Thursday, February 24, 2011

Jamboree Committee Meeting - March 1st, 2011

2013 National Scout Jamboree Committee Meeting

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

Camp Geiger - Herzog Lodge

7:00 PM


Agenda


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Shape the Summit!


WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE?
Here’s your opportunity to make The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve the most incredible experience in the history of Scouting!​

Now is the time to share your ideas! If you take our brief survey by April 15, 2011, you could win a special preview trip to the New River Gorge and The Summit site in West Virginia! In addition, if you win, everyone in your troop could win a cool prize from The Summit!

SHAPE THE SUMMIT AND WIN!
Help us Shape the Summit and you and your troop could win!

Active Scout and Venturer participants 13 years old or over who complete the survey are automatically entered into a contest to visit the New River Gorge region of West Virginia, home of The Summit Bechtel Reserve! (Under 13? You must get your parent or guardian to help!).

The winning Scout or Venturer will win a trip for four for a three-day adventure to the New River Gorge during Summer 2011, including lodging and adventure activities such as rafting, biking, ziplining and more!

IF YOU WIN, YOUR TROOP WINS!
The troop from which the winning Scout or Venturer is selected will also win! Each member will receive a cool piece of gear with The Summit Bechtel Reserve logo.

The more Scouts or Venturers who participate from your troop, the better chance everyone has to win a cool prize. So share the Shape the Summit survey with your friends and encourage them to share their ideas!

Certain restrictions apply; see the contest rules and regulations for full details.

So share this survey with your troop and encourage everyone to share their ideas. It takes just a few minutes, so let’s get started!

Click Here to Shape The Summit

Source: Summit Bechtel Reserve

What is Patrol Z?

WANTED: MULTIMEDIA, WEB-SAVVY SCOUTS
The Summit needs campfire stories. Digital ones. And we need you to tell them online. Scouts with skills – making videos, producing quality photos, writing blog posts. Designers and web developers, too.

We're putting together a team. That’s Patrol Z.

The quest begins March 1. You'll have to fill out an application and provide us a link to some of your work online – video, photos, writing, websites, or whatever you do best to tell a story. If you're selected, we'll equip you will the digital tools to capture even better Scouting stories.
You'll cover events, meet Scouts and get to be a part of recording a new era of Scouting - all in preparation for the 2013 Jamboree.

EVEN MORE SPOTS FOR INSIDERS
Two or three Patrol Z Scouts will be selected per region. We'll also be offering finalists a chance to become Patrol Z Ambassadors.

As a Patrol Z Ambassador, you'll have an inside line on news at The Summit and be the first to check out new media as we move closer to the 2013 Jamboree.

Be sure to visit the Summit Website on March 1 to complete your application.

2013 National Jamboree Registration Information

Registration for the 2013 National Jamboree will begin in late Spring of 2011.

Participant qualifications have been posted at the Summit Bechtel Reserve's Website, check it out to see if you are eligible to attend!

SBR Official Website Launched!

Glen Jean, W. Va.—(Feb. 9, 2011) — As part of a four-year, $400 million process to make The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve a reality, today the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced the appointment of entertainment destination veteran Mike Patrick as the Chief Operating Officer of The Summit and launched the Web site for the high-adventure base, summitbechtelreserve.org.

To read the entire news release from the Boy Scouts of America visit: http://www.ponyexpressbsa.org/News/TheSummit for more details!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

First Jamboree Committee Meeting a Success!

Attendance:
Andrew Becker, Matt Becker, John Campbell, John Clawson, Ben Ernst, Alan Franks, Larry Grantham, Steven Rosenak, Andy Trout, Rob Walling

The Pony Express Council’s National Jamboree Committee met for the first time on Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 to begin discussion of plans for the upcoming 2013 National Scout Jamboree. Scheduled to be held from July 15th-July 24th, 2013 in West Virginia, the Boys Scouts of America (BSA) are hard at work preparing the site for not only the National Jamboree but for it to become the BSA’s Fourth High Adventure Base as well. The site is named: The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve or just “The Summit” for short, and it is located a little over 250 miles west of Fort A.P. Hill (Site of the previous 8 National Jamboree’s).

With less than 2 ½ years away from 2013 National Jamboree, the group is getting a jump on the process of putting together a Jamboree Contingent and planning all the details that are involved in taking a group of young men across the country. Some of the topics that were discussed touched on Recaps of Previous Jamboree’s, Troop Leadership, Event Promotion, and Trip Details.

The committee decided that the next meeting they would begin forming a list of names for possible Adult Leadership to be contacted for the Scoutmaster roles. Based off previous Jamboree’s the Troop has consisted of 4 Adult Leaders, with one of the leaders between the ages of 18 – 21 at the time of the event. Assuming that the troop structure hasn’t changed and the committee has begun the nomination process with the intentions of filling 4 currently open slots. Leader recommendations should be sent to John Clawson or Matt Becker to be added to the current list of names.

Promotion of the event was another big topic of discussion as the group began brainstorming of various tools and resources that the council has to use to promote the new high adventure base. The consensus was that past promotions haven’t been good enough to fill up a full contingent and drastic steps need to be taken to boost awareness of the event. Promotions ideas for Summer Camp at Camp Geiger, Cub Resident Camps/Webelos Weekend, Arrow Path, Website, Blogs, Facebook, Mic-O-Say Events, Troop Meetings, Pack Meeting, Roundtables, and many more were all discussed to spread the word as much as possible. Larry Grantham and Steven Rosenak volunteered to help take charge of leading this sub-committee and plan to use other council committees such as Marketing & Promotions to increase event awareness. Anyone interested in helping in this area should contact John Clawson or Matt Becker to get their contact information.

With the Jamboree being located at a new place the troop has the option of drastically changing their travel plans. In previous years the contingent has gone to Washington D.C. and toured for a few days because it was close and convenient. The new site is no longer as close to the nation’s capitol, so possibilities have become vaster as the group decides on new plans. Ben Ernst and Andy Trout volunteered to provide their guidance and expertise as the troop begins making plans as part of the Trip Details sub-committee. They will be working with Matt Becker and Larry Grantham in decisions on transportation methods and costs. Although trip costs were brought up, no decision or price structure has been determined yet. The committee is currently waiting on Jamboree costs from the National Office to be released before they begin formulating a budget. The National Jamboree event cost should be available at the next committee meeting for further discussion. If you are interested in getting involved with this sub-committee please let John Clawson or Matt Becker know.

The next meeting has been set for Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 at 7 PM. The group will be meeting again in the Herzog Lodge to discuss progress and any new information. The agenda will be emailed out at a later date and posted on the Jamboree Blog. The tentative plan is for the committee to meet the first Tuesday of every month; this date can change, but for now the committee has decided on this meeting schedule.