Golden Words

 "True grit is making a decision and standing by it, doing what must be done. No moral man can have peace of mind if he leaves undone what he knows he should have done." John Wayne   The title is from the Wood Badge song. The residential camping season at Camp Geiger is over, and the camp awaits pow wow, and then a season of renewal. Yes, there are opportunities to camp at Camp Geiger during the off season, but that is not my topic. Six weeks of Scouts BSA, add in residential Cub and Webelos Camps, and it is time for a break. But your author is not sitting idly by, waiting until the process starts over in January. Maybe presumptuous to think that I would be rehired, but I know that no one is indispensable, including me. That is the beauty of the program. Would things be different? Likely, but camp would go on.  So, Scouting offers so much to the world, that in reality it should be shouted from the roof tops. The impact on youth, particularly those that come from difficult...

As I am writing, Fourth Session of Scouts BSA camp has ended. Next week is Webelos Weekend, followed by the sixth session and the end of the camping season at Camp Geiger. Camp Geiger is the resident camp for the Pony Express Council, in St. Joseph, MO. What may not be known is that many troops that call Camp Geiger home are not local. In fact. more than half of the campers at Camp Geiger are out of council. The questions are how far out of council are they, and why do they choose this camp. There is no question that Mic-O-Say is a significant draw for the camp. The honor camping program, nearing its century anniversary, is an important factor in the decision to go. It teaches the Scout Oath and Law in a unique manner that impresses those timeless values on youth, and adult leaders alike, and is a key reason that the retention rate for youth is so high in the Council, and  those troops that attend the camp. Mic-O-Say and Camp Geiger complement each other, and rely on each other to ...