A Scoutmaster's Blog

 While shopping for a few graduation cards last weekend there was a Father’s Day card that caught my eye that I just have to share with you. It features Snoopy, the Beagle Scout, and his trusty troop featuring Woodstock and his pals. I immediately added it to the pile of cards I was buying. Here is a picture of the front and the inside of the card. It is a Hallmark card, by the way.

The Friday that I had been both dreading and excited about had arrived. It was time to go to the first weekend of Woodbadge training at Camp Stearns in central Minnesota. I was dreading it because I did not know if I would know anyone in attendance other than Paul, the culprit who signed me up for the training. I am pretty shy and it takes me a while to warm up to new people. But I was also excited because this was Woodbadge, the ultimate Scout leader training course.

I am veering away from the usual song or skit video found on the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast to bring you something created by Eagle Scout Doug Gray. A couple years ago Doug’s father, Fred, asked me for some assistance in finding some Scouting videos that his council could not find for him. Fred recently wrote me to share a few videos created by his son. Here is a portion of that email:

I was beginning to feel a little burned out after serving as the scoutmaster of Troop 68 for six years in the fall of 1987. I told Paul, a great Scouting friend of mine, how I was feeling about Scouting. He suggested that I attend a Woodbadge training course. Woodbadge would get me energized.

I think this explains one of the reasons that some of us participate in this adventure called Boy Scout (or Cub Scouting):

One hundred years from now it will not matter what your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove; but the world may be different because you were important in the life of a child.

Yes, you read that correctly. The Boy Scouts of America now has an official Youtube channel. As I write this, the channel has twelve videos posted, eleven “Words to Live By” videos and the “State of Scouting” video. You can even watch them in HD. The channel can be found at http://www.youtube.com/BSA100years#all

It is long overdue in my opinion. The BSA has come up with some excellent promotional videos over the years, along with some pretty corny ones, but yet very few people ever saw them. Speaking for myself, the only time I ever saw most of these videos was when I attended a district or council event. I kept thinking about how the National office should be showing these to the general public, not the people already involved with the program. I am sure budget and costs were the main reasons for not seeing these on television very often.

Now we have the internet. I hope the BSA continues to use it to get the word out about Scouting. This Youtube channel is a step forward in the right direction. It also gives troop and pack leaders another tool to use to promote Scouting, and the Scouts a site to direct their friends to learn more about the program.

I am not sure if anyone from the National office reads this blog but I hope they also use the channel to post some of the older videos created years ago, like the Scout Zone and the We Do It videos. I know I have already posted several older videos to my Youtube channel, but it would be great for better quality videos to posted to the official BSA channel.

I just discovered this video on Youtube featuring behind the scenes pictures from Scout Camp: The Movie, which is being released on dvd this month. I am looking forward to seeing this movie. I think the troop will be having a movie night after I get a copy.

And here is a short clip from the movie featuring the Boy Scouts as they arrive at the beach for their swim checks.

The rank of Eagle Scout, Boy Scouting’s highest honor, is something to be taken seriously. The family, troop, and Eagle Scout will spend a lot of time planning the Eagle Court of Honor. In recent years, a video of the Eagle Scout’s years as a Cub and Boy Scout has become a common part of the ceremony. It is easy enough to put one together with today’s digital photos and computer programs. I should know. I have put together many of these slide shows over the years.