We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

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Upcoming Webinar Series: Summer Camp 2021

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Join the staff of the different NCAC Summer Camps & Programs for informational webinars and get all your summer camp questions answered! There will be representation from Goshen Scout Reservation, Camp Snyder, District Day & Twilight Camps, Camp Catoctin BSA, and the High Adventure Committee. Let’s get camping in Summer 2021!

March 4: Camping & COVID

Camp is going to look a little different this year. Learn what Goshen and Snyder are
doing to keep camp both safe and fun this summer.

March 11: Scouts BSA Camping Options

Get information about programs for both Troops and individuals at Goshen’s Camps
Bowman, Marriott, and Olmsted; Goshen’s Provisional Camp program; Snyder’s new
Specialty Week; and Camp Catoctin BSA.

March 18: Cub Scouts Go to Camp

Get all the details on day camps and overnight camps at Camp Snyder, Camp PMI,
Camp Ross, and District Day & Twilight Camps.

March 25: High Adventure at Summer Camp

Looking for adventure? Check out Goshen’s Lenhok’sin High Adventure or one of the
High Adventure Committee’s trips to a National High Adventure Base.

Webinars will begin at 6pm EST.

Register in advance at: https://ncacbsa-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K297JI5zTrOSqIcHr9mpVw

BSA CEO and President Roger Mosby to Keynote the 2021 NCAC College of Commissioner Service

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Commissioner College 

This year’s Commissioner College will be held virtually via Zoom on Saturday, March 13, 2021 from 7:30am – 5:30pm and Sunday, March 14, 2021 from 2:30pm – 5:00pm.

The college is open to everyone interested in learning how to help units better serve more youth through Scouting. This year’s theme is “Rebound Through Resilience.” Registration is now open!

Registration is open to NCAC Scouters only until February 23 at which time it will be opened up to Scouters nationwide. Further information is available at http://www.ncacbsa.org/college or https://scoutingevent.com/082-42919 .

 

Keynote Speaker

Photo from: https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2020/01/28/getting-to-know-roger-c-mosby-the-new-president-and-ceo-of-the-boy-scouts-of-america/

On Saturday, March 13, the Keynote Speaker is Roger C. Mosby, CEO and President of the Boy Scouts of America, headquartered in Irving, Texas.
Roger Mosby most recently ran his own consulting firm focused on executive coaching, following his retirement from leading energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan in 2015. During nearly two decades with the company, he served as HR lead and was one of the original six officers. During his tenure, Kinder Morgan grew from 175 to more than 11,000 employees, with Mosby leading extensive change management and cultural transformation efforts.

Roger was a Scout as a youth and served for more than 33 years as a volunteer in the Mid-America and Sam Houston Area councils, in addition to positions with the Southern Region and National Committees of the Boy Scouts of America, as well as the World Organization of the Scout Movement. He has received the Silver Antelope Award and the Silver Beaver Award, the highest honors for volunteers at the regional and local levels, respectively, and is a Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s honor society.

 

Article by Jeffrey Schweiger

Assistant Council Commissioner (Exploring, STEM, Communications and Resources), NCAC. Registrar, NCAC CCS 2021

SIGN UP – Seeking Counselors for March 2021 NCAC MB@Home

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NCAC is looking for Merit Badge Counselors for the March 2021 session of the MeritBadges@Home program.

Counselors will conduct remote instruction for Scouts through the Zoom and collaborate through the Basecamp platform between a period of March 15-April 3, 2021.

If you are interested in serving as a counselor, please follow the link below to learn more and sign up. The counselor registration deadline is Monday, February 22.

March 2021 MB@Home Counselor Registration Form (https://forms.gle/TsvZK1PuFhnQTay88)

Feel free to share these links with your Scouting and professional colleagues.

Camp Snyder Scouts BSA Merit Badge Week Is Coming!

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Join us at Camp Snyder for the FIRST EVER MERIT BADGE week for Scouts BSA for the week July 18 – 24, 2021!

We will offer a wide range of Trail-to-Eagle and Outdoor Merit Badges (like Cooking, Swimming, Soil and Water Conservation, First Aid, Archery, Rifle Shooting, Geocaching and more) and Specialty Merit Badges (like Woodworking, Aviation, Search and Rescue, Photography, Weather, Archeology and more). Classes will be small (10 scouts maximum) and up to 50 Merit Badges will be offered.

There are two ways to participate. Individual Scouts or Units can:

  1. stay at Camp Snyder all week and camp overnight or
  2. be a day-only participant while staying overnight at home.

The entire program, to include dining, camping, merit badge classes and fun activities (like the swimming pool, climbing tower, air rifles, craftwork and campfires) will be conducted using strict COVID-19 virus precautions.

Sign up now at https://www.gotosnyder.org/summer-camp/specialty-week/ to RESERVE YOUR PLACE, since the number of participants will be LIMITED to 100 campers and 50 day-only participants. Units can sign up one adult leader for FREE for every 5 paying Scouts. Sign-up for specific Merit Badges classes will be later, during Spring 2021 once the class schedule is finalized!

A Scouting Testimonial from Will Gouker

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Dear Order of the Arrow Member:

Last year I had the honor of serving as the Lodge Chief of the Amangamek-Wipit Lodge, the largest Order of the Arrow Lodge in the nation, to serve and represent over four-thousand of my fellow Scouts and Scouters in NCAC. Through this experience and my time in the Order of the Arrow, I have gotten to meet many along the trail, including you. Our Scouting community needs us all to help build our endowment for future generations of youth!

One of my favorite stories to tell of my own journey along the trail—one that truly defines what it means to be in the world of Scouting—originates at our very own Goshen Scout Reservation. Not that long ago, I was sitting with all my friends in my Pack at Camp Ross. We were laughing, singing along to “Froggy,” chanting “Ross is Boss” at the top of our lungs, and having a fantastic time. Just along the ridge of the mountain came these giant, barreling purple clouds that threatened the camps that surrounded our Lake Merriweather. As those clouds grew closer to us, the winds picked up, and rain began to pelt our backs. The incredible Staff gathered all these crazy Cub Scouts in the dining hall, our new accommodations for the night. As the evening was coming to a close, the stories and skits and songs had dissipated from the room, the next question was “how do we sleep” came up. Without hesitation, those Camp Staffers ventured back into the storm to gather their own beds, blankets, pillows, and anything they could muster. In the end, we made it through the night, we woke up the next day and headed home having grown up a little.

Each time I recount that story, it continually inspires me. The young men and women that the Scouting program has developed were willing to give everything they had to seemingly random strangers, and those Scouts were bound together by the ties of brotherhood in Scouting—the pinnacle of the Scout Oath and Law, executed without hesitation, showing the incredible resiliency and dedication of Scouts.

But what strikes me, each time I look back on my time or listen to others describe their times in Scouting is that this story is not unique. Looking back on our journeys along the trail, it becomes wholly apparent that the most important thing that Scouting has provided each and every single one of us: a community.

Like almost every organization, this pandemic has shaken our community to the core. With every meeting, event, and class moving online, the continual question gets asked: “Why do I stay?”

For me, I stay for the immense opportunity to grow in a safe environment, where I can learn immeasurable skills that will apply to my everyday life. This organization has been a second home for me and millions of my friends. Years ago, when we were sitting around the fire at Camp Ross, gearing up for the Centennial Celebration of Scouting, we were made a promise that this family would build these children into young adults. The challenges we face, a pandemic exacerbated by bankruptcy, can only be overcome if we have local leaders to ensure the future of Scouting is still burning bright. At the end of the day, it is not about endowing tomorrow, but endowing the next century of Scouting and ensuring that the promise I had as a Cub Scout is still there for tomorrow.

I encourage you to visit www.ncacbsa.org to see all the fantastic opportunities we give the young people of the National Capital Area Council. To learn more about how you can ensure that our community of Scouts and Scouters will live on, give Jenna Welle (301-214-9113) or Forrest Horton (703-919-4636) a call soon!

Yours in Scouting,

William Gouker
2019-2020 Lodge Chief

Join the GOAT Crew: A Scout’s Perspective

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In summer of 2019, I participated in the Goshen Order of the Arrow Trail Crew (GOAT). Based out of Lenhok’sin High Adventure at the Goshen Scout Reservation, GOAT offers a two-week program, where one week is filled with trail work and skill building, and is followed by a week of backpacking and fun activities through the Lenhok’sin Program. Through the GOAT program, I was able to experience all of the amazing outposts at Lenhok’sin High Adventure while still performing acts of service and fulfilling my commitment as a member of the Order of the Arrow. The GOAT Crew was composed of several scouts from the Amangamek-Wipit Order of the Arrow Lodge, furthering the goal of cheerful service and the brotherhood of scouting.

While working on the many trails around Goshen, I learned how to interpret trail blazes, repair wooden bridges, and use several tools that I had never even heard of before. This trail work helped to ensure that the many miles of trail system were cleared after a long off season, and ready to host the scouts that would come adventuring during the next few weeks. I was also able to see behind the scenes action of what it takes to set up and operate a high adventure camp while creating friendships with staff members.

After a week of hard work restoring trails, the GOAT crew took a well-earned rest and traveled into Lexington where we ordered burgers and shakes, hung out at a local pet shop to play with puppies, and watched Men in Black: International.

The next week was spent backpacking along the newly restored trails throughout Goshen, climbing the five mountain peaks and visiting the various outposts that were part of the Lenhok’sin program. The first part of our weeklong journey was spent climbing Viewing Rock and Jump Rock, two of the five peaks required to earn the Five Peaks Award. Following the long and strenuous hike, we hiked to the Caving Outpost, where we ate dinner before spending three hours crawling through a part of the three miles of extensive caves beneath a cow pasture near Goshen. On day two, we packed up our gear and hiked to The Knob, which was the third peak at Goshen. At the end of our hike, we traveled on to Mountain Man, where we learned about fur trapping and trading in the 18th century. At Mountain Man, the GOAT crew engaged in a shooting competition with black-powder rifles, threw hatchets at oak logs, and shared potatoes with the Irish immigrant who helped run the outpost. On the third day, we completed a primitive night in the backcountry woods of Goshen, away from the safety of Outposts. The GOAT crew finished the trek at Foxfire, an 18th century Appalachian blacksmith’s forge, where we learned the trade of blade making and forged a legendary butterknife worthy of King Arthur himself.

GOAT is an amazing program that I feel every scout who is able should take advantage of. A week of high adventure programs and service at a discounted rate? There’s really no better way to spend two weeks of your summer.

Find out more on how to join the GOAT Crew at http://wipit470.org/goat.html or by emailing GOAT@wipit470.org.