Scouting magazine

First Look: Boy Scouts IndyCar in Brazil

Here's your first look at the BSA's No. 19 IndyCar in action at Sunday's São Paulo Indy 300 in Brazil. It's the first of several stops in the exciting debut season for BSA Motorsports. 

Rookie driver Alex Lloyd took the wheel of the Dale Coyne-sponsored car, but a slippery, rain-soaked track caused him to crash out before the race finished.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity that the Coynes and the Boy Scouts of America have given me,” Lloyd said. “This was our first race together, and [coming] to a new track with such low grip and all the complications of conditions, unfortunately caught us out here today. We look forward to moving to a track I know in St. Petersburg in two weeks time.”

The next stop for the No. 19 car is the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida, on Sunday, March 28. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC.

For the full schedule of remaining races, click here.

Update: BSA Historic Merit Badge Program

You may have heard rumors that the Historic Merit Badge Program has been canceled. Not true.

What is true is that the BSA is putting finishing touches on the program now, and the end result will be well worth the wait.

The Youth Development team plans to release the program soon, and once that happens, it will consist of much more than just adding Signaling, Tracking, Pathfinding, and Carpentry to 2010’s list of available merit badges.

The team wants today’s Scouts to get a sense of what Scouts in the 1910s experienced. They want Scouts to earn the merit badges in ways similar to those used by Scouts back then. The world has changed drastically in 100 years, but the fundamental lessons of these merit badges have not.

In the spirit of being green and making the program accessible, you won’t be able to get printed materials for the merit badges. Instead, have your Scouts go to scouting.org.

They’ll have access to scans of the original pamphlets for each of the four historic merit badges. However, because the language and techniques used in those badges comes from the early 20th century, the BSA has been hard at work crafting supplements that will help put the requirements in a modern context.

The site also offers program implementation guide, a camporee guide, a Boy Scout resident camp guide, a training session guide, press releases, and other materials that councils, districts, and units can use to promote the program.

Stay tuned to Cracker Barrel for additional news as we get it.

Adventure Base 100, Vol. 9: Houston, Texas

Meet Jacob Pekarek, an Eagle Scout with Troop 727. He's your host for last week's Adventure Base 100 stop in Houston, Tex.

For his Eagle Scout project, Jacob took on an ambitious task: labeling 500 storm drains throughout the city with special discs to inform residents that storm water drains into Galveston Bay. The intent is to discourage dumping of trash and other harmful products into this estuary that is important for sustaining marine life.

Houston officials said that Jacob and the 12 other Scouts who worked with him on the project did in one day what would've taken city volunteers a month to complete.

It's a project that will have a long-lasting impact on the nation's fourth-largest city. Well done!

Next stop: Jacksonville, Fla., March 19-21.

On deck: Miami, Fla., March 25-29.

Previous Adventure Base 100 videos:

Vol. 8: Tupelo, Miss.

Vol. 7: New Orleans, La.

Vol. 6: San Antonio, Tex.

Vol. 5: Austin, Tex.

Vol. 4: Sacramento, Calif.

Vol. 3: Las Vegas, Nev.

Vol. 2: San Diego, Calif.

Vol. 1: Pasadena, Calif.

Forbes profiles Stephen Bechtel Jr., "Billionaire Boy Scout"

Stephen Bechtel Jr. gave the BSA $50 million to help build Scouting's fourth high-adventure base. So it should come as no surprise that Bechtel believes in the power of the BSA.

"I just felt this was something I could do to pay a little bit back to the Scouts for what I got from them," he told Forbes.com in a recent video interview.

Bechtel is one of eight billionaires who are also Eagle Scouts. Check out the full video below as Forbes takes you inside the fascinating life of this "Billionaire Boy Scout."

Cub Scouts meet Steve Holcomb, Olympic gold medalist and Eagle Scout

Some people have all the luck. Last weekend, in addition to racing pinewood derby cars against NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, a group of Atlanta Cub Scouts met Steve Holcomb, driver of the gold medal-winning U.S. four-man bobsled team.

Holcomb, an Eagle Scout, led his "Night Train" sled to the Americans' first gold medal in the four-man event since 1948. He's pictured above with his gold medal and Cub Scouts Kristopher Assing (left) and Christian Bosti.

A nationwide push to double the number of Hispanic Scouts

The Boy Scouts of America has a membership of more than 2.9 million Scouts nationwide, but just 4.5 percent of those Scouts are Hispanic. Compare that to the demographics of the U.S. as a whole, where 15.4 percent of U.S. citizens are Hispanic, and it's clear there's room for the BSA to improve.

The BSA has launched a multifaceted effort to reach this underserved community, as documented in a recent article from the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

It starts with educating the Hispanic community about Scouting, Scout Executive Joseph Daniszewski of the California Inland Empire Council, told the paper.

"We have to do a better job of telling our story and telling people what Scouting is all about," he said. "We can't assume that everyone knows what Scouting is."

In addition to putting people on the ground to discuss the benefits of Scouting, here are just a few of the ways the BSA is reaching out to the Hispanic community:

• Forming a Hispanic Initiatives team and launching a comprehensive Web site.

• Introducing the ¡Scouting… Vale La Pena! Service Award square knot.
• Releasing a Spanish-language version of the BSA Handbook. 

Chime in: In what other ways can the BSA reach underserved youth? Register your opinion in the comments section below.

Racing on their terms, Atlanta-area Cub Scouts take on Jeff Gordon

In a grueling 500-mile race, who would win: a NASCAR champion or a Cub Scout? No contest. Besides, the BSA’s Health and Safety team would surely frown on hearing about an unlicensed 11-year-old driving a racecar.

But who would win if you brought the NASCAR champion onto the Cub Scouts’ turf? Today, a handful of lucky boys got to find out. 11-year-old Jared Oenick (above) and seven other Cub Scouts from Atlanta’s Flint River Council raced their pinewood derby cars against NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon. And cameras from Fox Sports were there to capture the fun.

Gordon’s race against the Cub Scouts is scheduled to air this Sunday before his other race—the Kobalt Tools 500. Coverage begins at noon (ET) on your local Fox affiliate, but because this is live TV, we aren’t sure when the piece will air during the prerace broadcast. Stay tuned. Also keep an eye out for Boy Scouts leading the flag ceremony before the Saturday and Sunday races.

Today’s pinewood derby race was hardly Gordon’s first brush with the BSA. Last year, he received the prestigious Silver Buffalo Award in recognition of his contributions to a national Scout recruitment program and his personal humanitarian efforts. And this wasn’t the first time the BSA and NASCAR have come together, said Ed Clark, president and general manager of Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“Scouting and NASCAR, at their very heart, are about bringing families together and having fun. Many of our fans first attended a race as Scouts, and now they bring their children to the races,” Clark said. “I was a Scout and am currently a Scouting volunteer. This organization has had a profound influence on my life.”

This weekend also marks the nationwide start of the BSA’s “Race to 2010,” part of the BSA’s 100th Anniversary geocaching program. Pinewood derby cars representing every BSA council in the country will race all across America thanks to the high-tech treasure-hunting game.

As the cars move from cache to cache, Scouts and Scouters can track their vehicles’ progress online as they head toward the finish line: the 2010 National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. The cars that travel the farthest and pass through the most hands will receive prizes, including memorabilia signed by Gordon.

Find out more about “Race to 2010” here (link opens PDF).

For two more photos from the event, follow the jump below.

Ask the Expert: Does Bugler fulfill the "position of responsibility" for the Eagle Scout award?

Have you been searching for an answer to a Scouting-related question? Ask the Expert is here to help. Send us your question, and Cracker Barrel will seek out the answer.

Today's question comes from Arlene Freeman, a Scouter in Austin, Tex. She writes:

Does the Bugler position fulfill the "position of responsibility" for Eagle Scout? If it does, when did the position become effective for Eagle rank?

The simple answer is: No, it doesn't count as a position of responsibility. For the explanation, we went to Michael Lo Vecchio, program assistant for youth development. Here's his answer:

Bugler is not a leadership position for Eagle Scout. It was inadvertently listed in the new 12th edition of the BSA Handbook, the 2010 Boy Scout Requirements book, and on the scouting.org and BSAhandbook.org Web sites. It has been removed from the Eagle Scout Rank Application.

The sites and books are in the process of being updated. Thanks for the question, Arlene!

January-February Where Am I? winner announced

The January-February edition of our popular “Where Am I?” reader contest turned out to be the toughest yet.

It’s our own fault. All the facts about the mystery location were true, but some of them might have thrown you off the scent.

Let’s review: You probably recognized New York City right away. It was hard to miss the taxis in the photo—and our mentions of Broadway, pizza, and a hotdog stand. But identifying one building among the Big Apple’s sea of skyscrapers? That’s not easy.

To help you find this needle in a haystack, we gave you these clues:

• “I toy with the idea…”
• “…[an old] photograph [of the building] was probably a century old…”
• “I find a bench at the park across the street and try to iron out the details…”

The first clue references the building’s current inhabitant: the International Toy Center. The last clue, “iron out the details,” plays on the building’s location in the Flatiron District of Manhattan (several of you picked up on those right away).

Hundreds of readers put the pieces together and came up with the correct address: 200 Fifth Avenue in New York City. But merely telling us the building’s address wasn’t enough. We wanted to know what makes the building noteworthy.

Of the 1,000 answers we received, only 128 correctly identified 200 Fifth Avenue as the original headquarters of the Boy Scouts of America. The “Where Am I?” location seemed a fitting selection to commemorate the BSA’s 100th Anniversary.

We assigned a number to each of those 128 right answers, and then we used a random-number generator to select our winner: answer No. 6, belonging to George Colflesh of Troop 7 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

George will receive a $100 gift card to the BSA’s Supply Group. Congratulations!

If you didn’t win this time, try again with our March-April “Where Am I?” contest. You have until April 23 to send us your thought. Good luck!

Recap: Boy Scouts of America on "Jeopardy!"

The venerable quiz show "Jeopardy!" paid tribute to the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America last week with a special category about Scouting.

The "Jeopardy!" Clue Crew took a special field trip to California's Camp Winton for footage to complement the category. And even though the contestants saved the category for last (none of them were Scouts, apparently), the group got each question right.

Were you watching? If not, here's a chance to test your knowledge with the answers and questions from the show. You'll find the five answers below. Write down the questions on a piece of paper, and then check your work by following the jump below.

$200: In 1940 this composer gave the Boy and Girl Scouts all future royalties from the song "God Bless America."

$400: To be a First Class Scout, you have to able to find directions. One way is to place a stick in the ground and wait for the afternoon shadow, which will point this way.

$600: A popular Scouting activity is the throwing of this type of hatchet or axe native to North America.

$800: A traditional skill in Scouting is knowing how to build a fire; one good method is named for this Native American shelter.

$1,000: The first Boy Scout to go on to be the president was this man who, in a youthful letter to his father Joe, asked for a bigger allowance to buy canteens and other Scout supplies.

Follow the jump below to check your work. Good luck!