Turning the trip to Jamboree into an adventure, plus other good news from this week

It’s a long drive from Longview, Texas, to the Summit Bechtel Reserve, where the 2023 National Jamboree has just gotten started. Two Scouts BSA troops from East Texas — one made up of boys; the other made up of girls — is making the most of it, as documented in this story from the Longview News-Journal.

“It’s pretty exciting to have our girls have to elect their senior patrol leader and take a troop up there,” says Troop 201 Scoutmaster Doug Wiley.

The group has several stops planned along the way to West Virginia. After leaving Longview, Scouts were slated to stop at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Kentucky. They plan to spend a few days at ACE Adventure Resort water park in West Virginia before arriving at the Jamboree on Wednesday.

Scoutmaster Lorelei Wiley, who oversees the girls’ troop, said she hopes Scouts will enjoy meeting new people and seeing parts of the country they may not have seen before.

Scouts BSA member devotes Eagle Scout project to camp he used to attend

For Michael Juriga, a Scout from Vestal, New York, summer camp at nearby Camp Sertoma played a huge role in his childhood.

In return, he’s organizing the construction of a new gaga ball pit.

“I hope that a lot of young kids get inspired by what I did to maybe do something on their own, to maybe help the camp or help their community out by giving back to what made their childhood, and set them up for success in the future,” he says.

Read more about Michael’s project in this story from WNBF News Radio.

Oklahoma community bringing back disbanded Scouts BSA troop

Something’s been missing from Durant, Okla. Troop 618 was one of the oldest Scouts BSA troops in the state before disbanding due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Now, a local church is partnering with the Boys and Girls Club to bring it back.

The troop’s Scoutmaster says they’ll focus on at-risk youth to help them grow to their full potential.

“They can move to be the next doctors, lawyers, teachers,” Laughlin says. “This economic area has nothing to do with their future.”

Read more in this story from KXII in nearby Sherman, Texas.

California Cub Scout day camp makes triumphant return

A Northern Santa Barbara County Cub Scout day camp also made a comeback, giving local Cub Scouts the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of fun and educational experiences.

“They’re learning but they’re having the time of their lives, and they don’t know that they’re learning,” says April Wright-Litchfield, a district director at the Los Padres Council. “That’s the best part about it. We are sneaking in that little educational component while they’re having a good time.”

Learn more in this story from a local TV station.


About Aaron Derr 498 Articles
Aaron Derr is the senior editor of Scout Life and Scouting magazines, and also a former Cubmaster and Scouts BSA volunteer.