ScoutingNews

The Hunt for a New Chief Scout Narrows

ScoutingNewsStaff — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:39:58 +0000

Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazzucca is set to retire at this year on August 31st. On April 4th BSA President announced nine semifinalists to fill the position. After another round of interviews there are four finalists:

Wayne Brock , Deputy Chief Scout Executive/COO
Tom Fitzgibbon, Regional Director, Western Region
Al Lambert, Regional Director, Central Region
Robert A. “Alf” Tuggle, Assistant Chief Scout Executive/CFO

Interviews will take place this month prior to the National Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL. Selection and announcement of BSA’s new Chief Scout Executive will take place on May 21st. He will start his first day on the job on September 1st. Stay tuned for the announcement.

Tale of Two Philmonts

MikeD — Wed, 09 May 2012 02:23:48 +0000

The following is a Guest Article by Mike Dubrall. Mike “Dub Zero” Blogs and writes informative articles on backpacking and snow camping at 50Miler.com.

Philmont sits at the apex of the Scout backpacking experience. For skilled backpackers the Philmont routes are not difficult. However, most Scouts are not accomplished backpackers and the challenge of being on the trail for almost two weeks makes any trip to Philmont incredibly worthwhile. In addition, the fun activities and camaraderie with hikers from every state makes Philmont a kind of “Scouting Disneyland.”

Philmont is much more than backpacking. There are months of prep meetings, practice hikes, and shopping sprees. Commemorative shirts have to be designed and ordered and new equipment purchased. There is often an exciting cross county trip by train, plane, or automobile and groups stop at popular attractions along the way. Nearby cities like Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos are teeming eager Scouts (in uniform) during the summer months. Afterwards, reunion parties, slide shows, and campfire discussions keep the Philmont experience alive for a long time.

Philmont sits at the apex of Scout wilderness experiences

My first trip to Philmont was a disaster. We trained hard for a difficult backpacking trip and that is not what we got at all. A forest fire broke out before our arrival and a large part of the Ranch was closed to hikers. Everyone got crowded into the southern section of the Ranch, where campsites and trails were overflowing with Scouts. There were lines at every Red Roof Inn and our assigned Ranger was an idiot incompetent. Stringent rules put everyone on edge. Programs were impacted and long wait times or even oversubscribed activities were daily occurrences. A lingering drought meant no swimming or showers for the entire trek. (Ten days on the trail days without anyone bathing even once!)

Our difficult 80 mile planned backpacking trip turned into a 35 mile romp with nothing to do most afternoons. The Scouts got bored and turned on each other and then on the adults. Eventually the adults started taking out their frustrations on the Scouts. It was, by all measures, a miserable trip.

Almost a decade passed before my new Troop became serious about backpacking and started talking about Philmont. It was with mixed feelings that I was swept up in their collective enthusiasm and put my name on a list to go again. The goal was to make my second trip a different experience altogether.

This time we focused on the overall Philmont experience and not just the backpacking. Practice hikes were important of course, but the hikes were filled with stories about Philmont history, camps, activities, and potential service projects. Along the way everyone learned the Philmont Grace and Philmont Hymn, which we all sang with increasing fervor every day we were on the trail together. The song became a unifying force of surprising power. (Even now, one year later, they sing the Philmont Hymn at the drop of a hat!)

Philmont is more than a hike - it is a lifetime memory

Arriving at Philmont base camp in the middle of the night, we tried to slip quietly into our tents so as not to wake the backpackers in our assigned area. Morning soon arrived, with the staff welcome at breakfast, paperwork processing, review of the routes, and introduction to our Ranger, who would be with us for a couple of days. The boys swarmed into the Philmont Trading Post to stock up on candy, belts, hats, shirts, and assorted mementos, some of which might be valuable on the trail. We finished the pack check, stored our extra stuff in the lockers, attended an inspirational Scout’s Own, and were ready to leave the next morning.

The first morning on the trail, our Ranger woke us up before dawn, and in the dark, we scrambled to the top of a mountain to experience the sunrise. Sitting together in the gathering light, we watched the valley come into focus under an azure sky. When he had our attention, the Ranger said, “Before you is a unique opportunity to have an incredible experience at Philmont. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Do things you don’t think are possible. Create memories for your lifetime. No one can do it but you.”

For the next ten days we had a glorious time together, punctuated by burrow racing, lumber jacking, black bears, beautiful sunrises & sunsets, cantinas, campfires, horseback riding, singing songs, petroglyphs, porch talks, rock climbing, shotgun shooting, card games, storytelling, challenge courses, and, of course, backpacking. Everyone had a fantastic time.

Some trips are good and some are not so good, but every visit to Philmont is transformative in its own way. Boys become men and men become better. For that reason, every serious Scout and Adult Leader should hike there at least once.

…………………….

Mike Dubrall writes about backpacking, snow camping, and other high adventure outings at 50Miler.com.. His email is miked@50miler.com or you can be connected through the “50miler.com Outing Resource Center” on Facebook.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday: Thrifty

CharlesN — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:55:32 +0000

“A Scout is Thrifty.” Sir Robert Baden-Powell

One of the most difficult things to do is to be thrifty. It is difficult to save up for something you want to have in the future. We tend to think about what we can get now. For example, remember when you bought your second camping tent? Did you ask yourself whether you really need the tent, or could you have used your first tent for the camp out? When we save a dollar, we are planning to use that dollar some other day for something you really need or something unexpected in the future.

If you don’t save up what you have today, you will have less to spend tomorrow. So put a portion of that hard earned money in the jar, in the bank, in your investment accounts.

Words of Wisdom Wednesdays: Cheerful

CharlesN — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:58:34 +0000

“No words can do justice to their courage and their cheerfulness. To be brave cheerily, to be patient with a glad heart, to stand the agonies of thirst with laughter and song, to walk beside Death for months and never be sad- that’s the spirit that makes courage worth having. I loved my men.” - Lord Robert Baden-Powell

Being able to keep a smile on your face, even in the midst of adversities, is truly admirable. Think of a time when you just weren’t having fun. Say, for example, camping in a rain storm and everything inside the tent got soaked. Were you angry? Did someone try to cheer you up?

Even though times may be tough, a cheerful company lightens up the atmosphere. Remember, attitude is very important.

Scouts Support Food Bank

ScoutingNewsStaff — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:51:41 +0000

After the holidays food banks around the country see a shortage of food as the holiday cheer and helping spirit seems to take back burner to springtime activities. Not for Scouts around Flint, Michigan. They’ve collected over 40,000 pounds of food in their 26th annual Scouting for Food drive. Scouts in Utah have collected over 1 million pounds of food to help their neighbors. How many pounds have your area Scouts collected?

Call your local food bank and see if there is a way to integrate Scouting for Food into your program to help re-stock their shelves.

Source: mLive, Fox 13

Words of Wisdom Wednesdays: Obedient

CharlesN — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:01:23 +0000

“A Scout follows the rules of his family, school and troop. He obeys the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobey them.” – The Scout Handbook

Obedience is a vital part of being a Scout. What do you think happens if you disobeyed your Scout Leaders? When given a directive to do something, it often means that it is very important and that you should do it. If you don’t, things will not get done and you are left with disorganization.

But obedience does not mean that you should mindlessly obey every order. If you obey every order without reasoning through, then you may in fact be doing something wrong or illegal. You should think about what you are asked to do, and if you believe that you need an explanation for the task, you should ask for reasoning. If you believe there is a better way to resolve a problem, bring it up. If you are not dealing with an emergency, maybe it’s best that you seek additional advice from others.

It is important to obey orders, but it is even more important to know why you should obey them.

Photo Friday: Aperture

BrandonQ — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 06:00:35 +0000

Aperture

Overview:

Last time we talked about the shutter speed on your camera. I want to focus on aperture this week.

Aperture

Did you know that the human eye works like the aperture on a camera lens? If you were in a dark cave, your pupils would get bigger to try and let more light in. When you are outside on a sunny day, your pupils get smaller because of the amount of light coming in. Aperture is referred to the lens diaphragm opening inside a photographic lens. The size of the diaphragm opening in a camera lens REGULATES amount of light passes through onto the film inside the camera the moment when the shutter curtain in camera opens during an exposure process. The size of an aperture in a lens can either be a fixed or the most popular form in an adjustable type (like an SLR camera). Aperture size is usually calibrated in f-numbers or f-stops. i.e. those little numbers engraved on the lens barrel like f22 (f/22),f16 (f/16), f/11, f/8.0, f/5.6, f/4.0, f/2.8, f/2.0, f/1.8 etc.

Aperture affects the image in two ways. The first is the relationship to shutter speed. The smaller the aperture (large number), the longer the shutter speed needs to be. This can create blur in a photo. The best use of this is when trying to make a stream look like lace (small aperture, long shutter speed). If you would like to stop motion then use a large aperture (small number) and a faster shutter speed.

The second way aperture affects the photo is the depth of field – the area of a photo which appears in focus. A small aperture (like f/16) has a very large depth of field. The foreground and background will appear in focus. This is helpful for landscape photographs. A large aperture (like f/2.8) will have a shallow depth of field. This allows the subject to be separated visually from the out of focus background or foreground.

The images below shows how a small aperture works, (what is in focus?):

If you look at what is in focus on this photo, you see that the leaves and the dew drops are in focus when the background in not in focus.

Taking a look at Buster, his head is in focus when the rest of his body is not.

What is Aperture?

Lets put this as simple as possible– Aperture is ‘the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken, this helps regulate the amount of light let onto the sensor.

2012 Marks 100 years of Boy Scouts’ Highest Rank, Eagle Scout

Press Release — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 06:00:06 +0000

IRVING, Texas (April 10, 2012)-One hundred years after Arthur Eldred of New York earned this nation’s first Eagle Scout Award, new, independent research demonstrates the significant, positive impact Eagle Scouts have on society every day. Since it was first awarded in 1912, more than 2 million young men have achieved the Boy Scouts of America’s highest rank. The study conducted by Baylor University, Merit Beyond the Badge, found that Eagle Scouts are more likely than men who have never been in Scouting to:

Have higher levels of planning and preparation skills, be goal-oriented, and network with others
Be in a leadership position at their place of employment or local community
Report having closer relationships with family and friends
Volunteer for religious and nonreligious organizations
Donate money to charitable groups
Work with others to improve their neighborhoods

“Eagle Scouts have made their marks throughout history—from walking on the moon and working behind the desk in the Oval Office to running the bases in the major leagues. And while we’re proud to claim some truly great men in American history among our ranks, we’re even more proud that everyday Eagle Scouts become wonderful husbands, fathers, and citizens,” said Bob Mazzuca, Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America. “This research validates for the world something we’ve known about Eagle Scouts for years. They lead. They vote. They donate. They volunteer. They work hard and achieve their goals. In short, Eagle Scouts are exceptional men.”

Baylor University’s Program for Prosocial Behavior received a grant from the John Templeton Foundation to measure the lifelong effects of being in the Scouting program, and more specifically, of attaining the rank of Eagle Scout.

“Our study measured if achieving the rank of Eagle provides an advantage and benefits throughout a Scout’s life,” said Dr. Byron Johnson, lead researcher, Baylor University. “We found that the effort and commitment required to earn this rank produces positive attributes that benefit not only these men in their personal and professional lives, but also benefits their communities and the country through the service and leadership they provide.”

The Eagle Scout badge has become widely recognized as a mark of distinction both within and outside of Scouting. Once earned, it is worn for life. About 4 percent of Boy Scouts earn the Eagle Scout rank. To do so, Scouts must demonstrate their understanding of leadership, service, character, personal fitness, and outdoor skills at multiple levels.

In addition to the 21 life skills merit badges required to earn the Eagle Scout rank, each Scout must complete an extensive self-directed service project. The Scout must plan, organize, lead, and manage the entire service effort prior to his 18th birthday. The average number of hours spent on Eagle Scout projects is 130. In 2011, more than 51,000 young men earned the Eagle Scout Award, which means Eagle Scout service projects alone represented almost 6.7 million hours of community service.

Among the 21 required merit badges to earn the Eagle Scout rank are First Aid, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World, Communication, Environmental Science, Personal Fitness, Personal Management, Camping, and Family Life.

Some of the more notable Eagle Scouts are President Gerald Ford; Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton; explorer Steve Fossett; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation co-chair Bill Gates Sr.; MLB all-star Shane Victorino; and actor Jon Heder, who starred in the independent film Napoleon Dynamite.

While not a household name, a clear example of what Baylor University found in its research is 15-year-old Eagle Scout Spencer Zimmerman. Zimmerman learned that Dayton Hayward, a friend with cerebral palsy, liked to feel the wind in his face. So, he invited Hayward to join him in completing a triathlon. To help Hayward achieve the impossible, Zimmerman pulled, pushed, and carried his friend through a 500-meter swim, 3.2-mile run, and 12-mile bike ride. Both boys faced intense physical tests in completing the race. For his commitment to serving others, Zimmerman was recently awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation’s American Spirit Award.

“I was honored to receive the American Spirit Award, but the credit goes to Dayton,” Zimmerman said. “Despite the challenges he faces, he has great spirit. Throughout the training and race, I was just his legs. I believe there’s no reason why Dayton shouldn’t have the opportunity to do what everyone else does.”

About the Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.™” The Scouting organization is composed of 2.7 million youth members between the ages of 7 and 21 and more than a million volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.scouting.org.

About Baylor University
Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.

For more information about the Baylor University Institute for Studies of Religion, Program on Prosocial Behavior, please visithttp://www.baylorisr.org . To review the Eagle Scout research, please visit: http://www.scouting.org/About/Research/EagleScouts.aspx.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday: Kind

CharlesN — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:16:45 +0000

The Words of Wisdom Wednesday series is composed of anecdotal segments to inspire and supplement a Scout’s personal development, building core values and moral character.

“An animal has been made by God just as you have been. He is therefore a fellow creature. He has not the power of speaking our language, but can feel pleasure or pain just as we can, and he can feel grateful to anyone who is kind to him.” – Sir Robert Baden-Powell

Sounds familiar? Sure it does. The Golden Rule states: “One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.” You can also find it in the Bible: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” [Matthew 7:12] Think of how you felt when someone treated you badly. Now think of how you felt when you were treated with kindliness.

When you are kind to others, they feel good about you. When others are sad, sometimes it only takes some kindhearted deeds to cheer them up. And after all, if you can put a smile on someone’s face, you feel happy yourself too!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday: Courteous

CharlesN — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:05:16 +0000

The Words of Wisdom Wednesday series is composed of anecdotal segments to inspire and supplement a Scout’s personal development, building core values and moral character.

“A Scout is courteous.” – Sir Robert Baden-Powell

This week we focus on how to be courteous to others. For most of us, we learn courtesy at home and at school when we are young. We practice being courteous every day. And as we grow up, we do not think of being courteous as a chore or among the list of things to do on a daily basis. It becomes a part of us.

Being courteous is simple, but has a positive effect on others. For example, you are being courteous when you properly greet someone. Using titles such as, “Mister”, “Misses”, or “Miss”, is a form of courtesy and respect. The practice of opening the door for others is another form of courtesy. Can you identify other forms of courtesy?