What does the Boy Scouts of America logo mean to you?
Perhaps it represents childhood campouts you took decades ago. Or maybe it signifies the special bond you now share with your son or daughter. All good answers.
But ask the folks at the Web site Top Nonprofits, and they’ll tell you it provides “an organization with a solid foundation upon which to build their brand.” In fact, they called our logo one of the best nonprofit logos around.
Read on to learn why.
Todos los Scouts se merece un líder entrenado.
In other words, “Every Scout deserves a trained leader.”
The statement is true in any language, and now, Scout leaders who are more comfortable speaking Spanish can take the highest level of adult leader training, Wood Badge, at a first-of-its-kind national Spanish-language Wood Badge course taught at the Philmont Training Center in Cimarron, N.M.
The course, held in conjunction with the Asociación de Scouts de México, takes place July 29 to Aug. 4, 2012. Read on for all the details.
Like rare patches? How about one only 11 men have ever worn?
Today, we learned the identity of the next man to join the impressive fraternity of Chief Scout Executives that started with Scouting legend James E. West. (See the full list below.)
The Chief Scout Executive Selection Committee announced it has chosen Wayne Brock as the next Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America.
On Sept. 1, 2012, he’ll take office and become just the 12th chief in the BSA’s 102 years.
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.
Get ready to dot-dot your I’s and dash your T’s.
Today, the Boy Scouts of America released the Morse Code Interpreter Strip, an official patch for Scouts and Scouters who can demonstrate their ability to “speak” this special language.
Morse Code joins languages like Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Sign Language, and several others as interpreter strips available for wear on Scout uniforms (above the right pocket).
To get a typical interpreter strip, you must carry on a five-minute conversation, translate a two-minute speech, write a letter in the language, and translate 200 words from the written word.
But Morse Code, a vital communications tool during World War II, doesn’t really work with those requirements. So Jim Wilson and the BSA team crafted new ones:
Hey, you with the post-hole digger! Let me see some ID!
When it comes to service projects, nobody does it better — or safer — than the Boy Scouts.
But before you gather equipment for your next Good Turn, ask yourself some questions:
Can my 14- and 15-year-old Boy Scouts use lawnmowers and string trimmers to cut the grass at the local church?
Can my 16- and 17-year-old Venturers use a chain saw and log splitter to cut firewood for elderly residents?
In this case, the answer is no and no.
That’s why it’s critical to follow the Age Guidelines for Tool Use and Work at Elevations or Excavations, a new document that details how old Scouts should be to use certain hand tools and power tools at service projects (including Eagle Scout service projects).
I’ve got complete details below.
Allow me to amend the Scout Law to add this: A Scout is Grateful.
I’m grateful to the Western Publishing Association for naming Bryan on Scouting the Best Web Publication Blog/Trade & Consumer at its 61st Annual Maggie Awards last week.
I’m grateful to Managing Editor John R. Clark and rest of the Scouting magazine team for their continual efforts to enhance and promote my blog.
And I’m grateful to you, my readers. You’re the reason this blog exists at all; I couldn’t do it without your support, participation, and feedback.
Here’s a little more about the award:
Have you ever run across a great Cub Scout activity on the Web and wished there was an easy way to file the information for later use? (And I’m not talking about writing down the URL address on last night’s dinner napkin.) Enter Pinterest.com.
This clean-cut Web site, with its all-white background and crisp tableau of images, allows users to create their own visual “pin boards” to capture ideas, stories, and scraps of inspiration themed around a topic (like “Great Camping Destinations”) for later use and/or to share with other “Pinners.”
Because the editors at Scouting aim to arm volunteers with the best resources needed to help lead pack, troop, team, and crew activities, we’ve launched our own Scouting magazine Pinterest page. What does this mean? Now you can “follow” Scouting-themed pin boards relevant to your interests—whether it’s “Great Gear,” “Cub Scout Snacks,” “Scouting Cakes,” “Boy Scout Activities,” and much more.
Eagle Scouts are a different breed. You know it; I know it.
And today, we’ve got independent, scientific proof to back up our claim.
At last, the results are in from the 2010 Baylor University study, Eagle Scouts: Merit Beyond the Badge, conducted by the university’s Program for Pro-Social Behavior under a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
The researchers found statistically significant differences between Eagle Scouts, former Scouts who didn’t make Eagle, and men who were never in Scouting. The differences were grouped into seven areas: Health and Recreation, Connection, Service and Leadership, Environmental Stewardship, Goal Orientation, Planning and Preparedness, and Character.
The timing’s perfect with the 100th anniversary of the Eagle Scout Award this year. But what were the findings? How did Eagle Scouts rate? Read on for my complete analysis.
Scouters, do you copy?
I have an important message: This year’s Jamboree on the Air will be held Oct. 20 and 21, 2012.
What is Jamboree on the Air? Like the national jamboree, it’s a chance for Scouts to connect with fellow Scouts from other places.
But unlike its older cousin, Jamboree on the Air requires no travel — other than to find a ham radio shack nearby. Scouts use long-range, two-way ham radios to have conversations with other Scouts in another city, state, or country.
