Category Archives: National Scout Jamboree

carly-crop-1

Jamboree calls on Carly for opening stadium show at the Summit

19 December 2012

37 Comments

Carly-2The hits just keep on coming.

Exactly one month after the BSA locked in Train to close the 2013 jamboree, we now know who will kick things off at the Summit Bechtel Reserve next summer.

It’s Carly Rae Jepsen, the 27-year-old Canadian songstress whose single “Call Me Maybe” won MTV’s Best Song Of 2012 honors and has been seen more than 360 million times on YouTube — and counting.

Carly, who’s up for two Grammy Awards in February, will headline the “Welcome to the Summit” show on Tuesday morning, July 16, at the stadium (the area known as the arena at past jamborees).

If, somehow, you’ve missed the video or the dozens of spinoffs it spawned — from the USA Olympic Swim Team, NASA, Sesame Street, and the U.S. Armed Forces, to name a few — you can watch the original below. But fair warning: The infectious tune will stick in your head till July.

Need proof that Scouts are Carly fans? Watch thousands of Arrowmen at NOAC 2012 singing their hearts out to Carly’s hit:  Continue reading »

help-wanted

Merit system: What you can do at the 2013 jamboree

11 December 2012

4 Comments

2013jamboreelogo-200x326Staff spots are filling fast for next summer’s national Scout jamboree.

And if you want to be among the first counselors to teach a merit badge at the Summit Bechtel Reserve, now’s the time to make that interest known.

They’re already full at Programming and Robotics merit badges, but Janice Downey and the Innovation team still need knowledgeable, enthusiastic volunteers for these four merit badges:

  • Chess
  • Game Design
  • Search and Rescue
  • Sustainability

You need to be already committed to staff the jamboree either full- or half-time. When you register, be sure to choose Merit Badges as your preferred staffing area, and send an e-mail to merit.badge@scouting.org. Be sure to include your Scouting experience and areas of expertise.

If you’re not yet registered, that’s OK. You can apply now. If you’re already registered and haven’t committed to a specific position, let Janice know and she’ll track down your staff application. She’s looking for volunteers of all ages, including members in the harder-to-find age range of 18 to 35.

One final note: If the fact that there will soon be Game Design, Sustainability, and Programming merit badges is news to you, perhaps my Calendar of New Merit Badges might interest you. It’ll keep you in the loop on all news of merit.

Train

Train on board for closing stadium show at 2013 jamboree

19 November 2012

14 Comments

Three-time Grammy winners Train will headline the closing stadium show at the 2013 National Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve, the Boy Scouts of America announced today.

For my money, this is the biggest musical act to perform at a national Scout jamboree since the Beach Boys in 1985. And I’m told it’s the earliest in the jamboree planning cycle that a headliner has signed on. That’s good news for participants and staff already registered for the jamboree, and it’s yet another enticing reason for Scouts and Scouters not registered to join us next summer in West Virginia.

You surely know Train, the pop-rock group from San Francisco that has performed together since 1994. And you know their hits, including “Meet Virginia,” “Drops of Jupiter,” “Calling All Angels,” “Hey, Soul Sister,” and recent singles “Drive By” and “50 Ways to Say Goodbye.”

Train — consisting of Pat Monahan (vocals), Jimmy Stafford (guitar), and Scott Underwood (drums) — will perform Saturday, July 20, at the closing event, called the “Celebration of Scouting” show. They’ll light up the new stage at the stadium (the area called the arena at past jamborees) in front of tens of thousands of excited Scouts, Scouters, and visitors.

Train’s a big name for the jamboree, but they certainly aren’t the first recognizable people to speak, sing, or perform on the event’s big stage.

This isn’t a complete list, but here are some big-name guests at past arena/stadium shows (note that I’m only including in-person guests, not those who appeared via video):

Continue reading »

summit-shakedown-1

Which patches shouldn’t be traded?

15 November 2012

11 Comments

Your 10-piece jamboree set for my Eagle patch? Sorry, no way.

Council shoulder strips, district camporee patches, and pins from your hometown are perfect trinkets to trade at national Scout jamborees or other major Scouting events.

But some patches and Scouting memorabilia should stay home.

No matter what the event, including the 2013 National Scout Jamboree next summer, the BSA has rules restricting patch trading.

Here’s the excerpt from Page 9 of the 2012 edition of the Guide to Awards and Insignia: Continue reading »

photo-fridays-800x373

Photo Fridays: National Scout Jamborees (18 photos)

3 August 2012

6 Comments

If you had a time machine, you could set the date to 07-15-13, and the 2013 National Scout Jamboree would start today.

Unfortunately, though, the big Summit event is less than a year away. (Click here to learn more and register!)

In the meantime, let’s instead travel back in time to past national jamborees by checking out 18 photos sent in by real Scouters like you.

“Jamborees” is the latest in my Photo Fridays series, a feature that highlights real photos from real Scouters like you. We’ve already seen Cub Scout Fun, High Adventure, Funny Moments, Great Moments at Summer Camp, Scouts Doing Service Projects, and learned that Scouters Can Have Fun, Too.

The next Photo Friday topic: On/In the Water. E-mail your best shots to me, and include your name and home council.

First, let’s load up the Mr. Fusion and head back to 2010 (or 2005, in the case of one photo):  Continue reading »

icom-radio

BSA dials in sponsorship deal with Icom America for amateur radio stations

12 June 2012

4 Comments

Amateur radio: Fun but not free.

That makes the recent sponsorship agreement between the Boy Scouts of America and Icom America, a world leader in the amateur radio market, such big news.

The deal makes Icom the exclusive amateur radio transceiver and repeater supplier for the 2013 National Scout Jamboree.

And even if you aren’t going to the jamboree, you can still benefit from this sponsorship. Continue reading »

help-wanted

Wanted: 36 volunteers to share their merit badge skills at the 2013 National Scout Jamboree

18 May 2012

2 Comments

Merit badges don’t teach themselves.

And with the 2013 National Scout Jamboree just 14 months away, the BSA’s looking for a few good men and women to demonstrate their skills.

The focus is on the six newest merit badges making a big splash at the Summit Bechtel Reserve next summer. They’re Inventing, Robotics, Chess, Welding, Search & Rescue, and Game Design.

Continue reading »

summit-aerial-april-2012

What effect is the Summit already having on W.Va.? Check out the newspaper

25 April 2012

2 Comments

Scouts and Scouters aren’t the only ones counting down the days until the Summit opens.

(446, as of today!)

So, too, are the people of West Virginia, who stand to benefit greatly from having a national high-adventure base nearby.

That’s according to an editorial published this week in The Register-Herald, the daily newspaper based in nearby Beckley.

Continue reading »

sheriff

Handheld cell phone use in West Virginia will cost you

23 April 2012

4 Comments

Your 10-cents-per-text plan seems cheap when you consider this: Pressing send behind the wheel will soon cost you 3,000 times that amount.

Thanks to a new bill signed into law this month, handheld cell phone use in West Virginia — the home state of the Summit Bechtel Reserve — is against the law and punishable by a fine of up to $300.

The law, sure to make West Virginia’s roads safer, comes as Scouts and Scouters prepare to descend on the state for next summer’s national Scout jamboree.

If you’re among the tens of thousands who will attend, visit, or serve on staff, here’s what you need to know:

Continue reading »

summit-aerial

Make history as a 2013 jamboree staff member

12 December 2011

5 Comments

Let’s face it. You won’t be the first on Mars, the first to summit a mountain, or probably even the first in line for the next new iPhone.

But serving on the inaugural jamboree staff at the Summit?

Yeah, there’s still time for that history-making first.

Some day, you’ll tell your grandkids you were an integral part of this once-in-a-lifetime event. But first you’ve got to register. Continue reading »