Editor's Welcome

Scouting sharpens its editorial focus to help adult volunteers become better leaders of Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturers.

By now, you’ve noticed that Scouting magazine has a different look. It begins with a redesigned logo on the cover and continues on page 8 with a message from Chief Scout Executive Robert J. Mazzuca.




Photograph by Roger Morgan

But you’ll find so much more on the expanded contents page. Our first goal was to enhance the visual appeal of the magazine and make it easier to read. We chose a cleaner typeface, created more white space with flush-left, rag-right text, and added more photographs or illustrations to each page.

Mission accomplished. But we didn’t stop there. Instead, we re-thought our entire editorial mission, deciding to refocus our stories on providing “take-away” value—information that will help you become more productive leaders of Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturers.

We’ve organized the magazine into four basic units. The first, Trailhead, presents news about people and events, new books or videos, humorous Scouting anecdotes, and topics of historical interest.

The next section, Roundtable, includes FAQ’s about advancement, a column for merit badge counselors, and an interview with a veteran Scouter, titled “What I’ve Learned.”

Our features will continue to showcase the nation’s finest unit, district, and council programs, as well as provide information on current topics that leaders can use in their dens, packs, troops, and crews.

Last but not least, Scouting delivers equipment reviews, guides for better camping, Dutch oven recipes, and tips on how to survive almost anything in a new back-of-the-book section—Outdoors.

And did you notice the dateline on this issue? It’s “September-October.” We’ve combined the two months and will now publish five issues a year instead of six. But our expanded Web site offerings at ­
www.scoutingmagazine.org now include a weekday blog, Cracker Barrel, that further celebrates the fellowship of Scouters.

We’ve made a lot of changes to better serve you, the BSA’s community of adult volunteer leaders. I want to know what you think. Go to our Web site, click Letters to the Editor, and give us your opinions about specific articles or tell us about exciting ideas for future stories.

In these pages, I hope that you’ll find plenty of motivation to lead, inspire, and explore the wonderful adventure of Scouting.


Scott Daniels
Managing Editor

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September - October 2009 Table of Contents