Scoutmaster Musings

On Monday, we drove to camp to retrieve our Life Scout that was on staff all summer. Well, actually, he started the summer as a 'Counselor In Training' (CIT) which is a 5-week program. The 4th week, they hired him as staff so he got paid for 6 weeks! That was a nice nudge to his ego, especially since he was the only one to get hired.

So, for the past 5 weeks, he's been the merit badge counselor for First Aid. He also worked on the water front, climbing tower, scoutcraft, and various other areas of the camp. He's already informed me that he plans on working scoutcraft next summer, so I guess he enjoyed 10 weeks in a canvas tent with mosquitos.

With our 20 new scouts in the troop, he is a valuable resource to teach and sign off on all their first aid requirements up to First Class. The SPL will be talking to him about taking advantage of his new skills to help advance the troop.

I'd highly recommend a stint on camp staff for any scouts that have led your troop and are looking for something new. He'll miss a summer of doing things with the troop, but he'll meet new scouts and gain a lot of experience that might be a good boost for your troop. Just be sure to have a re-entry plan for him to integrate back into the troop, as an Instructor or JASM makes sense.

Scout On

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