On July 15, 108 Scouts and 12 adult leaders of the Stonewall Jackson Area Council will depart for the National Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia. The event held every four years draws over 35,000 Scouts, adults, and volunteer staff. Scouts will participate in high adventure activities, community service projects, earn Merit Badges, and more.
The Scouts are separated into three troops and come from the 13 counties and cities the Stonewall Jackson Area Council serves. The Scoutmaster of each troop is selected through an application process that includes interviews, and represents the best that SJAC has to offer. Serving as Scoutmaster for a Jamboree troop is a high honor, and selected for this Jamboree are Mark Graham, a CPA from Harrisonburg, Todd Tyler, a sheriff’s deputy from Clifton Forge, and Pete Fenlon, CEO of Mayfair Games from Charlottesville.
A highlight activity of the event is patch trading. Each Troop of 32 Scouts has a unique Jamboree Council Strip patch for the event, and Scouts actively trade to acquire patches from new friends they create at the Jamboree. The Stonewall Jackson Area Council’s patches feature key landmarks across the Council’s footprint.
The 2013 Jamboree is the first at the Summit Bechtel Reserve, and will be the new permanent site for the National Jamboree. A $350 million construction project has been underway to make the site ready for the 35,000 attendees. The West Virginia site was selected after plans to permanently host the event in Goshen did not work out.
For additional information on the Jamboree visit: https://summit.scouting.org/en/Pages/JamboreeMedia.aspx
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