Local Scouters attend Wood Badge!

Wood Badge, a premier leadership training experience of the Boy Scouts of America, was recently presented by the Coastal Empire Council.  Below is an artice offered by 6 volunteers from the Georgia-Carolina Council that attended this course.  The Council Program committee is is in the process of developing our council's plan to present a Wood Badge course in 2009 or 2010.  Be on the lookout for further details.

Wood Badge Course SR-882

Recently, six leaders from the Georgia Carolina Council embarked upon a training program that dates back to 1911 - four years after scouting began in . In 1907, Lord Baden-Powell published his vision for our youth as he sought to promote the social welfare of young men by training youth in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance through a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and, at older age levels, career–oriented programs in partnership with community organizations.

To make sure Scouts achieve the vision of scouting, Francis "Skipper" Gidney and Lord Baden Powell began the training of Scout Masters. In 1911, they conducted a series of leadership lectures that led to the development of the first Wood Badge training course at Gilwell Park near London in 1919.  

Our “ Gilwell Park ” would be at Camp Blue Heron located just past Savannah in Riceboro, GA. We ended up making history by attending the second largest Wood Badge course ever conducted in the Coastal Empire Council’s history, as well as participating in the final Wood Badge course at Camp Blue Heron . With 48 paid Scouters attending, this course had all eight Wood Badge patrols: Beaver, Bobwhite, Eagle, Fox, Owl, Bear, Buffalo , and Antelope! Each of the attendees developed new friendships, developed a network of resources, and gained a deeper understanding of what leadership, friendship, and scouting are all about.

Wood Badge is for all Scout leaders, new or “seasoned”. The BSA specifically developed the “Wood Badge for the 21st Century” curriculum to provide leadership training to leaders serving youth in all its programs: Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Venturing, and Varsity programs, as well as those Scouters serving at the District and Council levels. The course focuses on developing individual leadership, teaming skills, and the skills a leader needs to plan, organize, and conduct activities. In our course, Scout leaders from new Tiger Den Leaders to “seasoned” Scout Masters and Eagle Scouts attended.

The course consists of two full weekends of training. Our first weekend consisted of patrol meetings (instructional sessions), patrol activities, and friendly competitions all using the methods of Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting. The second weekend used a troop/pack camping activity as its model for delivering training and included training on the Venturing and Varsity programs as well. Throughout this past weekend, we participated in many games and challenges competing with other patrols. Besides building teamwork, developing leadership, and improving our communication skills, we had a ton of fun with lots of laughter and a growing camaraderie. We were fortunate to have a highly experienced and enthusiastic Wood Badge staff with representatives from every position in scouting who each taught us something new. They were exceptionally good role models and instructors…and the jokes they could tell kept us in hysterics! 

After completing the two weekend sessions, we are now working our individual “tickets”. A ticket is a set of five personal goals that strengthen our unit, district, or council. It is not until we successfully complete the goals that we will earn the much-coveted Wood Badge beads. The Wood Badge beads recognize an individual’s significant achievement in leadership and direct service to Scouts. Wood Badgers (or Gilwellians) wear the pair of small wooden beads around the neck as part of the Scout uniform. Other Wood Badgers present the beads together with a taupe neckerchief bearing a tartan patch of the McLaren clan, honoring William De Bois McLaren, who in 1919 donated the funding to purchase Gilwell Park . The neckerchief with the braided leather woggle (neckerchief slide) denotes the membership of the 1st Gilwell Scout Group or Gilwell Troop 1.

As each of us reflected on our experiences over the past weeks, we realized we are following in the footsteps of thousands of leaders who have gone before us for the betterment of Scouting. We want to have a continued positive influence in the lives of today’s youth in Boy Scout programs by promoting citizenship, training, character development, and fitness. We also hope to inspire you to accept this challenge and attend Wood Badge at your first opportunity – you will be glad you did!  

It was not only an honor to represent our units and our Council at SR-882, but it was a superb training experience for each of us. We hope that you and other Scouters in the Georgia Carolina Council will take advantage of this tremendous opportunity. Back to Gilwell….

For more information on Wood Badge, please go to: https://www.woodbadge.org

To view photos taken during the course, use the following link: http://picasaweb.google.com/bobhoelscher

Yours in Scouting,

McKinley Curtis, Owl Patrol

Geoff Stewart, Eagle Patrol

Bob Hoelscher , Bobwhite Patrol

Christian Mason, Bear Patrol

Julie Mason, Antelope Patrol

Brenden Taylor, Fox Patrol