volunteering, so let's take a look. Please comment on your Volunteer Time: Based on a 30 Day month: 4 Tuesday nights (Troop Meetings/PLC) 1 Wednesday night (Committee Meeting) 3 Thursday nights (Roundtable, Eagle BoRs, District Committee…
New Activity for Boy Scouts
Took a road trip with the family this past weekend and my family and I spent time at 6 Flags Amusement park in Illinois and then took the Milwaukee Zoo. Not really all that excited about 6 Flags, being a former amusement ride operator for 14 yrs., I tried to keep an open mind about…
It's not every day that you find a rock shaped exactly like your home state! That's something cool to take home and keep forever for a souvenir to rekindle memories of a great trek through the mountains. Besides, it's just one little rock.
Feel free to send your questions and comments (you can rate the podcast on iTunes). Use the email link above left or the comments feature of the blog. Subscribe on iTunes Music in Podcast 31 First Call - U.S. Air Force Band The Happy Wanderer - Brave Combo Taps for the Fallen Brave - 101 Strings on Amazon
Guys join Scouting to experience the outdoors. It's that simple. To recognize that passion for adventure, the BSA announces its new National Outdoor Awards . As we told you last year , the awards are available to Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts who meet specific requirements in one of five subject areas: camping, hiking, aquatics, riding, and…
It is undeniable that large groups have unique challenges when it comes to minimizing their impacts. Now scale that up to 50,000 people, and imagine the possibilities. Now read about the annual Burning Man event that is largely figuring it out: http://bit.ly/bBSwnw
Each of the 12 micro-caches (35mm film canisters) will have one point of the Scout Law and a brief description of that point. Beneath that is a brief explanation of Geocaching and what to do, whether the cache was found …
For his last summer take-over blog, Tim considers how we keep Scouting active and asks for your ideas.
All week long, more than 250 athletes are lacing up their sneakers and testing their endurance at the Gore-Tex Trans Rockies Run . This race begins in Buena Vista, CO and travels for over 113 miles up to Beaver Creek, CO through beautiful mountain scenery along the Continental Divide Trail.
Welcome Back. When we left off I teased that we would talk about open houses and Troop visits. But going back to the relationships that have built with the Packs, they get the first invites to the open house, even though they should be familiar with the workings of the Troop.
#236-Seven Nation Army Part 1 of our August Roundtable Tonight's show sponsored by ClassB.com Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts Share with Others:
A tip of the campaign hat to Seth Godin for inspiring this "decalogue" Exude enthusiasm. Scouting is different from other activities, keep it different. Understand that Scouts experience things in groups. Understand that Scouts experience things individually. Make it fun, enriching and challenging.
FROM THE SCOUTING MAG. BLOG (I love this idea, this is Scouting folks!) With its new National Outdoor Awards, the BSA honors guys who can't stand still Guys join Scouting to experience the outdoors. It's that simple. To recognize that passion for adventure, the BSA announces its new National Outdoor Awards .
On Saturday, we spent the day doing outreach at the Canyon Rim Visitor Center at the New River Gorge in West Virginia. We talked to over 1oo visitors who came to the Visitor Center to get information about the many hiking opportunities available in the park, to catch a glimpse of the gorge, or on…
Alex Lloyd's task was daunting. After qualifying 22nd out of 25 racers for Sunday's Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, he wanted to move his No. 19 car from the back of the pack to a good finish. Mission accomplished. Thanks to hard work overnight to improve Lloyd's car, the BSA Motorsports and Dale Coyne Racing…
New Grace for All scouts
Troop 199 had its elections the other week. The Troop elected a SPL and each Patrol elected a Patrol Leader. The next week the SPL picked his ASPLs, Scribe and Chaplain Aide. The PLs picked their APLs and I picked the Troop Guides.
If you have been a leader in the Scouting program for a few years, or any sort of program for that matter, you have probably reached a point when you have said to yourself, "Why am I doing this? Am I the only one who cares?
The meat and potatoes of building the program so young men come to and stay with your unit is the annual plan. The plan that delivers the promise. OK.. stop.. what is this promise that we keep talking about? Simply put the promise that Scouting is supposed to deliver is Adventure, learning, and challenge and…
New Game for All scouts
Hello Dear Reader I have gone for a bit of a cop-out with today's post I thought I would show you a selection of photos from my trip to Germany I hope you enjoy them. TTFN ©ChrisMeadows2010
Scouting Magazine's current question for "What Would you Do?" Our troop has many boys who have just crossed over from Webelos Scouts. Some of their parents have their eye on the Eagle Scout Award from day one; others give no thought to advancement.
In the last article I printed a copy of the letter I sent to parents in 1986 when I was a scoutmaster having problems with the troop and ready to resign from the position. Part of that letter was a questionnaire that I asked the parents to fill out and send back to me.
Backpacking can give scouts a great sense of accomplishment at the end of a trek. But, having something more than just mountains and miles to explore can make a trek even more memorable. One thing I've found to be of high interest to scouts is discovering wreckage, whether it's old cars, trains, logging camps, or…
Experience the beauty of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in the winter. A silent snow covered landscape, with no bugs or people around you. At OKPIK you can: - Cross country ski and snowshoe in the back country. - Camp comfortably in below zero temperatures.
We've been back east for a few weeks now and luckily have had time to do some exploring as we travel and teach. While at the New River Gorge last week, we checked out historic downtown Fayetteville and hiked a number of trails to incredible panoramas of the gorge.
When people take the Bigfoot Challenge, we always ask for pictures and stories. This recent submission was sent to us from Mary J. Hinchman. "I shared my love of the outdoors and hiking with my dogs with a couple young families and their dogs.
More than 500 million people now know that Facebook is a great way to reconnect with old friends, but it's becoming more and more popular as a recruiting tool for packs, troops, and crews. Does your unit have a Facebook page?
Has this ever happened to you? You have really a awesome piece artwork that will be prefect for your patch design, and you just can't wait to get your patches made show you can show them off. But when you're working with an embroidery company to produce the patches, they inform you that your design…
The programme for this year's Reunion event is jam packed and hugely exciting.
Above is a photo of the ultimate non-LNT campsite, found on a Big City Mountaineers backpacking trip in the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon with a bunch of teens from the Youth Employment Institute in Portland. Brendon (guide) had just told the crew they couldn't set up camp within 200 feet of a water source, and…
Hello Dear Reader I recently posted a rant about cyclist and them riding through Red Lights – I received a comment not via the website from The Runt (You know who you are) saying " Your taking a very moral high ground commenting on how drivers abide by the Law when you have speeding points" The person…
You might "strike gold" if you can tell us the name of the council that wears the patch above. We've removed all text, leaving behind only the desert landscape. Do you have enough clues to guess the council's name? Send us your thought, and we'll select one lucky winner at random to receive the patch…
So, this year our lodge hosted the Section NE-3A Conclave that was held on August 13-15, 2010 at Camp Russell. Over 180 arrow men attended this outstanding event. Friday afternoon I arrived at camp at around 2:00pm to start setting up camp and get ready for the storm of scouts that was set to hit…
You know that line, " A funny thing happened to me on the way to....?" Well a couple of interesting things happened to me yesterday and the first one was when Ed Gerczak and I stopped for breakfast, in Suring, on the way to Dad and Lad Camp.
Geocachers Save Two Women Stranded in Desert Extreme Geocaching | Geocachers Care Imagery ©2010 TerraMetrics, Map data ©2010 Europa Technologies, Google – Terms of Use Map Satellite Hybrid Terrain 128Share Geocachers Roy Joseph ( Rojo464 ) and Paul Fox ( Pauleefox ) drove through the rugged desert of Eastern Utah searching for five geocaches on Tuesday the 17th of August.
This week's video comes straight from the National Scout Jamboree. In this video two scouts try to interview Mike Rowe. Enjoy!
This year's closing arena program at the BSA's 2010 National Jamboree was "totally awesome", as Buttons would say. The Boy Scouts and adult leaders were entertained by Alex Boyé (who sang "Born To Be A Scout" from Scout Camp, The Movie", national recording artist Switchfoot, and Mike Rowe, from Dirty Jobs.
Troop Leader Training... One of the things that the previous Scoutmaster did that I loved was the TLT Weekend. At first it was JLT, then BSA changed focus and redesigned the program. We kept it a weekend though the new program calls for 3 afternoon type classes (or something like that).
Early August 2010 Time to carve: 4 hours Finishing: 2.5 hours What an unusual slide! I started this slide a couple of times because I just could not get the opening in the mouth quite right. Each time I had to adjust the fish pattern to be larger than I was expecting.
Early August 2010 Time to carve: 5 hours Finishing: 2 hours This was a tricky slide to carve! Carved from maple for it's strength (and because I have a good supply, hollowing out the different areas necessary was hard to do.
Early August 2010 Time to carve: .5 hours Metal work: 1 hour Finishing: 2 hours It's funny to me that I always seem to have a couple of slides in the works at the same time and this is no exception.
Mid August 2010 Time to carve: 1.5 hours Finishing: 2 hours Another case of more than one pattern for slide. The Water Buffalo finds its way to my carving knife again but with a slightly different twist on the horns.
Mid August 2010 Time to carve: 3.5 hours Finishing: 1.5 hours Turning to basswood this time (because the piece I had was the right size)I struggled to try to get this slide to look right. As a result it is about half the size of the block I started with.
End August 2010 Time to carve: 2.5 hours Finishing: 1 hours One thing you notice when vacationing in Plymouth, MA, the gift stores have lots of lobster kick-knacks. So it was only fitting the next pattern in my pack was a lobster.
Late August 2010 Time to carve: 0 hours Finishing: .25 hours While not an Whittlin Jim pattern, I wanted to make this "Slide of the Month" for a Scout who earned his BSA Life Guard award this summer at camp.
Scouts, Scouters, parents, and non-Scouts everywhere will unite next month to honor the Americans who died in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Scout Surge 9/11 is being billed as an opportunity for remembering the victims of the attacks nine years ago while also celebrating the patriotism on which this nation was built.
Thanks for the feedback and comments online and off....here are some answers to some questions/comments 1) Yes we use Know/Be/Do and we use the Leading and Teaching EDGE 2) that does include Forming/Storming/Norming/Performing 3) our PLC is the SPL, ASPLs (2), Patrol Leaders (10), Scribe (1), Chaplain Aid (1), Troop Guides (3).
