A Scoutmaster's Blog

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.

Let’s face it. Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is a very big deal. Only 4% or so of all boys in Boy Scouting earn the highest rank offered in the program. So what do you do for an encore? Well, if you are from Minnesota, and your name is Ben Lindbom, you get on your snowmobile and set your sights on winning races.

This 78th post to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast is the final of four videos featuring the open house held by the Central Minnesota Council on September 2, 2009, to celebrate the “A Century Of Values” tour. This video features other activities that were taking place on the grounds of the council office (displays, bottle rockets, fishing, rope making, bouldering wall, etc). You will see that the Cub Scout age boys had a fantastic time participating in all the fun.

Our buddies at Three Coin Productions have posted a new video to their Youtube account. The new post is the music video to the theme song of Scout Camp: The Movie, “Born To Be A Scout”, and features many scenes from the movie. The video can be seen below or at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlIE9cF4j0s

If you have not seen the movie yet I would encourage you to get a copy and watch it with your family and troop.

This post to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast is the third of four videos featuring the open house held by the Central Minnesota Council on September 2, 2009, to celebrate the “A Century Of Values” tour. Where the first two videos in this series featured the special RV that is touring the country and the presentation of the mural, this video features some of the other activities that were taking place on the grounds of the council office.

The Central Minnesota Council, BSA, held an open house on Wednesday, September 2, 2009, to kick off a year of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. Hundreds of people attended. There were plenty of games for the kids, a dinner provided by the Jamboree troops, and several displays showcasing the history of Scouting. There was a lot to do and see. I was there with my cameras, of course.

The Central Minnesota Council, BSA had some very special guests pay a visit on Wednesday, September 2, 2009. Ed Basar, Gordon Draper, David Berger, Don Cimo, William D’Hondt, Kenneth Mills, Ken Norin, members of Team 9 of the “A Century Of Values” RV Road Tour, had arrived in town for the council’s 100 Years Of Scouting open house. Team 9 arrived not only to display the specially designed motor home but also to present the council with a print of a very special mural. (More about this on the next podcast.)

The Boy Scouts of America is nearly 100 years old. This is a video placed on Youtube that covers the reasons why Scouting is so important and why we should continue to support it during the next 100 years.