Philmont Training Center Offers Learning Opportunities For Summer and Fall

2007 PTC Summer/Fall Schedule

June 3-9: Finance/Boy Scouting/Professional Development.

Endowment Fellowship Week; Major Gifts/Endowment; Teaching Basic Outdoor Skills; Creating the Great Adventure; Strictly for Scoutmasters; Boy Scout Advancement; Developing Supplemental Training Courses; Troop Operations—The Relation Between Committee, Scoutmaster, and Scout; Administration of Learning for Life.

June 10-16: Cub Scouting.

Putting "Pizzazz" into Cub Scouting; Cub Scout Outdoor Program; Strictly for Cubmasters; Cub Scout Roundtables; New Directions in Membership Growth; Training Cub Scout Leaders; Webelos Scout Program; Connecting Character With Cub Scouting.

June 17-23: Boy Scouting/National Advanced Youth Leader Experience (NAYLE).

Order of the Arrow Lodge Leadership Development Conference; New Youth Leadership Training Continuum; Building Strong Scout Troops; Webelos Scout to First Class Scout; Strictly for Boy Scout Trainers; Strictly for Scoutmasters; Volunteer/Professional Relationship—Delivering the Promise Together; Geocache and Scouting; Working With Scouts With Special Needs; NAYLE.

June 24-30: Leadership Support Service/ Scoutreach/Professional Development/NAYLE.

Scoutreach; District Key 3—A Leadership Team; Commissioner Administration for Quality Scouting; The Unit Commissioner—Meeting Unit Needs; District Committees That Work; Training Management Seminar; Council and District Activities Leadership; New Youth Leadership Training Continuum; Advanced District Administration; NAYLE.

June 30-July 6: LDS Relationships Week/NAYLE.

Scouting in the LDS Church*; NAYLE.

July 7-13: LDS Relationships Week/NAYLE.

Scouting in the LDS Church*; NAYLE.

July 15-21: Boy Scouting/NAYLE.

Boy Scout Advancement; Teaching Basic Outdoor Skills; Varsity Scouting; Boy Scout Roundtables; Using the Scout Oath and Law in Your Unit; Strictly for Scoutmasters; Strictly for Boy Scout Trainers; New Youth Leadership Training Continuum; Scouting and Conservation U.S.A.; Recruit, Train, and Retain; NAYLE.

July 22-28: Venturing/NAYLE/Professional Development.

Professional Development Level 2; People Management 1; How to Develop Crews That Thrive; Training Venturing Leaders—Youth and Adult; Sea Scouting Advanced Leader Training (SALT); Incorporating Venturing Into Your Troop; Delivering Venturing to Your District and Council; Kodiak and Kodiak-X; High Adventure Programs for Crews; NAYLE.

July 29-Aug. 4: Leadership Support Service/Relationships/Health and Safety.

District Key 3—A Leadership Team; Council Key 3—Lead Scouting Into the Future; Health and Safety/Risk Management; Membership/Relationships Committee; Scouting in the Catholic Church; Scouting in the Church's Ministry; Religious Emblems for Youth and Adults; United Methodist Scouter's Workshop; Scouting in the Jewish Community.

Aug. 5-11: Leadership Support Service.

District Key 3—A Leadership Team; Council Key 3—Lead Scouting Into the Future; Advanced Commissioner Service; The Unit Commissioner—Meeting Unit Needs; Training Management Seminar; District Committees That Work; Council and District Activities Leadership; Membership Growth Ideas for Districts and Councils.

Aug. 12-18: Cub Scouting.

Training Cub Scout Leaders; Leading Pack Camping; Strictly for Cubmasters; Webelos Scout Program; Supercharging Den and Pack Programs; Cub Scout Roundtables; Cub Scout Outdoor Program; New Directions in Membership Growth.

Sept. 16-22: Fall Conference Week/Boy Scouting/Properties.

Strictly for Scoutmasters; Teaching Advanced Outdoor Skills; High Adventure Trek Planning; Climbing and Rappelling; Teaching Leave No Trace; Strictly for Boy Scout Trainers; Project COPE Director Training; Utilizing Council Properties; Troop Operations—The Relation Between the Committee, Scoutmaster, and Scout; Scouting for the Home Schooled; Wilderness First Aid.

*By division invitation only

Something for Everyone

By Rebecca Greer Adams

While Dad Wes attended training, the rest of the Adams family—Mom Rebecca and children Joe, Cami, Katie, Emily, Sam, and Julia—participated in age-specific programs. Photograph Courtesy of Wes and Rebecca Adams

My husband, Wes, is an assistant district commissioner in the Stone Creek District of the Great Salt Lake Council in Utah and assists the Scoutmaster in our son's troop. (I used to be a den leader when our son was a Cub Scout. These days, I'm in charge of sewing on patches.)

When Wes was invited to attend the "Delivering Venturing to Your District and Council" training conference at the Philmont Training Center (PTC) last summer, we were thrilled to learn we could go as a family.

As a result, my husband and I and our six children spent a fabulous week at the PTC. Our daughters, Emily, 9, and Julia, 7, said it was "The best vacation ever!" And all our kids agreed that it rivaled, if not surpassed, Disneyland. High praise, indeed.

We arrived at Philmont the second week of August. I signed up for the Silverados program, daily activities for spouses of Scouters attending training conferences. Our children went to programs designed specifically for their ages and interests: Joe, 12, was a Trailblazer; Cami, 10, and Emily, 9, were Ropers; Julia, 7, was a Cowgirl; and Katie, 5, and Sam, 3, were in the Small Fry group.

We were assigned four tents for our large family. Each tent had two twin beds on metal frames, a cabinet with hangers, an electric light and outlet, and a wooden floor. The tents were roomy, comfortable, and clean. The older kids liked having their own space. Each night everyone slept soundly.

During the day, our routine consisted of going to group activities and classes, meeting together for meals, and spending the evenings in fun family activities. No classes were scheduled for Wednesday, which was dedicated to families. We chose to drive to Santa Fe and ride a vintage train.

PTC staffer Mary Jean Fenwick helped the youngest Adams, Sam, 3, enjoy the Small Fry program. Photograph Courtesy of Wes and Rebecca Adams

Sam and Katie's Small Fry group met in a special building with lots of staff and a fenced playground. I never worried about their safety or care—not even about Sam's being allergic to nuts. At the end of each day's activities, they said they couldn't wait to go back the next day.

In all programs, the younger children did crafts, played games, sang songs, hiked, rode horses, and played to the point of exhaustion. Our kids were constantly making plans to meet newly made best friends "at the playground" or "at your tent or mine?" I did not hear "I'm bored" for a whole week!

Joe went with his group of younger teens on daylong hikes and one overnighter. He said he actually enjoyed his week at Philmont more than the week he earlier had spent at summer camp with his troop.

I loved the gorgeous views, shopping, museums, and finding a few new friends of my own. (Since returning home to Utah, I have exchanged e-mail messages and photos with the new friends I made during our week at the PTC.)

My schedule included a tour of the Philmont Museum and its Seton Memorial Library, and Villa Philmonte, the former home of Waite Phillips, who donated his New Mexico ranch to the BSA in 1938. In the nearby town of Cimarron, I visited an art gallery and the historic St. James Hotel, but ran out of time before seeing all of the other local attractions.

At mealtime, I enjoyed eating with the family in a "restaurant"—even if it was actually the PTC dining hall. The food was good, plus I didn't have to wash a single dish for a week! And the picky eaters among our children discovered that they always had an option—peanut butter sandwiches and cold cereal—if they didn't care for what was on the menu.

On the last day, my husband asked 10-year-old Cami why she thought a week at Philmont was better than visiting Disneyland.

"I can leave Disneyland at the end of the day," she replied. "But I never want to leave Philmont!"