First Full Day a Busy One

Today was the first full day of Jamboree for the Scouts and they took full advantage of it. Two sets of boys I spoke with were measuring their path on the map with a string and then comparing the string to the the map scale to determine how many miles they had walked. Graham Reinhard and Pepito Estrada determined they had walked 8.3 miles, while Zach Watts and Joe Love walked 5.4 miles! Late in the afternoon it clouded up, and a little rain blew in – just enough to make us close up tents and bring the humidity up to the level we are now quite used to! The flip side is that it did bring down the dust a little.

In the background I can hear a young staffer named Ryan working with some troop buglers to perfect their calls. Retreat, Reveille, To The Colors, Assembly, and more.

I am sitting in a Program meeting led by Michael Hendren. He is going over the in-camp offerings of a washers tournament, patrol flag competition and a geo-caching course. Prizes are awarded at subcamp and Jamboree-wide level. A 5K run will take place soon also. Program also has in-camp volleyball set up, Frisbees to check out, footballs and other sports equipment.

In a few minutes Michael and the Mobilization Specialist, Mike Perkins, will be covering the details of the big Arena Show mass mobilization that will take place tomorrow morning. Since our subcamp is the furthest from the Arena, it is the first to leave, stepping off at 6:45 a.m. (yes, a.m.) It will be a two hour walk, but happily, the event will take place in the morning when it is relatively cool, plus, the boys will end up being in what will likely be for most a new and unexplored area of camp. They will be encouraged to tank up on water, wear a hat, bring snacks, wear sunscreen and be prepared for a great opening show! Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (an Eagle Scout) and Miss America highlight the show. The Jamboree Scout Band will play a pre-show for the troops that come in early. There will be an F-15 flyover, a parachute jump by the Army’s Golden Knights and various videos and music as the scouts enter and take a seat in the 13 acre, capacity 100,000 area. Copious amounts of water will be distributed as required. I anticipate that the sheer volume of tan uniforms will be highly inspirational.

Big event today! This was the first issue day for the 2010 Scouting stamp! A ceremony was held at the Jamboree Headquarters Flag Plaza which featured the Scout Band and Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazucca. Following that, throngs of participants flocked to the nearby post office to buy and have postmarked commemorative envelopes and buy sheets of the new stamps.

I had several encounters with the boys who will be Hometown News correspondents. It is my job as Subcamp Communications Officer to direct these boys to the Hometown News headquarters and help them understand a little bit about what to expect there. These boys will work with the HT News staff to write and edit stories to send back to their hometown newspapers. This job comes with some nice perks; they are allowed to meet some of the celebrities that visit and get the opportunity to checkout a bike to get around. We hope those bikes will be available soon – they came in a little late and are still being assembled.

The meeting is still going on as I finish this up. It started at 8:00 and it is now 9:20. I’m betting another 10 minutes at least. SO many details. You would be amazed. Just imagine marching a small city a few miles in an organized fashion. 38,000 folks, remember?

I will be going to bed as early as possible tonight since we will be getting up early in the morning for the Arena Show. Hopefully the wifi will cooperate and I can get this to post. Goodnight for now!