We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Articles

Bull Run Helps Lead Flag Day US Flag Retirement

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Every year the United States celebrates Flag Day on June 14 to mark the anniversary of  adopting “the Stars and Stripes” as the nation’s official flag, and Prince William County residents have the opportunity to observe the holiday by retiring old or tattered American flags at the Prince William County Landfill anytime during open hours.

Local Boy Scout troops from Occoquan and Bull Run Districts collect the flags and ensure that they are properly disposed of and ceremoniously retired. Flag retirement is a long-standing American tradition of respectfully and reverently burning flags that are no longer fit to be flown.

The American Flag Collection Center led by Scout Leader Dave Byrne is a joint effort between the Boy Scouts of America Occoquan and Bull Run Districts, Keep Prince William Beautiful and Prince William County Solid Waste Division.

The partners who run the American Flag Collection Center consider safety in addition to tradition. Not all flags are safe to burn, for example, American flags made of nylon can release toxic fumes when burned. These flags will be recycled in an appropriate manner.

FSK Day Camp

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FSK’s June Day Camp was a huge success. Our camp hosted over 100 campers during the final week of June at the Thurmont Conservation Sports Club. The camp held a variety of activities stations including swimming, archery, shooting, fishing, STEAM, nature, and sports.

This camp and our second day camp in July could never have been possible if it weren’t for the hard work and dedication of our camp directors, Lauren Dutrow (program) and Dory LeCroy (administration). They have already passed down a wealth of knowledge and we are very lucky to have such dedicated, passionate volunteers in FSK.

Their hard work definitely paid-off. Not only did our Cub Scouts have a great time, we also received a perfect score on our official camp inspection!

 

EMT Crew Expands Scouting in Damascus

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Crew 713, sponsored by the Damascus Volunteer Fire Department, was chartered in January 2018 and is set to make a difference for the lives of others and Scouts! This Crew is focused on learning the skills of Emergency Medical Technicians and hopes to soon staff all sorts of events within Seneca District as First-Aiders. Led by Advisor Tricia Taylor and Committee Chair Jonathan Bjorson, both EMTs with DVFD, this crew has already had CPR training and is working on First Aid skills, providing a unique opportunity to explore careers in Fire/EMS in the Upper Montgomery County area. The Crew invites you to come out to their next event: a visit to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, MD followed by a hike on July 15, 2018. Contact matt_beyers@yahoo.com for further information.

Team at Camp Howard M. Wall Achieves Full Accreditation Award for the 2018 Season

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We are pleased to announce that Camp Howard M. Wall has achieved full accreditation for 2018. The purpose of the Boy Scouts of America’s National Camp Accreditation Program (NCAP) is to help councils elevate camps to new levels of excellence in delivering Scouting’s promise to youth. Councils will engage in a rigorous review of camps and properties, continuous improvement, and correction or elimination of substandard practices.Only camps that successfully complete all five aspects of the NCAP are BSA accredited camps.

Congratulations, team. Well done.

Chain Bridge District Day Camp Hosts Over 170 Campers

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The annual Chain Bridge Cub Scout Day Camp was held at the LDS Arlington Ward during the week of June 25 – June 29 this year. We had over 170 Cub Scouts attend the day camp to compete and participate in amazing activities including Scout Skills taught by members of Ship 1942, Shooting Sports instructed by members of Troop 350, Crafts and Games taught and instructed by Boy Scouts from various Troops across Chain Bridge, and numerous more fun activities. Our Cub Scout Day Camp was lucky enough to be able to acquire a ROCK WALL for a day where the participants at camp were able to compete in a race to see who could get to the top first!

Scouts who came to day camp this year were able to earn rank specific Shooting Sports patches, learn cool and useful Boy Scout knots, make interesting crafts to take home, develop new friends and great memories, but most importantly, our Scouts who came to camp had FUN!

All of this would not have been possible without the help of our amazing volunteers who dedicated their time and effort to make this camp fun and exciting for our campers. A HUGE shout out to our Camp Director, Erin Freeman, who has been on the day camp senior staff for over 10 years, and Tony Baker, our Program Director, who spent all his time out in the field helping our program areas function, and the rest of our staff who spent their time helping our Cubs learn through having fun!

We are currently in the process of beginning preparations for our day camp next year. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or helpful advice, please do not hesitate to reach out and let us know! We can’t put on great programs like this without the help of all of our families and volunteers like yourself!

Vietnamese Scouts Celebrate Culture & Scouting @ Camp Snyder

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This summer, Thẳng Tiến returned to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area for the first time in 20 years, and Camp William H. Snyder was thrilled to be the host site for the largest gathering of Vietnamese Scouts in the nation. For 7 days from June 28th to July 4th, Vietnamese Scouts from around the globe for a week of action-packed adventure and fellowship, This year’s theme was “Tighten our Bond & Set New Record”.