Summer’s Almost Gone!
Greetings Fellow Scouters,
I cannot believe Summer is almost over and Camp Shenandoah is winding down! We will camp over 1,500 Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts supported by 500 adult leaders. That represents over 10,000 camper days! I want to congratulate our Camp Shenandoah staff for providing an excellent program this Summer – great job!
Our three day camps and one twilight camp was a success again this year! Over 440 Cubs supported by countless volunteers made “Weird and Wacky Science” a great theme. Cubs shot BB and Archery, learned about Science, flew kits, shot rockets and had tons of fun. Thanks to our dedicated volunteer Cub Scout Day Camp Committee for their leadership in 2011.
I am proud to announce some great improvements to Camp Shenandoah which helped make a better summer. Here’s a quick list:
• Aquatics Shelter – “Phil’s Place”
• Big Ass fans in the dining hall
• New gates
• Trading Post completed and fully stocked
We are also preparing for our Fall recruitment drive. Join Scouting nights will be happening all over Central Virginia starting in August. We are excited that 26 McDonalds will be available for our new Cub Scout Parties. Any boy attending gets a free ice cream cone!
Lastly, I want to thank the Slagle Family for their generous donation of the Aquatics Shelter. This new facility called “Phils Place” is a great memorial to honor their son who lost his battle with cancer at such a young age. I know it has been a great addition to our aquatics program this summer with so many positive comments.
Hope to see you on the trail.
Beyond Camping, Canoeing, BSA Add Robotics to Merit Badges
BSA to add Robotics Merit Badge next week. AP ran a great story today about how this badge will encourage science, math, technology and engineering. Check out this link for full story – http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=135228346.
Jim Goes High Tech!
I am now connected to my blog via my Blackberry! I hope this addition will help me blog more so you can hear what’s happening in SJAC!
Thanks to our 2,000 + volunteers who help Scouting happen day in and day out.
Beaver Day – May 7!
That’s right. We need your help to get ready for Summer Camp at Camp Shenandoah! Click on this link to get full details. http://www.bsa-sjac.org/forms/Camp_Shenandoah_Beaver_Day_050711.pdf
You will also get to meet our new Ranger – Harrison Hankins. He is already making an impact on camp.
Hope to see you on the trail!
New BSA Alumni Award!
The national BSA Alumni Relations Committee is pleased to announce a newly created award: the Alumni Award. The requirements are available at www.BSAalumni.org for registered alumni. If you or someone you know is not registered, it only takes a few minutes.
The BSA’s definition of alumni is, “everyone positively and personally impacted by the Boy Scouts of America-former Scouts, family members of Scouts past and present, volunteers past and present, community leaders, and the millions of Americans who benefit from Scouting in their communities every day.”
The recognition items for the Alumni Award include a very nice-looking square knot AND lapel pin. Everyone is encouraged to register as a BSA Alum at www.BSAalumni.org so you can apply for this new award if you or someone you know qualify!
Thanks!
Troop 1028 Performs Community Service
For the past several years, Assistant Scoutmaster Michael Jennings has coordinated a community service workday for Troop 1028 Chartered to Charlottesville Moose Lodge 1028 to make dog houses for H.O.W.S.. This year, PBS came to film Troop 1028′s workday and it was highlighted on WHTJ Charlottesville PBS – “Inside and Out” Charlottesville hosted by Terri Allard. To view the segment, go to http://www.whtj.org/cvio/cvio412.html and the H.O.W.S. segment starts just after 13 minutes. It shows Scouts from Troop 1028 working for a worthy cause and having a great time too!
Stonewall Jackson Area Scouts give countless hours of community service every year. We average over 100,000 hours annually!
Great job Troop 1028.
Congratulations Monticello District on a Successful Re-Chartering Day!
It is always good to hear a compliment after a well planned event. Congratulations to Tim Slagle and his re-chartering team. Not long after Troop 197 came back from re-chartering day, they sent a thank you email…
Greetings,
Just got back from the re-charter meeting and felt it necessary to send this e-mail expressing how well done the process was this year. Each of the leaders I spoke with are obviously well trained, extremely knowledgeable, and very dedicated. I asked a lot of questions and gained a lot of knowledge today. I sincerely appreciate all the work everyone does there to help us here.
Troop 197
It is good to hear planning pays off.
Thanks.
Local Eagle Scout to Speak at Annual FOS Breakfast
On behalf of the Stonewall Jackson Area Council, BSA, you are cordially invited to attend the 2011 Friends of Scouting Breakfast Campaign Kick-off February 24th, 7:00 AM, at the Farmington Country Club. A formal invitation as well as a RSVP card is in the mail to you now. We felt compelled to send you this additional electronic invitation because of our special Guest Speaker, Jonathan Dickinson.
Jonathan’s extraordinary story will capture your heart and lift your spirit. We will have the privilege of witnessing a remarkable journey he and his father, Peter, take through India and Nepal. This local Eagle Scout from troop 114 invites us to share a remarkable journey they undertook for 111 days. They make their way on motorbike forming an incredible bond. What makes this journey so special is that his father, also an Eagle Scout, was in advanced stages of Huntington’s Disease. The overwhelming challenges they face are no match for their enduring spirit.
Come see a film clip and listen to this 26 year old film-maker tell us how Scouting prepared him for their amazing journey. Jonathan epitomizes the fundamentals of Scouting and reminds us of why we continue to volunteer and contribute. You will feel privileged you had the opportunity to hear and meet this wonderful young man. Preview the journey at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUuY_X8-kQk&feature=related
Please join us. You will be inspired.
The Summit will host the 2019 World Scout Jamboree
The World Scout Conference announced today that The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve will host the 2019 World Scout Jamboree.
That means that for the first time in 52 years, the global Scouting extravaganza will be held in the United States. (The 1967 World Jamboree was held in Farragut State Park in Idaho.)
It also marks the first time since the 1983 World Jamboree in Calgary, Canada, that a North American site has been host.
The Summit, located in Beckley, W.Va., is the BSA’s fourth national high-adventure base, and it already had been named the permanent home of future national Scout jamborees, starting with 2013′s event.
But today’s news that the site will host the 24th World Jamboree is a big boost for the base—and for Scouts and Scouters who will help welcome the world.
“Scouts who attend the 2019 World Scout Jamboree at The Summit will, for the first time at a world jamboree, be able to participate in whitewater rafting, rock climbing, and mountain biking. We are very pleased that the conference saw the wealth of new and exciting activities that will be available at this site and will make it available to young people in the program,” said James Turley, international commissioner.
Though the jamboree will be held in the U.S., the selection isn’t just a win for the Boy Scouts of America. The 2019 bid was a joint effort among three Scout organizations: the BSA, Scouts Canada, and Asociación de Scouts de Mexico.
The selection is a first for Asociación de Scouts de Mexico, which has never had the honor of hosting this global event.
“The Asociación de Scouts de Mexico is proud to join Scouts Canada and the Boy Scouts of America to host the 2019 World Scout Jamboree,” said association national president Omar Lugo Aguirre. “The opportunity before us is magnificent because the Asociación de Scouts de Mexico is a smaller Scout association and most likely would never host a world Scout jamboree on our own. Here, we will combine our talents and our cultures to bring what will prove to be one of the most incredible, successful jamborees ever.”
Exactly 220 countries and territories in the world have Scout associations, and youth and adults from those countries who attend the 2019 World Scout Jamboree can arrange pre-jamboree tours of Mexico and Canada before heading to West Virginia.
Like Mexico and the U.S., Canada will have its welcome mat out in 2019, said Mike Scott, international commissioner for Scouts Canada.
“There has always been a wonderful relationship between Scouts Canada, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Asociación de Scouts de Mexico,” he said. “The planning process for the 2019 World Scout Jamboree will help develop this friendship and spirit of cooperation even more. This event will involve and engage a huge number of our adult volunteer leaders and young people in a process that will immerse them in different cultures and cause them to be terrific ambassadors for Canada.”
Before The Summit plays host, though, Sweden will get its turn. The Scandinavian country will host the 2011 World Scout Jamboree this July. Japan is on deck for 2015.
Then it’s on to North America! Congratulations to The Summit and to all three Scout organizations as you prepare to welcome the world in 2019.
Great Scouting Weekend in SJAC!
All four Districts – Monticello, Southern, Valley and Massanutten – had a phenomenal Klondike Camporee. Over 750 Scouts and Leaders participated. There were countless stations set up on Saturday which helped out Scouts sharpen their Scout Skills and work on rank requirements.
Skills included – fire building, knot tying, potato gun cannon, animal tracking, sling shot, human fussball, sled races, hiking, log moving, patrol challenges, survival shelters, cooking and many more! This year’s locations were Strawberry Farms, Cismont, VA, Camp Shenandoah and Massanutten Ski Resort.
Scouting is about getting outdoors and this weekend was a success! We are an outdoor education organization and I am proud of everyone who braved the cold weather to learn how to camp and “Be Prepared”.
I would like to thank all the leaders who helped make this happen both at the troop and district level. Without a dedicated group of volunteers, this would not be possible.
Hope to see you on the trails.
Prepared. For Life.
