Scouting Programs

Goose Creek District Campout

October 30, 2018 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Over 190 Webelos from 20 packs, with their parents, came out for a beautiful (if rainy)weekend at Camp Snyder. They exhausted themselves at the gaga pit, monkey bridge, human foosball, knife safety, cooking, wilderness survival, fire building, and first aid.

All of the activities were run by over 90 Scouts and Scouters from eight troops that came out to assist in the event. They had just a much fun showing the Cub Scouts about what Boy Scouts do and had a great opportunity to use the EDGE method in their teaching.

Topping it all off was an evening campfire, hosted by Goose Creek’s Order of the Arrow ceremony team. Packs and troops presented skits and songs for everyone to enjoy, and the staff performed their traditional “pie throwing techniques” skit to the amusement of all.

A special “Introduction to Webelos” presentation was provided to all of the first year Webelos and their parents while the Order of the Arrow did a ‘Webelos to Scout’ presentation for those that will be transitioning into Boy Scout this spring.

A special thanks to all the adult volunteers who came out to help set up, take down, pickup trash bags, distribute charcoal and fire pit stands, prepare foil strips, manage traffic, and run the food distribution area and to the troops who cut up the onions and peppers for the Webelos’s dinner and helped with the food line.

Troop 544 Honors Five Eagle Scouts

October 30, 2018 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Scouts from left to right: Campbell James Wilson, Elmer Douglass Ellis, Jr., Columbus Jared Giles, James Omar Dorman, and Ian Groom

At the end of July, Troop 544, chartered by Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, D.C., hosted an Eagle Court of Honor to jointly recognize the accomplishments of five of their Scouts who had recently completed the journey to earning the rank of Eagle Scout.

“Troop 544 is honored to recognize five distinguished Scouts who have recently achieved the rank of Eagle Scout,” said Robert Simpson, Scoutmaster of Troop 544. “Their accomplishments highlight Troop 544’s proud lineage of Eagle Scouts which now stands at 49. As one of the first African American Boy Scout Troops in the country, with over 86 years in Scouting at Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ, we are proud to celebrate this historic event.”

Columbus “Jared” Giles became an Eagle Scout in February 2016, with Bronze, Gold, and Silver Eagle Palms, and is a member of the Order of the Arrow. He recently graduated from Blyth-Templeton Academy in Washington, D.C. and this fall began his studies to become a clinical psychologist.

For his Eagle Scout service project, Jared planned, designed, and supervised the construction of three weather stations, all of which were donated to Stoddert Elementary School in D.C.

Campbell Wilson became an Eagle Scout in August 2016, and is a member of the Order of the Arrow. Campbell currently attends a college prep program at the Gow School in Buffalo, New York.

For his Eagle Scout service project, Campbell oversaw the building of a retaining wall to stem the erosion of the garden walls into Sligo Creek to benefit his neighborhood community garden.

Ian Hunter Michael Groom became an Eagle Scout in July 2017. He graduated with honors in June 2018 from St. John’s College High School (SJC) in Washington, D.C., and was inducted into the National Honor Society in September 2016. He is attending Hampton University on an academic and athletic scholarship.

For his Eagle Scout service project, Ian worked with the non-profit Sole4Souls and organized a shoe drive to collect 750 gently used pair of shoes, and then worked to transport the collected shoes to Sole4Souls central distribution center in Nashville, TN.

James “Omar” Dorman became an Eagle Scout in May 2018, and is a member of the Order of the Arrow. He graduated from Georgetown Day School and currently attends the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

For his Eagle Scout service project, Omar planned a book drive for children in Africa, working with non-profit organization that supplies books to libraries and orphanages in Africa, he collected approximately 1,000 books from his neighborhood, school, and church.

Family Scouting: Scouts BSA New Troop Start-up Seminar November 17

October 30, 2018 by The Scouter Digest Staff

The air is getting colder and that can only mean one thing – there are just a few months left until girls can officially join Scouts BSA!

New troops – and new female Scouts – can begin registering on February 1, 2019. Don’t let the paperwork slow them down on their Trail to Eagle.

Join us on November 17, 9am – 10am, at the Marriott Scout Service Center (9190 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814) to learn what you can be doing today so your new troop can hit the ground running next year.

Troop 1094 Scouters Clean Vietnam Wall

October 30, 2018 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Early Saturday, September 22 at 6:30 am, long before the tourists arrive, Troop 1094 (chartered out of Darnestown, MD) Scouts undertook the solemn duty of cleaning the Vietnam Memorial Wall to show reverence to the more than 58.000 names of people who gave their lives for freedom. The Vietnam Wall, a US national memorial, honors service member of the US Armed Forces who fought in the Vietnam War, including service members who died, and those service members who were unaccounted for (MIA) during the war.

Although cleaning the wall is a time of respect, the Scouts also demonstrated great camaraderie, sharing hoses, buckets, and scrub brushes with the NAM KNIGHTS MC IMMORTAL 400 Chapter, MD, who shared in the event with the Scouts.

The work took less than an hour. Afterwards US Park Ranger Mark Morse spoke to the Scouts about the history of the wall and the significance of keeping the black granite polished. Park Ranger Morse explained that making the wall have a mirror effect symbolically brings the past and present together. “The wall is part of the healing process for so many families, whose loved ones never came home”, Park Ranger Morse explained to the Scouts.

US Park Service makes the cleaning schedule available early in spring. Contact Park Ranger Mark Morse at mark_morse@nps.gov for information.

A Summer of Fun, and Service

October 30, 2018 by The Scouter Digest Staff

George Mason District’s Scouts and Scouters were excited to serve on staff of the 11th International Vietnamese Scouting Jamboree. Thẳng Tiến returned to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area after 20 years with the Eastern U.S. Region hosting Vietnamese Scouts from across the globe at Camp William B. Snyder for 7 days of action-packed adventure and fellowship from June 28 to July 4, 2018. From George Mason District, Eagle Scouts Timothy Farr and Christoper Serfass served all week on the Medical Team Staff, and District Committee members Matthew Burns, Julia Farr, Jeffrey Ludin, and Mark Serfass served on the Scuba Staff.

In August 2018, George Mason Chapter arrowmen Roy DeLauder, Julia Farr, Timothy Farr, Allison Hoopes, Christopher Serfass, and Mark Serfass spent a beautiful weekend at Goshen Scout Reservation, where the chapter enjoyed the opportunity to give cheerful service and lead an OA service project to stain the Camp Olmsted Tech Center.

Pack 1530 earns Hornaday Unit Award

October 30, 2018 by The Scouter Digest Staff

by Sara Holtz, Hornaday Adviser

Pack 1530 in Powhatan District earned the prestigious William T. Hornaday Unit Award, one of several awards that honor William T. Hornaday, the head taxidermist at the Smithsonian who helped establish the National Zoo, and was the first Director of what is today known as the Bronx Zoo. He is widely credited with saving the American bison from extinction.

Units earn the Hornaday Unit award when at least 60% of registered youth participate in a substantial conservation project that meets the rigorous standards of the Hornaday program.

Pack 1530 participated in an invasive species control project led by Boy Scout John H. of Troop 159, who is working towards the coveted Hornaday Badge. The project address the growth of Japanese stiltgrass as an invasive species at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon, Virginia. Japanese stiltgrass is considered a highly invasive plant because it is not native, spreads aggressively, and crowds out native plants. John’s project aims to manually remove stiltgrass from an area identified by Frying Pan Farm Park staff, planting of native grasses and plants in their place, and future use of that area for educational purposes with youth visitors to the Park.

“Unusual prizes are won only by unusual service”
-Dr. William T. Hornaday

Pack 1530’s Cub Scouts, parents, siblings, and alumni participated in 5 work days in August and September at the Park to pull Japanese stiltgrass. Pack 1530 also helped educate the public about the project and about invasive plant control by having a booth at their school’s Open House in August. They will continue to participate in this project by volunteering in subsequent phases to replace invasive stiltgrass with native species, which will help ensure sustainability of the project.

For more information about William T. Hornaday awards in NCAC, go to www.NCACBSA.org/Hornaday. Our council’s Conservation Committee includes more than 20 Hornaday Advisers who are ready to assist Scouts and units in pursuing significant conservation projects to earn Hornaday awards.

Don’t see an adviser in your District? Contact Conservation Committee Chair Will Rodger through the webpage and he’ll help you find someone!