Posts Tagged ‘Brian On Scouting’
Earn the National Summertime Pack Award, because summer’s not the time to hibernate
Just because school classrooms go dark in the summer doesn’t mean Cub Scouting has to. Extend the fun of Cub Scouting into the year’s hottest season by earning the National Summertime Pack Award. To be eligible, your pack must hold one activity per month in June, July and August. Do that, and you’ll get a streamer for your pack…
Read MoreInner-city Scout troop forms three Special Olympics basketball teams
The best way to break down stereotypes about a person is to spend as much time with them as you can. In the case of Troop 4 of Worcester, Mass., that meant forming not one but three Special Olympics Unified Sports basketball teams. What started as another big Troop 4 service project has grown into…
Read MoreThis is how you organize the inside of a troop trailer
In Troop 101, even the layout of the troop trailer follows the patrol method. Everything in the 6-foot-by-12-foot trailer is organized by patrol. That means each group of Scouts is responsible for its own stuff. Patrol gear goes on the right side. Every patrol box, tent and cooler bears its patrol’s name: Ninja, Cobra, Jaguar or Shark. Troop gear goes…
Read MoreMore than a quarter of members of Congress have some connection to BSA
Scouts reach some high places. They summit Mount Everest, walk on the moon, become CEOs and win Super Bowls. Some even make their way to the highest political offices, like the U.S. Congress. Of the 535 members of the 115th U.S. Congress, 147 have some sort of connection to the BSA. That’s 27.5 percent. I’m defining “connection” as…
Read MoreEagle Scout praised for bravery, service after London terror attack
Tobias Ellwood, the politician gaining praise for his heroism after a fatal stabbing outside the U.K. Parliament in London, is an Eagle Scout. Ellwood, born in New York City to British parents, was a member of the Boy Scouts of America’s Transatlantic Council, which serves American Scouts living overseas. He earned Scouting’s highest honor on May 25,…
Read MoreAt U.S. military academies, Eagle Scouts and former Scouts are everywhere
Scouts who enter our nation’s military academies find themselves with a leg up on their classmates. Leadership, patriotism and service? Those are characteristics Scouts are known for. No surprise, then, that student applications from cadets and midshipmen at U.S. military academies reveal an impressive number of Eagle Scouts and former Scouts. Here’s a look, academy by academy. U.S. Air Force…
Read MoreBring your family to experience the 2017 National Jamboree as visitors
Want to experience the fun of the 2017 National Jamboree but can’t be there for the whole 10 days? Become a Jamboree visitor. Bring your family or friends and live the adventure for a day or two — or more. The Jamboree is July 19 to 28 at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia; visitors are welcome July…
Read MoreBefore cancer took him, Scout wrote a powerful poem reminding us to live every day to its fullest
Evan Mario Macrone never let cancer hold him back from enjoying Scouting. And in a poem he wrote three months before he died, he encouraged all of us to let nothing hold us back from enjoying life. The poem is at the bottom of this post, but I first wanted you to learn more about this incredible young…
Read MoreWhy adults in this troop call themselves the Time Lords patrol
Scouting volunteers are some of the busiest humans around. With all their different commitments, you’d think they’re time travelers. That explains the patrol name adopted by the adults in Troop 3 of Texarkana, Texas. They’re the Time Lords patrol. Any fan of the long-running TV series Doctor Who will approve of the name and the accompanying patrol emblem. The…
Read More‘MasterChef Junior’ just aired a Scouting-themed episode, and it was glorious
When it comes to camp cuisine, there’s no better food critic than a Boy Scout. Who better to judge the merit of food prepared outdoors than the inventors of the Cooking merit badge? The fine folks at the Fox show MasterChef Junior sure think so. They invited 50 Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to serve as judges for an episode…
Read More