The 2023 Boy Scout National Jamboree, The Summimit, West Virginia - Page 4
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  (to the right) - Tico Perez reported on Facebook that 200 of these patches were presented to those who signed up for the Jamboree at 2022 NOAC. |
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| The Indian Village that had been a fixture at so many Jamborees was eliminated. It’s unknown if this was a budget cut or another transition away from celebrating Native Americans. Some of the badges above have multiple color borders. |
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 (above) -The Silver Bay experience was repeated at the 2023 Jamboree. Well known Scouter Kelly Williams was again in the lead. (to the left) -The Brownsea Island historic exhibit was back for the 2023 Jamboree. |
| Young Women at the Jamboree |
| Female leaders and staff members have been active at Jamborees for years. 2023 would be the first Jamboree that young women could participate as troop contingent members. I’ve heard and seen on the local level that females bring a new enthusiasm to Scouting and the Jamboree. Everything at the Jamboree was new and exciting, females loved the Jamboree. Jamboree accommodations were already prepared for females with separate wash houses and lavatories. Female units camped in separate units. |
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| Editorial: As a longtime-traditional Scout and leader I was skeptical of females in “Boy” Scouting. Five years ago John Cary our local Scout Executive and I visited the prestigious Culver Woodcraft Camp for a presentation. Culver is a magnificent camp, the program is Scouting with a little Woodcraft Indiana (Seton) mixed in. Females have been part of the summer program at Culver for many years. When the female units started marching into the campfire doing Patrol Yells and singing, John and I looked at each other and we agreed that the females would bring a level of enthusiasm than many of the male units lacked. I believe that is what many “traditional” Scout leaders are discovering in their local camps and certainly at the Jamboree. |
 With females being full participating members, it’s only natural that insignia would be developed. Of course, NESA made a patch. Turns out young women enjoy patch trading just as much as boys. |
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 (above) -There was a three day Women of Character Program. A bronze statue named the “Ascending Eagle” was dedicated. The 8’ high, 1000 lb. statue will stand as a beacon of inspiration for generation's of girls and women in Scouting. (to the right) -With females active in the program it was inevitable that a sister and brother might earn Eagle at the same time. There was a special presentation at the 2023 Jamboree recognizing a brother and sister, although it’s believed that they may not have been the first siblings to earn Eagle together. |
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| I’ve commented on several occasions that staff (JST) members often had unique outfits. Hawaiian shirts, special polo or button up shirts. The Scout uniform hasn’t been the uniform of the day for several Jamborees. Not a criticism, just pointing out how things change. |
| Diversity Programs of Scouting BSA |
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Scouting has been encouraged to be more inclusive. Yet neckerchiefs
and patches were issued emphasizing our differences. Why can’t we
all just be Scouts? We’ve been serving African American youth since
the earliest years. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent
in the major cities to recruit African American Scouts, with very
little results. Females and women are fully integrated into
Scouting, but do we need to celebrate it? No one can be “against”
LGBTQ’s, yet again do we need to celebrate it. After losing 18+
percent of our membership, National BSA seems to be celebrating 7%
of our membership. There was talk of the Mormons perhaps coming back
into Scouting, but that’s not going to happen. It's interesting that
the OA staff which had thousands of staff issued 13 patches while
the Diversity Staff issued 14 patches. One only needs to look north of the border to see what can happen in the USA. Scouts of Canada embraced all of their critics, admitting them to the program. The need for uniforms was questioned and uniforms generally eliminated. Emphasis on God was watered down, citizenship was so old fashioned, it was claimed that young people didn’t understand it, etc. According to Wikipedia, Scouts Canada have a membership of 50,000. Reflecting Canada’s multicultural landscape with each Scout charting their own path of discovery. Scouting BSA might become a smaller organization with each Scout charting their own path of discovery. Scouting BSA might not need the old fashioned Oath and Law and all those worn out irrelevant slogans of years past. I know this may be unpopular and some will disagree, but before you get angry with me, search the web for Mark Pullman's An Elegy for the Boy Scouts and read it. People at the National Office depending on registration fees to pay their salaries might reconsider their future. |
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| Paul Myers Goshen,
Indiana gimogash@comcast.net |