The 2023 Boy Scout National Jamboree, The Summimit, West Virginia - Page 5
| J.W Marriott, Jr. Leadership Center at the Summit |
 |
| This is the primary site for conferences and retreats at the Summit Bechtel Reserve. Located at Robert E. Murray Leadership Ridge, with a beautiful view over the Summit, the venue includes six multipurpose classrooms, a 300-seat, theater-style auditorium (Gene H. Yamagata Hall), a 300-seat dining hall, a library, a kitchen, offices, and service areas. Its hoped that the Marriott Center will fill the need for a unique place for Scout leadership training. The Marriott Center usually serves at the starting point for Jamboree VIP tours. The facility was technically completed in 2020, but was in partial operation for the World Jamboree in 2019. |
   |
| There are statues all over the Sumit. My favorite represents Jack Link, a major contributor and founder of Big Foot beef jerky. Another is the Soaring Earle celebrating Eagle Scouts. These statues are Scouting's way of thanking major benefactors who helped finance the Summit. |
| VIP and Platinum & Fund Raising items |
 |
 |
| The first 100 people that signed up for the Platinum Club received individually numbered patches. ( shown to the right) - is the ring that was available to Platinum Club members. |
|
Booths at the Jamboree solicited an ongoing fund raising campaign
for Jamboree scholarships. Pledges were for different amounts to be
paid monthly. Patches were made for recognition. There was a fund raising program called The Platinum Package. For $250 you became an Official Sponsor. They received a hat and neckerchief with silver mylar embroidery, a pin and a water cooler. |
 VIP tours have been available at recent Jamborees. I attended the 2019 World Jamboree as a VIP and it was a terrific experience. We received a tour of the program areas via ground transportation. Most of the drivers were recipients of the Silver Antelope. VIP’s are usually important members of the community or the Executive Board. Councils usually sponsor VIP tours. 2023 VIP’s received a unique neckerchief and patch with a gold/bronze border. |
 The BSA Alumni, a relative new group, web search it. I read the website, it appears that anyone that wants to donate money can join. They had a booth at the Jamboree soliciting members. Of course, there were patches. |
 |
| I’m unsure what these autographed patches were for, IF U KNOW PLEASE TELL ME, but they were used at the 2023 Jamboree. Some, maybe most (?) were autographed or initialed |
| Area Shows |
  |
| At previous Jamborees there had been Arena Shows with 40-50,000 people in the arena. Probably because of cost cutting these were replaced with entertainment in the subcamps. It seems that no one missed sitting in a group of thousands, when there was entertainment locally in the subcamp. This may be a better way of doing things and will probably be repeated at future Jamborees. |
 I’ve
outlined the difficulties visitors present to Jamboree planners.
Thousands of females participating at the Jamboree made security all
the more important. After two events at the Summit things seemed to
have run smoothly in 2023. Tickets seemed expensive: $75 daily per
person Adults (age 14 and over) $50 per person Youth (ages 6-13)
children under 5 were free. Visitor hours were 10:00 to 4:00, 2:00
on closing Thursday. Bus transportation was provided for visitors to
access and witness the various activity sites. Visitors were not
allowed to participate in action areas. As always, at the Summit,
there was a lot of walking and unfortunately some visitors didn’t
get the message about walking in the hot West Virginia summer. |
| Activities and Programs at the Jamboree |
| In 2013 and 2017 I’ve highlighted the wonderful program opportunities at the Summit. With a smaller crowd some of the lengthy wait times were reduced. Having activities in the subcamps rather than in the Arena seemed to be a hit. |
  |
| The Summit has worked hard to let Scouts and leaders know that there are program opportunities that are not available at local Scout camp. The theme of Adventure has been used for three Jamborees. I believe everyone realizes a trip to the Summit will be like no other Scouting activity. |
|
|
| Paul Myers Goshen,
Indiana gimogash@comcast.net |