A Scoutmaster's Blog

Mike, a former member of Troop 68, recently posted a quick note of our troop’s forum about something I thought was awesome, but mothers may not appreciate. Boy Scouts like guns. Every summer camp has rifle and shotgun ranges. Many Boy Scouts hunt for game when they are old enough. It seems one company has decided to do something a little special for those Scouts during the 100th anniversary celebration. Henry Rifles has created a couple of special commemorative rifle to celebrate not only the Boy Scouts of America, but also Eagle Scouts.


The first rifle (quoted from the website)- The Boy Scouts of America celebrate their 100th Anniversary in 2010. To commemorate this occasion, Henry Repeating Arms announces the release of its Henry Golden Boy “Boy Scouts of America® Centennial Edition” licensed rifle. To mark this milestone, this special rifle features the Scouts Oath, Scouts Law, scrollwork and traditional Boy Scouts of America logo embellishing the receiver, as well as a 100 Years of Scouting logo and Centennial Edition gold filled etchings in the buttstock and forearm.
http://www.henry-guns.com/press_bsa100.cfm


The second rifle (again from the website) – The gleaming nickel-plated receiver is adorned with spectacular engraving hand cut by Henry engraver Rob Bunting. The right side is highlighted by the image of a majestic bald eagle accented by distinctive American scrollwork and a banner proclaiming the proud sentiment of all Eagle Scouts: Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle. The left side bears the image of the famous Eagle Scout™ medal and banners reading Eagle Scout and Boy Scouts of America. The engraved images on both sides and the winged leaf border are selectively plated with brilliant 24-karat gold.
http://www.henryrepeating.com/h004es_eaglescout.cfm


Check the links for pictures of these guns. They are gorgeous. I wish I had a couple of thousand dollars laying around to buy them, but unfortunately, I am saving to replace my car this summer. Besides, I don’t think I could ever bring myself to actually fire one. Have any of you purchased one of these rifles?

It has been nearly a year since Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, has been featured in a new video. He has been pretty busy with school, Scouting, and his podcast, Around The Scouting Campfire. He recently began to work on his Cinematography merit badge and decided to make a video in which he answers several questions sent to him by some Wolf Cub Scouts from California. Even the sister of one of the Scouts gets to ask a question. The kids ask Buttons about the Scout Promise, leadership, den chiefs, grapes, and more.

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Check out other great Scouting podcasts at PTC Media, including The Leader’s Campfire and Around The Scouting Campfire.

Unless you have been hiding in a cave somewhere you have probably heard that the Boy Scouts of America are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. The United States of America Congress granted a charter to create the B.S.A. on February 8, 1910. Since that day there have been over 100 million boys who have joined the organization.

The B.S.A. has been planning some fantastic events to celebrate the anniversary. There has been a colorful float in the Rose Bowl Parade, a partnership with Dale Coyne Racing, the historical merit badge program, and the upcoming 2010 National Jamboree, just to name a few. Councils, districts, packs, troops and crews are also planning special events.

I have an idea. Let’s try to bring this to the public eye in another arena. Online. On YouTube. Let’s pick a couple videos that have a Scouting theme and then, on February 8th, we have our Scouts, families, and friends watch those videos. Let’s see if we can’t get enough hits that day to bring those videos to the YouTube front page. Could we make one or two videos go “viral”?

If this is to work we need to get the word out to as many people as possible. We will need the involvement of packs, troops, and crews. We will need the councils and districts to spread the word. We need blogs to blog about it and people on Twitter to tweet about it. We will need hundreds of thousands of people to watch these videos on February 8th if we are going to make an impact.

I would like to make a few suggestions for the videos we could watch: one B.S.A. promotion video, one video showing Boy Scouts performing a skit, and one showing Scouts having fun on an activity. If you have a suggestion please leave a comment below.

The B.S.A. Promotion video – This one was suggested to me when I asked for suggestions on Twitter. It is titled “Feel Proud” and features Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts doing community service projects to a catchy musical tune.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9csn7asa8Nc

Boy Scout Skit – I am choosing a skit which is one of my favorites, The Furniture Store. This video was performed by the Boy Scouts in my troop during one of their community shows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbWYdwSPOJo

Scouting Activity Video – I thought this was a cute video of Cub Scouts doing their version of the Cub Scout Promise, rap style. And it is only a minute long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIob4dY2XLY

So there you go. Get out and spread the word! And watch video on Monday, February 8th.

It is time to join Scoutmaster Steve and Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, as they host another episode of Around The Scouting Campfire, a podcast for Scouts, adult leaders, and families.

During this episode the guys talk about the new year and look back at 2009. Scoutmaster Steve begins the new year by reciting some quotes from Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, and then reads a story about setting goals to fly with the eagles. After a song from The Scout Zone, Buttons tries to learn the Cub Scout Promise from Michael the Cub Scout, and then reads some feedback from our listeners. The show ends with a scoutmaster minute about being friendly and a thank you to you, our listeners.

The time has come to announce the winner of the $25.00 Coleman gift card. (Drum roll please…) The winner is Kevin, known as scoutdude on Twitter. Congratulations Kevin. I will need you to write me with your address so that Coleman can mail the gift card to you.

I would like to once again thank Christina and the folks at Coleman for making this give-away possible. And I would like to thank those of you who took the time to enter the contest.

Are you a Boy Scout? Would you like to do something different this year, the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America? How about earning a merit badge from the early days of Scouting that have been off the books for years? The BSA is bringing back four merit badges that you earn this year only. The badges include Signaling, Tracking, Pathfinding, and Carpentry.

These badges must be completed before December 31, 2010, or you lose out on your chance to earn something from Scouting’s history.

For more information checking out the blog of Scouting Magazine, the Cracker Barrel, at http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2010/01/historical-merit-badges-help-boy-scouts-celebrate-scoutings-past.html

I do not know about you, but I thought this was cool. Soon after the Boy Scouts of America was in the national spotlight with their awesome float in the Rose Bowl parade, I hear of a special partnership with an Indy racing team. The following is a portion of the press release:

IRVING, Texas (January 11, 2010) – The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) today announced that the two legendary organizations are teaming up to promote family fun and education through a new BSA IndyCar. Scouts can experience the BSA’s No. 19 IndyCar throughout the 17 race IndyCar® Series 2010 schedule of events including the greatest spectacle in racing, the Indianapolis 500.

The No. 19 car will help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the BSA – the nation’s largest youth service organization. The BSA and DCR plan to utilize the high-tech nature of Indy cars as a platform to promote science, technology and math to those involved in Scouting.

“Racing is a modern day way to connect with youth and to further Scouting’s dedication to expanding tomorrow’s leaders through education, math, science and engineering,” stated Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazzuca. “We are grateful to Dale and Gail Coyne and their entire racing team for making this incredible opportunity possible.”

For the full press release check out the Dale Coyne Racing website at: http://www.dalecoyneracing.com/release011110.html