And so it begins...

 Tonight, most of the staff have gone home for their 24 hours, give or take, of rest before Camp begins.

Before diving into the 2024 camping season, some important words for Scout Leaders...

If you are Woodbadge trained, DO NOT tune out!! The Pony Express Council has a Woodbadge course coming up at the end of the summer. Information for the course, including a link to register, and contact info can be found here:

http://ponyexpressbsa.org/training/wood-badge

For those who have been trained, do you have leaders in your unit that have not been? Encourage them to inquire. And take the course. I have stressed the importance in the skills learned, not just for Scouting, but for life and career.

If you have not been trained, what is keeping you? I get scheduling conflicts, but would encourage you to find a way to take it, if possible. Make no mistake, I was a serial Woodbadge skeptic. I was wrong. Dead wrong. Finances should not keep you from the course, contact the Council Office, if it is a problem.

Enough for Woodbadge. By the way, what's your critter?

Now to the summer season...

Tomorrow Cub resident camp begins. It will be followed by the First Session for Scouts BSA beginning on Sunday, June 8th. The staff has trained, practiced lessons, and made ready. Personally, I would say that the store is certainly ready to have customers, but is shop keeping ever done? Nope. Nonetheless, we will open Thursday when the Cubs come home to Geiger, maybe for the first time.

Much has been made about the upcoming name change for the Boy Scouts of America. Scouting America, which is being put into practice now is replacing the century old brand. Make no mistake, Scouting America has reached a crossroads. Which is why Cub Scouting is so important. It is much easier to retain youth in the program from the early grades of Elementary School, than to attempt to recruit youth who have become fully entrenched in other activities by the time they hit Middle School. 

Scouting America has affirmed that there is no change in its core values and principles. I hope that is the case. There are some truths in this world that need to be understood, when it comes to building, or rebuilding, a movement.

Numerous churches nationally and locally, are hemorrhaging membership. While not drawing an absolutist line, generally speaking, those that maintain their core foundational beliefs, in the winds of societal change, tend to maintain membership, if not increase it. Those that try to roll with the changing times, to be hip or cool, tend to lose membership. It is out of fairness that we demand consistency in rules, or doctrines. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (see Hebrews 13:8-9, KJV) God's laws do not change, and core moral principles also do not. Just to be clear, enforcing one's values on another is also a violation of those laws. People must choose for themselves. Scouting helps develop the character to make those choices.

So long as Scouting America not only preaches the values of Duty to God, Country, and Other People, but actively espouses them, I am in. It is that simple. Too many organizations, seeking membership as their numbers dwindle, try to adapt, and fail. This is not the place for accommodating values contrary to the Oath and Law, but to shout them from the rooftops!!!

Sorry for the tangent, though it really is not one. It is where we are as a movement. And more. Teaching character, how to make good choices, and helping youth to become leaders is how you steer the ship in the right direction.  The environment for learning the core principles of Scouting is ideal at Camp Geiger. The program reinforces those values in a way that is unique in the country.

One needs only to look at the percentage of Eagle Scouts in the Pony Express Council and troops that attend Camp Geiger, far above the national average. Retention? Youth stay in Scouting longer here than most other locations. Look at the staff. While many Scout Camp staffs are mostly 14-15 year olds, many if not most of the staff members at Camp Geiger are in the late teens and early twenties. 

It is clear the program is achieving its goal, the issue is getting parents to take a peek, to get their kids to experience an organization that has them looking to serve others, rather than themselves. It's time to go to camp.

Time to come home to Camp Geiger. To walk the hills above the river. to feel the heat of the Tapping Fire, but most of all, to feel the brother and sisterhood of fellow Scouters, from all over the world, yes, world. There will be staff from the British contingent that came last year! Otherwise, troops from New York to Washington State all call Camp Geiger home. What are you waiting for? And if you do? Come by the store and say hi! I will be thrilled to see you!