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The Order of the Arrow is at once a prominent institution in Scouting and a mysterious one. The OA is nearly as old as Scouting itself, yet it is misunderstood by some and unknown to others. While this is partly by design, there's much about the OA that every Scouter should be familiar with. In
In 1925 the Columbian Rope Company published a brochure with images of impressive displays of Scouting knots to advertise their tape marked pure manilla rope. Two images feature a large knot board made by Troop 4 of Columbus Ohio. I wonder if that knot board is still around?
Happy New Year! I hope that every one is well and is gearing up for the new and exciting year that will be. I am not a fan of resolutions.. but my 2017 Ticket is written and I am ready to work it for a successful year.
A book never written: "Physics" by Cy Ince. View On WordPress
Please join us in congratulating Anthony Escobar as Scout executive of the Caddo Area Council in Texarkana, Texas, effective January 15, 2017. Anthony began his Scouting career as a district executive at the Sequoia Council in Fresno, Calif. He moved on to become the district director with the Conquistador Council in Roswell, N.M.
I've had the good fortune to learn from a lot of good men while volunteering in the Boy Scouts of America. They range from professional artists to scientists, some with a high school diploma and others with too many letters after their name to list.
How to Build a Balance Board This easy-to-build training gear will prepare you for rocky trails. WHAT YOU'LL NEED 3?4? x 2? x 2? birch plywood 2? x 4? x 12? board Tape measure Pencil 5-gallon plastic bucket Fine-toothed saw Keyhole saw or coping saw Drill, drill bits and countersink bit Wood glue 18 1…
________________________________________ Hi Andy, Any tips for a dad going on a Philmont trek? I know my son will have no problem this summer; it's me I'm worried about! Unfortunately, so far I've taken "Be Prepared" to the extreme and I've wound up a "maximalist" when it comes to packing-right now my pack looks like the Beverly…
Quick heads up for anyone still using pre-2016 Boy Scout rank requirements. As of Jan. 1, 2017, all Boy Scouts - regardless of rank - must begin using the new Boy Scout requirements I blogged about last year . You got a first look at the Boy Scout requirement changes way back in January 2014 ; the requirements themselves…
The alliance between Scouting and the National Park Service is a natural kinship. After all, “some of the best Scouting happens in National Park Service sites,” according to Scouting expert Bryan Wendell. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) that seals the bond between the two groups was recently renewed in an effort to continue educating young…
An aardvark's favorite pizza topping Nick: What is an aardvark's favorite pizza topping? Mick: What? Nick: Ant-chovies. View On WordPress
The holidays have come and gone, and school is back in session. How can you help your children clear the fog after the long break and get a jump start as they head back to the classroom? An after-school STEM program !
Forrest Gertin, an Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor OA member from Rochester, N.Y., will serve as 2017 National Chief of the Order of the Arrow. His election was announced late last week by the Order of the Arrow, Scouting's national honor society.
Seeing a family member experience a life-threatening situation would be enough to make most people lose their composure, but many Scouts are trained specifically on how to respond in an emergency. When Scout John H. of the Boy Scouts of America Northern Star Council saw his father in a life-threatening situation, he sprang into action…
Write a Funny Caption For This Photo What's going on in this picture? What are those bears doing and what are they thinking? If you can think of a funny caption for this photo, just post it in the comment form at the bottom of this page.
Most Cub Scout packs have a Blue and Gold banquet in February to celebrate Scouting's birthday. It's a great evening of fun for all members of Cub Scout families. The Blue and Gold banquet does take some planning. There are several excellent planning guides available online.
In 2007, six Wolf Scouts from Indiana sat at a cafeteria table and took a photo together. In 2017, those same six Scouts - now all Eagles - gathered at the same table to remake that photo - silly poses and expressions included.
Vote for Boys' Life magazine's September 2016 cover in the American Society of Magazine Editors' Best Cover Contest. The eye-catching cover spotlights the Exploring program, which introduces young men and young women to a variety of career fields through hands-on experiences.
Eat healthier, get more exercise and read more. We hear about the same old resolutions New Year after New Year. So I asked Scouting magazine readers for their BSA-focused resolutions for the new year. Here are 10 of my favorites.
Sometimes a big Good Turn takes a little extra time. Just ask Tyler Boone. The 10-year-old Cub Scout from Pack 1510 of the Northeast Georgia Council let his hair grow out for two years. When it was long enough, he cut it all off to give to a 12-year-old girl with a disorder that prevents…
There are two types of vacancies in adult leader positions in Scouting: expected and unexpected. But even the latter type of departure - perhaps a result of injury, illness or a Scouter moving away - can be taken in stride. That is, if you've established a succession plan.
Brr! Grab a jacket and take a look at the picture above. Read through the clues and take a guess - you could be chosen as the winner of the Where Am I? Contest , earning you a $100 gift card to Scoutstuff.org or your local Scout shop.
Improve your council's safety readiness and spend a few days in the Florida Keys? Now that's a win-win. A pair of separate sessions this winter in Florida will help councils improve how they handle Wilderness First Aid instruction and Enterprise Risk Management.
A little gear review of a nice pair of gloves. If you are like me you are looking for gear that works. My hands typically get real hot when I am hiking, a heavy glove is too much and a real light glove is not enough.
In this Saturday Quick Tip video.. I show a quick and easy way to store your sleeping bag. Your sleeping bag is an essential piece of gear. Part of the "Big 3", your sleeping bag is a piece of gear that you count on when you are in the woods.
Okay, I admit it: the title of this article is a little bit misleading. This isn’t actually my last article. The title isn’t a description of the article. It’s a challenge . Here is the premise that I have been meditating on a lot lately: Time flies by so swiftly.
In the last article, I gave a general overview of the Order of the Arrow – what it is, how it started and how it's organized. This time, we'll cover overcoming some of the typical objections that troops might have and how youth members are chosen. Troop objections to the OA Although its tradition is
Scout units and religious-based chartered organizations share a special bond that lasts all year. But on certain days each year — namely Scout Sunday and Scout Sabbath — we set aside time to celebrate a partnership that benefits all parties involved: the religious institution, Scouts, Scouters and the communities they serve.
Do your Cub Scouts like cootie catchers? Use them to help the boys learn. Click here to grab your FREE Cub Scout cootie catcher template to create your own!
30 day blog Challenge day one and it a self portrait and 5 random facts about Kiff.
This summer, join fellow Scouts from around the world as you backpack, kayak and explore Iceland — a land of incredible natural beauty where the late July sun rises at 4 a.m. and sets just before 11 p.m. It’s called the 15th World Scout Moot , and the Boy Scouts of America has space for about 125…
________________________________________ Last week, Joe from Connecticut asked if I had any tips for a Philmont trek first-timer. Two readers reached out, one with and offer and the other with some great suggestions. Here they are… Hi Andy, Please share my e-mail address with Joe.
Winter Camping January 2017 Cafe Press Items Keywords: Diesslin, knots scout cartoon, polar bear, winter, camping, noise, sleeping Copyright - U.S. Scouting Service Project | Visit us at http://usscouts.org | News at http://usssp.blogspot.com
Photo by Bill Torpy Lamar Wallace is 105 years old. That likely makes him the oldest living Eagle Scout. Officials at the National Eagle Scout Association tell me Wallace is the oldest Eagle they know about, but NESA doesn’t have Eagle Scout birth dates before 1983.
Your Webelos can use this handy chart to keep track of his progress while he's working on the Stronger Faster Higher required adventure.
Please join us in congratulating Todd McGregor, who will serve as the next director of the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in West Virginia, effective March 1, 2017. Todd will succeed Dan McCarthy, who has chosen to retire following successfully serving as the director of the Summit since the spring of 2012.
Sorry about all the videos lately.. but sometimes (When I am lazy).. this is a great platform to get some information out there. This time we are talking about lanterns. There are many types out there and they all seem to shed some light on what you are trying to do out in the woods.
A bugle alarm clock replacement, a Good Turn at the soda shop and the sweet reason to select a Den Mother are among the witty subjects in this latest batch of Scouting magazine cartoons. This grouping comes from 1969, and I found 12 great Scouting-themed cartoons printed that year in the magazine for BSA leaders.
You can get twice the use out of your Pinewood Derby track — and make an important point about the Cub Scouting journey. It just takes some advance preparation to make your pack’s existing track the focal point for an advancement ceremony.
The Inland Northwest Council , which serves more than 15,000 youth members and volunteer leaders in eastern Washington and northern Idaho, has spent considerable time and effort to find — and simplify — the key drivers of success for their council. What works?
Have you checked out Venturing.org lately? If not, you’re in for a surprise because the website is now completely revamped and optimized to fit the Venturing experience. Even better, the site redesign was entirely youth-driven! National Venturing President Pratik Vaidya says the site makeover was one of the key goals he sought to accomplish during…
Happy New Year! If you’re like me, the start of the new year is a welcomed reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the holidays. It’s a time to hit the reset button, make resolutions, establish goals and refocus on priorities.
We ask our Scouts to follow the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Adult leaders, though, are held to an additional standard. It’s called the Scouter Code of Conduct. Think of it as a checklist of expectations for adult conduct in the Scouting program.
The first article in this series gave a general overview of the Order of the Arrow – what it is, how it started and how it’s organized. Last time we discussed possible objections by troop leaders and outlined the election process.
How well do Parents understand Scouting? Should we expect them to? Most of us didn’t understand it either for our first two or three laps around the track. There’s an understanding that comes with having things explained, and an understanding that comes from experience – two entirely different things.
In some packs, troops and crews, adults pay nothing to attend weekend camping trips. Instead, as a way to thank the Scouters for their service and time, their costs are included in the campout fee for the Scouts/Venturers. In other words, instead of paying $12 to cover food and supplies during a weekend trip, Scouts…
Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration used Scouts to provide first aid. Franklin D. Roosevelt requested Eagle Scouts for his personal honor guard. Ronald Reagan’s team invited two Boy Scouts inside on the coldest Inauguration Day ever, and Bill Clinton’s team picked an Eagle Scout to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
As Scouts, camping is an important part of our identity. At some point, you went on your first camping trip… then you went on the next one… and then the next. These experiences became memories which in turn shaped your understanding of the true purpose of Scout camping.
A Scout covering some breaking news at the 2013 jamboree. Some Scouts and Venturers will share jamboree stories with friends on Instagram and Snapchat. These 2017 National Jamboree participants will do one better, sharing their first-person jamboree experience with local news organizations back home.
Story contributed by Kevin V. Hunt, a Scouting historian, author, camp director, blogger and speaker. For almost fifty years I have heard the lore of the magnificent Philmont Scout Ranch and have had a lifetime dream to go there. I have done almost everything in Scouting, but the illusive Philmont has been one thing that…
Although Venturer Savannah McMillan of the Great Smoky Mountain Council had an incredible time while serving on the STEM staff at the 2013 National Jamboree, it wouldn’t be accurate to call it a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience. Why is that? Because she’s headed back to the mountains of West Virginia and the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout…
In real life, it takes weeks for a Pinewood Derby car kit to go from a sustainable lumber mill in Idaho to an assembly line in Indiana to your local Scout shop. But through the magic of movie editing, you can experience that whole process in just 73 seconds. Ready … set … go!
When a young man turns 18 and heads off to college out of town or out of state, one of two things usually happens. You might lose track of him as he begins this new chapter of life — Scouting just a happy, though formative, part of his past.
Congratulations to Chris Mehaffey who will begin serving as Scout executive of the Mid-America Council in Omaha, NE, effective March 1, 2017. Chris began his Scouting career as a district executive with the Chickasaw Council in Memphis, TN. He moved on to become a district director and later a field director with the Circle Ten…
Fletcher W. has some sensory issues around buttons and snaps. He strongly dislikes them. For this new Cub Scout from Virginia, the blue, button-up uniform shirt was a barrier to his enjoyment of Cub Scouting. So Pack 680 Cubmaster Scott Klempner stepped in.
Find out ways to celebrate Scout Sunday and Scout Sabbath, the special days for the Boy Scouts of America to honor Scouts and Scouters.
Cub Scouting is for boys in kindergarten through fifth grade or up to age 11, and the membership of the Order of the Arrow is largely made up of Boy Scouts, all of whom are First Class or higher. It would seem that they have little in common.
Ever since June 1, 2015, all BSA members — Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturers and Sea Scouts — have recited the Scout Oath and Scout Law as part of their program. The so-called “One Oath, One Law” transition was meant to keep things consistent throughout a young person’s Scouting journey.
Scouting has played an integral role in the life of 17-year-old Will H. of the Mason-Dixon Council . Will’s involvement in the program at a young age introduced him to the importance of leadership, service, and hard work. Today, he credits Scouting for leading him to discover his life calling.
Please join us in congratulating Charlie Tinsley in his new position as Scout executive of the Bay Area Council in Galveston, TX, effective March 1, 2017. Charlie began his Scouting career as Exploring executive of the Detroit Area Council in Detroit, MI.
________________________________________ Hello Andy, Our troop is looking to do a service project that will require using power tools, possibly including miter saw, table saw, electric drills, and maybe something else we haven’t thought of yet. I’m trying to find BSA information on whether Boy Scouts (ages 10-18) can use equipment like these with adult supervision, but…
At councils across the country, Ten Commandments hikes help Scouts and Venturers learn more about their faith and the faiths and cultures of others. An upcoming example: the 10th annual Ten Commandments Hike in the Baden Powell District, part of the North Florida Council.
Some things just go together. Campfires and s’mores. Hiking and trail mix. The Boy Scouts of America and the outdoors. So is anyone shocked, really, to learn that a BSA member has — for the third year in a row — won the Youth category in the Outdoor Inspiration Awards?
Story by Jay Shipinski of the Pathway to Adventure Council A group of elementary boys and girls in the Pathway to Adventure Council accepted the fun challenge of learning more about science, technology, engineering, and math by becoming STEM Scouts.
It’s an event so popular it requires a waiting list. Once every year, Scouts get a chance to earn merit badges in classes taught by real midshipmen on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. At the STEM Merit Badge Jamboree earlier this month, midshipmen — many of whom are Eagle Scouts — led…
Spring is in the air! Oh wait...it's still winter -_- But our BSA Mountain Bike Program Development Training Course will be offered this Spring! 5-15-17 to 5-19-17 If your council offers any sort of mountain bike program, or is even looking to add one, this is DEFINITELY the course you want your instructors to attend.
Recently, big events in my life such as getting married and moving across the country have prevented me from being as active as I used to be in the local Scouting Troop. We all will have seasons of life like this in which our responsibilities slow down Troop involvement.
David R. has landed four different jobs just because he’s an Eagle Scout. One time, after the words “Eagle Scout” were uttered, “the manager went right to, ‘what will it take for you to work for me?'” he says. You’ve heard that before, right?
Congratulations to Brian Fasci, who will serve as Scout executive of the Alameda Council in Alameda, CA, effective February 16, 2017. Brian began his Scouting career as a district executive at the National Capital Area Council in Bethesda, MD. He moved on to become a district director and later field director with the Connecticut Rivers…
As I’ve thought about another year of offering our flag service and the advertising we do to promote this 7 th annual fundraiser, I feel it’s time to change our focus about it for 2017. Our previous flyers have emphasized WHAT we are doing – asking for help to send X number of boys to scout…
This Scouting Equipment Catalog from 1925 is a fantastic piece of Scouting history. I’ve scanned all 50 pages and created a PDF document that you can download at the end of this post. On the cover there’s a full color illustration by Benjamin Goodwin Seielstad of Scouts in their campsite with a cowboy in the…
The KonTiki organisers have launched the website for the 2017 competition, and along with it, a series of timelapse videos from last year's event . These videos give you an idea of the work that goes into the weekend (and also of the unseasonal rain we had last year).
Just a couple of years ago, D.J. Tialavea was working two jobs and sleeping on the floor of a friend’s house. Now he’s a tight end for the Atlanta Falcons, who will face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
As we’ve been discussing , the Order of the Arrow is an organization for youth members in Boy Scouting. Its governance and activities are all conducted by members under 21, and because they are the top tier of Scouts, they do it very well, with a sense of commitment to the principles of the Order as…
On a July day in New Jersey, Daniel Summerhays got the news he’d long been dreaming of. By finishing third in the 2016 PGA Championship, one of golf’s four major tournaments, Summerhays had qualified for the 2017 Masters Tournament. That major — the most-watched event in golf — is still a few months away (April 6 to…
The boy who lived, come to … race? A Pinewood Derby car inspired by Harry Potter’s Nimbus 2000 broomstick has landed on a Cub Scout racetrack this season. The car is the handiwork of Henry, a Webelos from Pack 350 of the Fort Worth, Texas-based Longhorn Council.
Please join us in congratulating Scott Seibert as Scout executive of the Blackhawk Area Council in Rockford, IL, effective March 1, 2017. Scott began his Scouting career as a district executive in the Mid-America Council, headquartered in Omaha, NE. He moved on to become the senior district executive and later director of support service, all…
For Ellen Colson, a second grade student at Little Valley Elementary School, getting through an average day at school requires an effort that is anything but average. As a child with special needs, she faces challenges many of the other students in her school do not.
For the third year in a row, a youth member of the BSA has won the Youth category in the Outdoor Inspiration Awards! To those in Scouting (or even those that know someone in Scouting), this winning streak comes as no surprise considering the enormous pool of talented young men and women that comprise the…
You should view this announcement about gender identity by the BSA Chief Scout Executive today so you are keeping up with changes in the organization's processes - BSA video
What if just a fraction of the energy, money and attention devoted to the Super Bowl each year was channeled into a cause that helped others in need? You’d get the Souper Bowl of Caring , an annual event that mobilizes youth to fight hunger and poverty by collecting cash and food donations.
________________________________________ Hi Andy, Can a young man who’s no longer in a Boy Scout troop but is now a member of a Venturing crew continue to earn merit badges? (Ben Hayes) If he reached First Class rank as a Boy Scout before becoming a Venturer and he’s working toward Eagle rank, then certainly!
The Boy Scouts of America designates the Sunday that falls before February 8 (Scouting Anniversary Day) as Scout Sunday, which is the primary date to recognize the contributions of young people and adults to Scouting. However, each chartered organization can use either of the two as options to celebrate this special day.
