The Official Newsletter of the BSA-22-1 Course Precourse Issue #2
Gilwell Park
Summit Bechtel Reserve
This January, Summit Bechtel Reserve will undergo a metamorphosis for your Wood Badge course and become Gilwell Park. The camp will be transformed into this symbolic place that soon will be near and dear to your heart. It will be a place you call “Happy Land” and you’ll sing about going back again and again.
In 1919, the Boy Scout Association purchased Gilwell Park in England with funds donated by William de Bois MacLaren. Later that year, Robert Baden-Powell held the first Wood Badge course on that site.
Scouting’s founder felt that effective leader training was critical to a good Scouting program. Wherever a Wood Badge course is held, the location is transformed into Gilwell Park and those attendees become members of Troop 1, honoring this tradition.
When you arrive at Summit Bechtel Reserve (Gilwell Park) in January you will become a member of Troop 1 and be part of that transformation. More important than the symbolic transformation of Summit becoming Gilwell Park is how the Wood Badge course continues to transform its participants year after year into better leaders for our youth.
In This Issue
Gilwell Park
Sleeping Arrangements
Patrol Order/History
Check Your List
Uniform Requirements
Health Forms
Course Number Decoded
The Wood Badge Logo
Meet The Staff
Train Before You Train
Pictures Needed
Sleeping Arrangements
You won’t need to worry about tenting outdoors at this Wood Badge!
You will enjoy the facilities at the Pigott Bunkhouse and Dining Hall. This building features modern features including WiFi, restrooms, and showers. Bunks, bedding and towels will be provided by the Summit. We are planning to put three people in each bunkroom and, consistent with Summit practice, are not filtering by vaccination status. If you would prefer alternate lodging, outdoor camping near the Pigott Bunkhouse is available – you can bring your own camping equipment and use the Pigott Bunkhouse bathrooms. January is a cold month, so be prepared!
If you have Covid related concerns about sleeping arrangements, please contact your Scoutmaster.
Course Information
Wood Badge Patrol Order & History
Course participants are organized into patrols while on course, similar to how Scouts are organized into patrols within a troop.
When Baden-Powell designed the Scouting program, he found that small groups of boys naturally worked well together in groups of 6-8.
Specific patrol names are used in Wood Badge: Beaver, Bobwhite, Eagle, Fox, Owl, Bear, Buffalo and Antelope. The patrols are always organized in this specific order. In the past, additional names have been used, such as Raven, Crow, Wolf and Hawk. Before Wood Badge was combined into one shared curriculum for all Scouting programs, each level of Scouting had their own version of Wood Badge and their own unique patrol names. For example, Explorer Wood Badge courses used the names of early explorers for patrol names like Kit Carson and Daniel Boone.
Participants will find an instant bond with fellow scouters of the same critter. Patches and other critter gear can be found at many online retailers.
Uniform Requirements
During the Wood Badge course, participants will wear their official Scouting field uniform. The field uniform consists of an official Scout shirt, pants/shorts, belt, and socks. Please wear the appropriate uniform with the proper insignia for your Scouting position. If you are an international scouter, please wear the official uniform of your home country.
If you have any questions about the uniform, you can visit your council’s Scout Shops, or visit www.scoutshop.org. Because of national supply shortages, we strongly encourage all participant to order any necessary uniform materials ASAP.
Some leaders have two official Scout shirts, but you are not required to purchase a second uniform for Wood Badge. You will receive a Wood Badge neckerchief and one course activity t-shirt during the course. There will be coin operated laundry facilities in the bunkhouse for you to use.
We will wear these activity shirts at different times during the week, however, most days we will be wearing the official field uniform.
Health and Safety
Annual Health & Medical Forms
Participants must bring a BSA Annual Health and Medical Records form (Parts A, B & C) with them as well as a copy (front and back) of their insurance card. Your physical must be valid through the end of the course. Part C must be completed by a doctor. We will not be participating in any high adventure as part of the course, but you may choose to do optional activities after the class (more details below). A copy of this form can be downloaded here.
Covid Policy
Arrival screening: upon arrival at the Summit, you will be screened by a Summit staff member. You will need to show one of these 3 items:
- Proof of full vaccination (must show second shot for Moderna or Pfizer OR first shot of Johnson & Johnson was received 14 days prior to arrival)
- Proof of negative PCR test completed no more than 72 hours prior to arrival at the Summit
- Completed individual pre-screening record: Pre Screening Link
Face masks: those who are unvaccinated need to wear masks indoors and outside when social distancing is not possible. Those who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks.
Fully vaccinated = second shot for Moderna or Pfizer OR first shot of Johnson & Johnson was received 14 days prior to arrival
Check Your List...
Additional Notes
You can find many of these documents on the course website found here .
Plan to bring a laptop or tablet—we’ll be providing a majority of the materials electronically, so you’ll need a way to access these during the course. The device you bring should be able to connect to Wi-Fi to access the documents.
Decoding the Troop Number
What does BSA-20-1 mean? You keep seeing these numbers and letters everywhere from emails, to our course logo. It won’t be long until you see them on your course activity shirts and participant materials you will receive when you arrive at camp. So what do they mean?
This course has a special designation because it’s a national course. The formula is BSA—Year–Number of Courses that year. This will be the first national course in 2022, so it’s designation is BSA-22-1.
For a council course, it follows a little different format. The first segment is the National Service Territory (NST) where the course was held. This is a number, which tells us the NST where the course is held. There are currently 16 NSTs.
The second number is the council number. Every council has a designated number. For example, The National Capital Area Council is number 082.
Finally, the last two digits of the year are the final number. If the council offers more than one course per year an additional -1 would be added to the course number for the first course and a -2 for the second course.
This numeric system is started last year. Prior to that, course numbers were decoded differently by regions and areas, and there were even specific Wood Badge courses for the different programs. Cub Scouting, Varsity Scouting and Exploring courses were all prefixed by “CS-“, “VS-” and “EX-” .
The Meaning of the Wood Badge Logo
At the center of the Wood Badge logo is the Scout badge. This emblem originally stood for north on a mariner’s compass. This design is also known as a trefoil, a flower with three leaves, or a fluer-de-lis which is French for an iris flower. While this is clearly the BSA Scout badge, it is also the basic shape of Scouting emblems used around the world.
To symbolize the fellowship of Scouting in the United States and throughout the world is the Wood Badge. A thin leather cord, or bootlace as described by Baden Powell, it has two small wooden beads attached near the bottom. The leather cord and beads encircle the Scout badge.
The Scout badge, beads and cord, are surrounded by an unfinished pentagon.
The colors of the pentagon Scouting red, blue, green, gold and black, represent the MacLaren tartan. The MacLaren tartan is closely associated with Gilwell Park near London, England where the first Wood Badge course was held in 1919.
The pentagon also represents the five themes of Wood Badge:
Living the Values – about being the values, who you are personally, setting the example.
Growing – about knowing and growing yourself first, a commitment to continuous improvement and lifelong learning.
Connecting – with other people.
Guiding – focusing on enabling and developing others.
Empowering – ultimately helping other people to become healthier, wiser, more free, more autonomous, and more likely to serve and to lead other people themselves.
The corners of the open pentagon are mitered, symbolizing that each participant must internalize the content of the five themes and thus, by completing their ticket, join the corners together as an artisan completes his or her work.
The two beads symbolize the BSA’s ideals of leadership and service to Scouting, America, and the world beyond.
The BSA-22-1 Store Is Open!
For all your Wood Badge shopping needs, please visit:
https://linkedtroopwoodbadge.org/store/
Please note, all items will have branding even if the stock pictures do not yet. Please feel free to contact Bill Steigerwald with any questions.
Grey Troop Senior Patrol Leader
Name: Kirsten Alworth
Hometown: Madison, WI
Participant Year: 2016
Critter: Owl
Council District: Glacier’s Edge Council, Mohawk District
Troop/Pack #: Troop 628
Current Scouting Role: Troop Advancement Coordinator, National Commission Service Team Recruiting & Retention Committee member
Number of Years as a WB Staffer: 3 (Troop Guide, Scribe x2)
Has Wood Badge helped you in your personal life? If so, how?
I use the skills and lessons from Wood Badge every single day. Not just in Scouting! At home, being able to recognize issues and use better communication to avoid a meltdown. At work, to create positive feedback channels for the team. I recently led a company brainstorming session to help us identify our company values so we can write a new vision statement. Wood Badge honed my leadership skills so that I can be successful in anything I do. Wood Badge gave me the confidence to step up as a leader and recognize the skills I have to make a positive impact on other people.
What do you feel is one of the best takeaways from your Wood Badge experience?
Wood Badge really solidified for me the idea that servant leadership isn’t just limited to Scouting but can and should be used in all aspects of life. Being a good leader is about giving other people the support and space to be their best. This leadership style really empowers the Scouts to grow as people and gain the confidence to be servant leaders themselves. It also fosters compassion and understanding in teams of adults.
What advice would you like to impart to the new participants?
Take time to let it all soak in. The 5 days of the course give you a lot of information that can feel overwhelming. Take the time each day to reflect and really look at the sessions and activities. By the end of the week you’ll feel connected, energized, and ready to change the world!
Orange Troop Senior Patrol Leader
This is some guy named Jeff who has not turned in his biography. When he does, we will update.
Grey Troop Assistant Scoutmaster for Program
Name: Julie Bucciarelli
Hometown: Bartlett, IL
Participant Year: 2015
Critter: Owl
Council District: Three Fires Council, St Charles, IL
Troop/Pack #2119
Current Scouting Role: My primary role is Scoutmaster. I am also an Associate Crew Advisor, Assistant Scoutmaster, District VP of Marketing, TFC Steering Committee Big Timber Pumpkin Fest, Merit Badge Counselor
Number of Years as a WB Staffer: 4 – Council Courses and this is my 2nd time on National Staff
What does Wood Badge and/or Scouting mean to you?
Scouting gives us an opportunity to help shape our youth leaders. The countless smiles of youth with their confidence to take on the world motivates me to continue to spend time cultivating them through our movement toward their next adventure or milestone.
What is your goal as a Wood Badge Staff member this year?
My goal is that every participant understands their talents are needed, their ideas are useful, and they absolutely belong in our movement!
What advice would you like to impart to the new participants?
Have fun! Enjoy the experience.
Orange Troop Assistant Scoutmaster for Program
Name: Salvatore (Sal) P. Ciampo
Hometown: Bethpage NY
Participant Year: 2006
Critter: Bear
Council District: Theodore Roosevelt Council
Troop#/Pack#: Troop 261
Current Scouting Role: NST 10 Commissioner Elect, NST 10 Commodore & National Outdoor Program and Properties, Chair Properties Strategic Analysis
Number of Years as a WB Staffer: 2
What does Wood Badge and/or Scouting mean to you?
I cannot imagine a world without Scouting. It has meant so much to me in my life. It allowed me to be closer to my son and daughter. Scouting thrives when it has great program leadership and Wood Badge is exactly the training that will make that happen.
What Wood Badge ticket items had a lasting impact on your Scouting life?
I was Properties Chair in my council at the time of my Wood Badge course. My ticket had a fair amount of construction/properties relate items in it. Now I am the National Chair of the Properties Strategic Analysis Committee. So certainly, that Wood Badge ticket item had a long-lasting impact on my Scouting life.
What advice would you like to impart to the new participants?
I would like participants to enjoy the course and that means don’t stress. It is sometimes easy to get overwhelmed but don’t. If you feel this way, seek out one of the staff and I am sure they can help you restore equilibrium. It is Scouting so it should be fun! Remember breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. 🙂
Optional Saturday Morning Activities
Saturday morning Summit activities: for anyone who is interested in experiencing the Summit, they have the opportunity of doing Summit activities on Saturday, January 22. These are optional and will be organized by the Summit:
- Polar Zip, $39/person, 8am Saturday
- Laser Shot / Skills Center, $15/person, 9am Saturday
- Polar Plunge, free, 9am Saturday
- Polar Shoot (5 stand), $59/person, 11am Saturday
Signup, transportation, and payment for this will be organized by the Summit, with details to be provided later. Stay tuned!
Pictures Needed
We need pictures of you in action with your Scouts. Please select 2-4 of your favorite pictures that include you, and email them to:
WB2022summit@gmail.com
Train Before You Train—Do Your Best!
Complete basic training for your Current Registered Position. Wood Badge is part of the training continuum in Scouting. A prerequisite for the Wood Badge course is that the participant be trained for their current Scouting position. This includes:
- Fast Start
- Leader Specific Training
- Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills is for Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters. Outdoor related training opportunities for Cub Scout Leaders or Committee Members is recommended, but not required.
Visit www.scouting.org/training/adult/ for more information about training for your role.