September 1999September 1999
Edited by Scott Daniels
The 15th National Scout Jamboree will be held July 23 - Aug. 1, 2001, at Fort A.P. Hill, near Fredericksburg, Va. The theme will be "Strong Values, Strong Leaders."
The 2001 National Scout Jamboree - which marks the 64th anniversary of the first BSA national jamboree, held in 1937 in Washington, D.C. - will be the sixth consecutive jamboree at the 76,000-acre U.S. Army facility located between Richmond, Va. and the nation's capital.
For the first time, the jamboree will feature two official patches: a red border for participants and junior staff under 18; a gold border for staff and leaders 18 and older.
To be one of the more than 30,000 youth attending the first national jamboree in the 21st century, a Scout must
Contact your local council service center for more information on participation in the 2001 National Scout Jamboree.
There's still time to enter your best pictures from camp or summer vacation in Scouting magazine's "Take Your Camera to Camp" photo contest.
The contest theme applies to all BSA camping experiences, including Tiger Cub outings, Cub Scout day and resident camp, family camping, Boy Scout summer camp or high adventure treks, and Venturing superactivities.
Entries must be received by Oct. 1, 1999. Winners receive BSA Supply Division gift certificates and have their photographs published in Scouting's March-April 2000 issue and on the magazine's Web site.
Rules for entering
Effective Sept. 1, the tenure requirement for the Webelos Den Leader Award will be reduced to one year. A Webelos den leader who completes one year of registered service in that position after that date meets the tenure requirement for the award. This action reflects the fact that most Webelos dens graduate into Boy Scouting in February or March of the fifth-grade year.
All aspects of the Cub Scout leader recognition plan are currently being reviewed by a volunteer task force. Input to the task force is welcome and should be sent to the Cub Scout Division at the BSA national office.
From now until Nov. 30, 1999, the BSA Supply Division is offering the blue Cub Scout uniform shirt and trousers or shorts at a package discount price of $36. Depending on size and style of the uniform selected, the package price represents a savings of up to $20.65 off the regular retail price.
The package includes a pair of blue Cub Scout uniform trousers or shorts and a short- or long-sleeved blue uniform shirt. Accessories such as hat, belt, socks, and insignia are not included.
Customers should present a special discount coupon found in this issue of Scouting magazine and also available from Scouting retailers. The coupon may also be downloaded from the BSA Web site at http://www.scouting.org/stuff/cubuniform
Recent events, including the Columbine High School tragedy in Littleton, Colo., have prompted many requests for reprints of Scouting magazine's May-June 1999 cover story, "How Society Fails Boys [And What We Can Do About It]."
Writer Janis Leibs Dworkis details author Michael Gurian's views on what parents, mentors, and educators can do to shape adolescent males into exceptional men. Gurian, a family therapist, educator, and the author of six books about male development, is credited with first bringing "the boys movement" into the national spotlight.
Reprints may be ordered by credit card in the following quantities: 100 for $25; 200 for $50. Call (972) 580-2376 to place orders.
National Volunteer Week last April saw many Americans recognized for outstanding service to their communities. In Detroit, Eagle Scout John Kates was one of five young persons honored with a Young Metro Volunteer award at the city's annual Celebrate Volunteers luncheon.
Sponsored by Detroit's United Way Community Services' Volunteer Council, the award is for exceptional leadership and commitment to community service. Among John's many service projects were efforts benefiting the Detroit Parks and Recreation Department's Bele Isle Haunted Forest program, the Urban League's "Do the Right Thing" project, and the Greening of Detroit's spring tree planting.
"I just love helping," said John, a member of Troop 5 in Detroit. "I think my purpose on this earth right now is to make other people feel better and to see them smile. I'll always volunteer."
Patrick Smith, El Segundo, Calif., is the 1999 recipient of the Woods Services Award. Presented by the BSA and the Woods Services and Residential Treatment Center, Langhorne, Pa., the award recognizes exceptional service and leadership in the field of Scouts with disabilities.
Smith has served as both a Scoutmaster and an Explorer Advisor of youth with disabilities. In his years of service, he has also provided a summer camp program for Boy Scouts with disabilities, taught sessions on Scouts with disabilities at the BSA's National Camping School, and administered a district Disabilities Awareness merit badge camporee.
As a special education teacher, he assisted with Special Olympics and other school-related activities, and promoted Scouting for special education students at Lanterman High School in Los Angeles.
Each council can nominate a person for the award. Completed nomination forms (No. 89-258G) are due in the national office, S212, by Dec. 31
Two Cub Scouts from Pack 214 in West Jefferson, N.C., are proof that you're never too young to be a hero.
Ray Phipps was just 7 the night he saved the life of his father, Mark, who was sinking into a diabetic coma when Ray awoke and heard him moaning. Ray quickly dialed 911, then rushed back and squirted chocolate syrup into his dad's mouth, giving his body the sugar it needed to keep him alive. When paramedics arrived, Ray's dad was already recovering.
A few weeks before that, 8-year-old Dylan Sheets had rescued his injured mother and 2-year-old sister after their car overturned and slid down an embankment. Dylan turned off the engine, unfastened their seat belts, kicked open the jammed doors, and pulled them to safety. He then used a cell phone to call for help.
The BSA National Court of Honor presented both boys with Heroism Awards - a rarity for Cub Scouts and, according to Pack 214 Cubmaster Beverly Kemp an "unheard of feat" for two members of the same pack in the same year.
In 1998, the National Court of Honor granted awards for lifesaving and meritorious action to 318 Scouts or Scouters.
This fall, the BSA's National Capital Area Council joins with Mount Vernon in a salute to George Washington, the nation's first president. Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts can participate by contributing to the "Boy Scout Rules of Civility for the 21st Century," a set of standards similar to the Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation that Washington wrote when he was in his early teens.
Washington's 110 precepts - such as "Every action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect to those that are Present" - outlined values that helped make him the most trusted and admired hero of the new American nation.
Individually or as a unit, Scouts are encouraged to submit 10 modern rules to the George Washington Bicentennial, P.O Box 110, Mount Vernon, VA 22121, before Oct. 31, 1999.
From all submissions a new list of 110 rules will be compiled.
In addition, a George Washington patch is available for Scouts who submit 10 rules and conduct a Washington Bicentennial event in their community. Mail your 10 rules, a description of the event, plus name, address, and troop number, to the above address. Include $3.50 for each patch and a $2 shipping and handling fee for each order.
More information and ideas for commemorative events can be found at the George Washington Bicentennial Web site at http://www.gwashington1999.org/ or by calling (877) 492-1999.
Sport Nights (and Days) in local Scout councils, held in cooperation with professional and college teams, are annual highlights for countless Scouts. But nowhere is the occasion more exciting than in the St. Louis Area Council, where the thrill can be summed up in two words: Mark McGwire.
Courtesy of McGwire's St. Louis Cardinals, which supports council recruiting efforts each year, hundreds of Scouts saw baseball's new home run king hit two of his record-setting 70 homers in 1998.
And this year they're watching him try to top that performance. All registered Scouts who recruited at least one new member during the year were eligible, along with the new recruits, for free admission to a Cardinals game at Busch Stadium. Top-recruiting troops, packs, and crews can also qualify as a unit. In all, the Cards provided Scouts with 1,500 free tickets to each of six home games.
"The Cardinals have been one of our biggest supporters for decades," says Tim O'Donnell, council director of field service. "In fact, I remember going to one of their games as a Cub Scout 40 years ago."
When McGwire hit homer No. 14 in April 1998, "About 400 of our kids were sitting in the upper deck, and the ball landed right in the middle of them," O'Donnell says. "One of our Venturers ended up with it as a souvenir."
There's only one Mark McGwire, but Scouts in other councils have many opportunities for a Sport Night experience. In North Carolina's Mecklenburg County Council, they can see the NBA's Charlotte Hornets at reduced prices, with part of the proceeds going to the council.
In Wisconsin's Bay Lakes Council, the sport is arena football. Scouts receive cut-rate tickets and special patches to see the Milwaukee Mustangs take on the Grand Rapids Rampage and Portland Forest Dragons. The Quivira Council in Kansas features minor-league hockey, the Wichita Thunder vs. the Topeka Scarecrows.
In Oklahoma, Ohio, Massachusetts, and East Carolina, Scouts see minor-league baseball games between such teams as the Tulsa Drillers, El Paso Diablos, Akron Aeros, Portland Sea Dogs, Pawtucket Red Sox, Richmond Braves, Kinston Indians, and Winston Warthogs.
By completing at least 12 hours of park service, Scouts can qualify for a special NPS & BSA Service to America patch from Eastern National, a group that coordinates the project with the National Park Service (NPS) and the BSA.
The 12 hours of park service will also help qualify a Scout to buy the BSA's Service to America Award patch (Supply No. 339), which is available to all BSA youth members who participate in a minimum of 12 hours of community service yearly and present a Youth Commitment Form signed by a unit leader.
Both patch programs are part of Scouting's response to America's Promise, the national volunteer initiative launched in 1997. (The BSA has pledged 200 million hours' service by youth members through the year 2000.)
Information on service opportunities at national parks (and applications for the NPS & BSA patch) are now available online at http://www.servicetoamerica.org or by telephoning the VIP (Volunteer in Parks) coordinator at your closest national park site.
The West Central Florida Council, headquartered in Seminole, has developed a media award for packs, troops, crews, and posts that garner positive publicity.
Units earn a point each time they receive coverage in written, audio, or video media. Coverage that includes pictures counts as two points. Units collecting 12 points receive an attractive ribbon for their unit flag.
For example, a Cub Scout pack produced its own 30-second public service announcement for the council's Scouting for Food drive. The video, which included several of the pack's Cub Scouts, aired on four local television stations.
"During our program preview in early August, every unit receives the media award form, the national Publicizing Your Unit guidebook, and a list of current media," says Debbie Knecht, senior Learning for Life executive. "Periodically a member of our marketing committee attends roundtables to discuss the award and answer questions. And our newsletter often contains short marketing tips."
Knecht adds that the media award program's many benefits include motivating units to promote their events, boys, and activities; providing the council a news "clipping service"; and generating ideas for expanded publicity efforts by the council marketing committee.
 Flanked by Scouts Nick Harris and Nathan Motzkus, one of the colorful characters attending Troop 410's annual barbecue dinner expresses a distinct preference for salad. |
For 36 years, Troop 410, Salt Lake City, has staged an annual buffalo barbecue, featuring mountain men, tepees, and bison exhibits. Scouts, parents, and siblings team up to serve meals to as many as 1,200 diners.
Besides earning money for the troop, the dinner also provides Scouts with learning experiences in communication, organization, and cooperation.
Troop 410, chartered to Salt Lake City's Christ United Methodist Church, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Boys' Life, the BSA magazine for young readers, has received several top awards for recent editorial content.
Four feature articles from Scouting magazine were honored in the 1998 Community Action Network Media & Corporate Awards Competition for "coverage of community social problems, including solutions that work to alleviate them."
Receiving certificates of merit in the category for problem-solving projects initiated by an individual or nonprofit group were:
 Joshua Kilgore |
A Scout is remembered in the special lyrics of a song whose creation he had inspired before his life was cut short by a tragic accident.
On Troop 27's backpack trip in the Jefferson Wilderness area of the Oregon Cascades, our evening of campfire stories ended with my Scoutmaster's Minute. As the rest of the troop rose to conclude the evening by singing "Scout Vespers" ("Softly falls the light of day..."), one Scout groaned from his log seat: "Do we have to sing that?"
I was disappointed, because I wanted all the Scouts to feel the spirit of what we had just experienced. But then I thought: He's right. We need another Scout song that closes these fine moments ... another option.
Coincidentally, a few weeks later I obtained the lyrics to "Ashokan Farewell," the music the public first became familiar with when it was used throughout Ken Burns's award-winning documentary, "The Civil War." The original lyrics had a tone that embodied much of the same spirit of bonding that we developed during our extended camping trips. Recalling my feeling at the recent campfire, it suddenly struck me to adapt them for Scouting, and a few hours' work resulted in "Ashokan Farewell (Scouting version)".
I later realized the song was copyrighted and couldn't be used without permission, so I contacted the composer, Jay Ungar. A former Scout, he liked the lyrics enough to authorize them to be licensed for use in Scouting.
Tragically, the same week the licensing agreement was completed, Joshua Kilgore, the 14-year-old Scout whose campfire complaint had inspired the new lyrics, was killed in a shooting accident. His family asked me to give the eulogy at his funeral, which I presented as if I were speaking directly with Josh during a "final Scoutmaster conference." At the conclusion, I told how he had inspired me to find "a new, sincere Scout song that would go deep into the bonding and loyalty of Scouting," and that "Ashokan Farewell (Scouting version)" was dedicated to him and would be sent out "to all the Scouts in the world as a song you inspired."
Ironically, "Ashokan Farewell (Scouting version)" was performed for the first time in public at the funeral of the Scout who inspired it. Through the Scout-oriented eulogy and song, many of the 650 youth and adults who attended the funeral service found positive closure.
A photograph in the newspaper showed Scouts from three area troops in an honor line, saluting their brother Scout as his casket was carried out of the chapel. The community was quite affected by the solemn dignity of the Scouts' manner.
The current members of Troop 27 are considered "a musical troop," as many play one or more instruments, and the Scoutmaster (JLDunne@aol.com) composes songs about Scouting. We have developed a special bond after camping 10 times a year for the last two years. The various climates of Oregon have been the focus of the troop's outdoor agenda, including camping in the desert, snow caves, on the coast, mountain lakes, etc. Through music like "Ashokan Farewell (Scouting version)" the troop has further bonded during a difficult period.
The full moon is high as we gaze into the fire,
The trails of the forest know soon we will part.
There's a whisper in the wind and our souls have been inspired,
There's a bond that may always remain in our hearts.
Our thoughts will return to the sounds of our laughter,
And the kinship of feeling as one.
This time will remain, long ever after,
The moonlight, the music and stories are done.
Will we climb the hills once more?
Will we walk the woods together?
Will the same feelings be by the fire once again?
Will every song we've sung stay with us forever?
With this bond be remembered in our hearts until then?
Under the moon the mountains lie sleeping,
Over the lakes the stars shine,
They wonder if you and I will be keeping,
The kinship of Scouting or leave it behind.
Music by Jay Ungar, lyrics by Grian MacGregor with additional lyrics by James Dunne. © 1983 and 1994 by Swinging Door Music. Adapted for Boy Scouts by James Dunne, Troop 27, Salem, Ore., 1998, in memory of Joshua James Kilgore, 1984-1998. Permission for title and lyric change granted by Swinging Door Music. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
To hear a midi file of the melody, go to http://www.ashokan.org. For more information on obtaining the music, call (800) 292-0905. "Ashokan Farewell (Scouting version)" is also scheduled to be part of a new CD, "Songs for Scouts." For CD information, contact scoutsongs@aol.com.
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