We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Scouts BSA

2019 Akela Chess Classic

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On Saturday, February 2 and Saturday, February 9 scouts from all over the National Capital Area Council competed in the Council’s five-round chess tournament, the Akela Chess Classic. The February 2nd event, held at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Herndon, VA, was the Scouts BSA tournament, open to all scouts in troops, crews and ships. Seventeen scouts competed in two brackets: age 10-12 and age 13 and up. In the younger-scout bracket, one scout took first-place honors, with one scout finishing second, and three scouts finishing third. In the older-scout bracket one scout took first-place honors, with three scouts finishing second and three scouts finishing third. The first-place winner in each bracket finished with a perfect 5-0 score.

The February 9th event, held at St. Raphael School in Rockville, MD, was the Cub Scout tournament, open to all scouts in Cub Scout packs. Twenty-seven scouts competed in two brackets: Lion/Tiger/Wolf and Bear/Webelos/Arrow of Light, with awards given for first, second, or third by rank. One Tiger took part, winning first place for his rank. There were one first-place, two second-place, and one third-place finishers in the Wolf rank. For the Bear rank, one scout finished first, one finished second, and two finished third. The Webelos rank had five first-place finishers, three second-place finishers, and one in third place. Rounding out the tournament were one first-place Arrow of Light scout, one in second place, and three in third place. The first-place Wolf and Bear each had a perfect 5-0 score.

Each round of the Akela Chess Classic is limited to one hour, with touch-move rules in effect; under these rules if a player touches a piece he is obligated to move it. All participating scouts must know, in advance of the tournament, the rules of chess and how to play. The 2019 Cub Scout tournament was the 14th annual tournament, and the 2019 Scouts BSA tournament was the 8th annual tournament.

A fun and exciting time was had by all participating scouts. All are looking forward to the Akela Chess Classic next year!

Local Scout Hero – Cesar Casiano Awarded BSA National Award of Merit

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Cesar Casiano Awarded BSA’s National Award of Merit at Troop 317 Court of
Honor

On Tuesday, December 18, 2018, Boy Scout Cesar Casiano of Troop 317 was presented with the Boy Scout National Award of Merit by Norm Carter, Unit Commissioner and Mr. Lance Deffenbaugh, former Cubmaster and mentor. It took place at Troop 317’s Court of Honor held at Stafford County Christian Church.

The following information is from Fire and Rescue crews that responded to the incident:

At 2034 hours on July 14, 2018 Engine 12 from the Berea station responded to a fire reported out at 201 Spring Park Ln in the Rappahannock Landing Subdivision.  Upon arrival, Engine 12 discovered fire damage to the main structural member of a deck with no extension to the home.

Three neighborhood boys had been riding their bicycles in the subdivision when they noticed smoke coming from the back of the residence. They immediately sprang into action. The boys discovered the base of the deck on fire and saw a garden hose attached to the back of the house. Without hesitation, the boys grabbed the hose and extinguished the fire. They then alerted the homeowner of the incident who called 911.

Their quick action prevented the home from catching fire. The house in question was a townhouse connected to six other homes, so the boy’s actions contributed to saving several hundreds of thousands of dollars in property and possibly saving lives as well.

The homeowner had been cooking on his grill and believes that embers fell down to the base of his deck starting it on fire. The homeowner was unaware of the fire until he was alerted by the boys.

When asked about their decision to act, one of the boys, Cesar Casiano, replied: “I’m a Boy Scout, so we’re trained what to do.” The boys were commended for their actions and will each be put in for a civilian lifesaving award.

Good thing those Boy Scouts were there, well-trained and lived the motto to “Be Prepared!” Great examples for all other Scouts everywhere.

Scouts BSA at Summer Camp Livestream

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Thousands of girls registered in Scouts BSA will be participating in 2019 summer camps. To help you find out all you need to know to ensure you are ready for Family Scouting in the outdoors, BSA will be offering a livestream webinar on Monday, February 25th at 7pm CST (that’s 8 pm for those of us in the DMV). Best practices from around the country will be shared, as well as Q&A time with a panel of BSA professionals from the Scouts BSA program team, Youth Protection, and Outdoor Programs. Anyone serving in camp leadership this summer is invited to attend.  Mark your calendar and save this link to join the livestream broadcast.

https://livestream.com/bsa/ScoutsBSASummerCamp

26th Camporee Centroamericano

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Phillip Fantozzi and his son Jack, a 2nd Class Scout, recently attended the 26th Camporee Centroamericano in Honduras. What follows are their thoughts and recollections on the experience. Thank you to Phillip and Jack for sharing.

Phillip Fantozzi
My son Jack and I attended the 26th Camporee Centroamericano, which was held 26-31 December 2019 near the town of Valle de Angeles, which is about 30 minutes outside Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. We were the only 2 BSA Scouts out of about 1,000 scouts from Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama.

We had a great time at the event. Jack slept in a troop tent with members of Troop 23 from Tegucigalpa who were very friendly and welcoming. The event was split into 4 “trails,” focusing on service, sports, cultural activities, and scoutcraft. We ate our meals at the mess hall and were transported to different events in Honduran Army trucks.

Jack Fantozzi
One of my most interesting experiences as a scout is the Central American Scout Camporee 2018. There were hundreds of scouts there from all over the region, from Mexico to Panama. I went with Troop 23 (“Panteras” or “Panthers”) from Honduras. I live in Honduras near their meeting place in a park, and I was already a 2nd Class scout so I went to learn about scouting in other countries.

It was interesting being the only American scout at the Camporee. I traded BSA patches the first night, and the rest of the time I was there I constantly had scouts asking to trade. There were long conversations about scouting, selfies, and even videos of us talking to people about BSA. It was an interesting experience, and I think everyone should try to go to an international scouting event once in their lifetime. It is a growing, learning, and changing experience.

All photos courtesy of Phillip Fantozzi.

Troop 98 Scout’s Eagle Service Project Featured by Several Local News Outlets

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Boy Scout Patrick Donnelly’s Eagle Scout community service project has attracted the attention of his neighborhood through local support and news coverage.

Patrick’s Eagle Scout project will bring 10 new Little Free Libraries across the neighborhoods of Ward 4 of Washington, D.C. bringing more books to the neighborhood beyond the one public library.

Patrick is a Life Scout in Troop 98, the Troop is chartered by at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Two weekends of work in January by scouts, scouters, and neighbors made quick work of the cutting, building, painting, and finishing of the buildings. Installation of the libraries will take place in the coming weeks and months.

The motivation for Patrick’s project was to help improve literacy in his community by making more books available and easy to access. His project has also received support from the community, through a GoFundMe campaign, a $500 grant from Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4B, Annie’s Ace Hardware in Brookland, Galliher and Huguely in Takoma, and WT Construction in Manor Park.

Patrick’s work has also captured other local news coverage. The DC Line a local news organization profiled Patrick’s project in the story “Boy Scout prepares to seed Ward 4 neighborhoods with free book exchanges.” The DC Line story was highlighted in the Washington City Paper‘s “District Line Daily” .

Patrick was also interviewed about his project during the evening Fox 5 TV newscast on January 10, 2019.

50 People Attend Scouts BSA Troop 248 for Girls’ First Welcome Party

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DC-based Scouts BSA Troop 248 for Girls is pleased to report that it hosted more than 50 people at their most recent open house and Welcome Party. As a result they now have applications for 17 girl-members and 18 adult volunteers on their Troop Committee. And that’s just a start. Interested girls can still attend their final Welcome Party on Saturday, January 19 from 10 to 11 am.

Current and new girl members also received one of the Troop’s custom-made hats. They are specially designed just for 248 Troop for Girls. It has a shorter visor, is the same BSA green color, and looks great on.

For more information, visit DC Scouts BSA Troop 248 for Girls’ homepage at http://scoutsbsadcgirls.org/.  Or head to their Welcome Party this Saturday at All Souls Episcopal Church, 2300 Cathedral Ave., NW, Washington, DC and meet some of their girl members. More info on the welcome party, including transportation tips, can be found at http://scoutsbsadcgirls.org/how-to-join/ . The first Troop meeting is on February 2nd where they will also welcome prospective members, as well as on their first overnight campout on March 8 – 10.