Archives for March 2021

Meet your 2021 Goshen Camp Directors!

March 9, 2021 by Goshen Scout Reservation

We are pleased to announce the team of Camp Directors for the 2021 Summer of Goshen Scout Reservation.

If you ever have any questions about camp or the programs we provide, please visit www.GoToGoshen.org to get in touch with your camp director.

Phil Barbash, Goshen Scout Reservation Director

Phil is excited to begin his 19th summer working on staff at Goshen Scout Reservation. It will also be his 6th year as the Director of Operations. Beforehand, he worked 10 summers at Camp Bowman, with the last three as the Camp Director. He has served in various positions including Ecology Instructor, First Year Camper Director, and Camp Commissioner. He currently serves as NCAC’s Director of Camping with oversight over Goshen, Camp Snyder, Camp Airy, and Camp Wall.

Carl Trocki, Camp Bowman Director

This will be Carl’s 19th summer as a Goshen staff member, and 14th summer at Camp Bowman. Carl has experience in many different areas of camp, including: Camp Director at Bowman and Lenhok’sin, a myriad of program staff positions and even as an NCAC District Executive. When not at Goshen, Carl lives in Australia, working as a high school teacher/administrator/outdoor educator, and runs a successful watersports business at the beach. Carl is excited to return to Bowman as Camp Director for another summer, and hopes to help maintain the many traditions which have made Camp Bowman such a powerful and positive influence on so many young people.

Chris Warner, Camp Marriott Director

Chris is going on his eleventh year working at Goshen. He started coming as a scout to Camp Bowman in 2008. He worked on staff at Bowman in Scoutcraft, Aquatics, and Facilities. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 2015. Chris is very excited to be continuing the tremendous program that Camp Marriott offers. In the months outside of summer camp, works full time and lives in Maryland.

Tom Van Patten, Camp Olmsted Director

This summer will be Tom’s 9th year on the Goshen staff and his first at Camp Olmsted! Tom previously worked at Camp Bowman as the Program Director. He also worked in several areas including Nature and Scoutcraft. He has also served on the National Camping School Ecology staff. Outside of Scouting, Tom is a recent graduate of Lycoming College and an avid birder. He resides in Montgomery County, MD and works as a cabinetmaker. Working with scouts is a deeply gratifying experience for Tom and he looks forward to positively impacting the lives of young people this summer through the methods of Scouting.

Michael Filmonchik, Camp PMI Director

This will be Michael’s 5th summer at Goshen Scout Reservation and he is excited to be PMI’s Camp Director this summer. He loves Goshen Scout Reservation and values the everlasting experience it provides to scouts. When Michael is not at Goshen he is enrolled in the Masters of Teaching program at VCU. Michael attended PMI as a scout and is very excited to continue the legacy that made him fall in love with Scouting.

Richard Holtslander, Camp Ross Director

Richard attended Ross as a scout, and joined the Camp Ross Staff as early as he could. Since Richard’s first Summer in 2011 he has worked in various positions at camp, learning what it means to be part of the Ross Staff. This will be Richard’s eleventh Summer working at Ross and second Summer as Camp Director. When Richard is not at camp he attends Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia and is studying for a Bachelors in Mathematics with a Minor in Environmental Science. Richard is excited for the new challenges the position will bring, and is looking forward to working with Scouts to have a great Summer and introduction to Scouting!

Elisabeth Warren, Lenhok’sin High Adventure Director

This summer will be Elisabeth’s fifth summer on Lenhok’sin staff, and first year as Camp Director. She previously worked as Program Director, Homecamping Coordinator, and at the Archery and Caving outposts. She started her Goshen journey as a Venturer in 2014, and earned her Ranger Rank in 2016. When she’s not hiking the Lenhok’sin trails, Elisabeth is pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Science and a B.A. in Theatre at Dickinson College, and hopes to make her career in forestry and conservation. Elisabeth is looking forward to an adventurous summer and is excited to watch Scouts grow in confidence on the trail.

Hit A Bullseye This Spring at Camp Snyder !!!!

March 8, 2021 by Craig Weston

Join us for Family Camping with programmed activities at Camp Snyder for the weekend of April 23-25 or May 21-23. There will be fun activities for all ages on a scheduled appointment basis with COVID-19 virus precautions in place.

Make your own schedule by picking from a range of activities, from bullseye fun at the BB gun range to mountaineering at the Scouterhorn! You can also make or drive a robot, do handicrafts, complete a project in the Wood Shop, launch balloons in the STEM workshop, be Robin Hood at the archery range or take a COFFEE break (unlike any other you’ve experienced).

Plus, the family can bring its own gear to enjoy Camp Snyder’s nature trail, fishing pond, geocaching course and you can bike all over camp. Buy a rocket at the Trading Post and launch it at our rocket launch base. Or, just be a Slacker (its actually quite challenging).

Hurry to register because space is limited! Sign up at https://scoutingevent.com/082-45030

14 Local Scouts Are Part of Inaugural Female Eagle Scout Class

March 5, 2021 by The Scouter Digest Staff

BETHESDA, MD: Fourteen young women in the D.C. metro area are among the trailblazing young women in the Boy Scouts of America’s inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts. These Scouts were honored on February 21 at the ‘Be the Change’ event, a celebration of these young women and their achievements, and a call to action for all young people to continue working to make a positive impact on their communities and the nation.

The local Scouts are members of National Capital Area Council, BSA (NCAC). They joined Scouting for various reasons, such as taking once-in-a-lifetime adventures, creating memories with their families, and paving the way for future generations of young women. While their reasons were different their goal was the same: to become one of the first female Eagle Scouts. Earning this award requires a Scout to hold leadership positions in her troop; earn 21 merit badges focusing on essential life skills such as first aid, camping, and personal finance; and lead a service project in her community. “Two years ago, BSA opened its doors to allow girls to join the organization. To see what these young ladies accomplished in that short amount of time is beyond impressive,” said Craig Poland, Scout Executive and CEO of the National Capital Area Council. “They represent the future of Scouting, and we are honored that they chose to be part of our organization.”

In addition to the already challenging requirements, these Eagle Scouts had to find ways to complete their projects during a pandemic. This required them to display flexibility and adaptability in their leadership skills. Please join us in congratulating the local members of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts:

Emma Bazemore organized volunteers from her troop to make snuffle mats and blankets for a local animal shelter, the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria.
Ashlyn Cooper of New Market, MD, built storage units to house donations for a charitable health facility.
Vienna, VA resident Katie Hunter, supervised the construction and placement of 37 garden boxes for Bailey’s Elementary School in Falls Church.
Olivia Preston of Burke, VA, designed and constructed four boat racks for the Lake Braddock Community Association.
Clara Kelly partnered with an Islamic middle and high school to build an outdoor learning area. She specifically wanted to work with an Islamic school to bring an aspect of interfaith community building to her project.

Emma Bazemore, Ashlyn Cooper, Katie Hunter, Olivia Preston, Clara Kelly, Tara Presnall, Maya Kessner, Emma Teichert, Samantha Rutherford, Lila Weir, Lauren Doring, Carolina Herrera Gago, and Elizabeth Clegg completed the requirements for the Inaugural class of female Eagle Scout.

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About Boy Scouts of America & National Capital Area Council Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life. ™ The Scouting organization is composed of 2.6 million youth members between the ages of 6 and 21 and more than a million volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more, please visit www.Scouting.org.

National Capital Area Council was organized in 1911 and today stands as one of the oldest and largest councils in America. The Council territory includes the District of Columbia; Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties in Maryland; and in Virginia the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun, Fauquier, Spotsylvania, Caroline, King George, Stafford and Culpeper as well as the independent cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Manassas, Manassas Park and Fredericksburg in Virginia; and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, please visit www.NCACBSA.org.

Save the Dates: Goshen Staff Alumni Service Weekends

March 5, 2021 by Goshen Scout Reservation

Goshen Staff Alumni, mark your calendars! The Goshen Staff Alumni Association is hosting two service weekends this spring to help get Goshen back into shape for Summer 2021!

The dates for the service weekends are April 30 – May 2 and May 14 – 16.

Service weekends are open to staff alumni from any Goshen camp and any of their friends and family, ages 21 and up. We’ll be working on all sorts of projects around the Reservation. These weekends are a great time to see the camps again and spend some socially distant time with other camp alumni!

Learn more and register at www.gotogoshen.org/gsaaww.

Bears Enjoy Their Baloo the Builder Adventure

March 5, 2021 by Dave Schneeman

Build a Fun Project! Build a Useful Project!

In February, Bears from Pack 1601 had a great time completing their Baloo the Builder Adventure in Michael’s Woodshop. This activity was specifically developed for Bear Dens and provided the Bears with the opportunity to complete all of the requirements of the adventure:

The Bears actively participated in a discussion about shop and tool safety. They also learned about many useful tools to have in their tool box. They were given the opportunity to practice using a number of tools including a clamp, sanding block, hammer and nail punch and then applied these skills while working on their projects. In addition to their newfound skills and knowledge, each Bear left the woodshop with a fun Golf Tee Tic-Tac-Toe Board and their very own Cub Scout Tool Box. It was definitely a fun and memorable adventure in Michael’s Woodshop!

Michael’s Woodshop at Camp William B. Snyder is a great place for Scouts to create and learn. The Baloo the Builder Workshop is just one of many activities available in the wood shop. All programs in Michael’s Woodshop are run by a group of dedicated volunteers. With increasing demand for use of the shop, we are currently seeking to expand our roster of volunteers. In particular, we are seeking to add registered female adult leaders to the team to help support the increasing number of female youth participating in activities in Michael’s Woodshop.

For more information about the Baloo the Builder Workshop and other shop activities or to learn more about volunteer roles available, please visit the Michael’s Woodshop webpage or email any questions and requests to the volunteer team at MichaelsWoodshop.CWBS@gmail.com

Scout Builds Raspberry Pi Computers For Eagle Project

March 4, 2021 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Summitted by: Kellen Meymarian

For my Eagle Scout project, I wanted to encourage students to consider STEM jobs by exposing them to professionals they might otherwise not get to meet. My goal was to create a free publicly available STEM Video Library so that professionals can share their experiences and encourage today’s students to consider careers in STEM. My direct beneficiary was the After-School All-Stars, a program that provides comprehensive after-school programming to middle school students in neglected regions of Ward 8, which has the highest crime rates and lowest median incomes out of all wards within Washington DC. As part of this project, I also built Raspberry Pi computers for the beneficiaries.