Final Thoughts!

July 28, 2013

Whew!  What a Jamboree it was!  By Noon on Wednesday, July 25, the Summit was empty of the 40,000 Scouts, Leaders and Staff who occupied it as home over the last 15 days.  Except for a few Alpha 3 Team members, everyone was on their way home by 3 pm.

It is good to be home, back with my family who I missed dearly.  Once Odie and I were on our way, we stopped to get a hot shower, meal and good night's sleep prior to making the drive on Thursday back to Jacksonville.

For me, this was a surreal experience.  Seeing the Summit built in my childhood home and to be a part of the first ever Jamboree at this place was a personal and rewarding experience for me.  Being grounded at the Scout level, to camp on the Garden Ground area and to be a Scout again....will be a memory that will not easily fade away from me.

The National Jamboree brought the heat, the cold, the rain and the challenges of a new facility with a robust and dynamic- high adventure program.  While not everything went as smoothly as it might have, it was the consensus of all who attended that this National Jamboree was great and was one for the history books!

Perhaps the greatest memory that I will hang on to will be the experiences that I enjoyed working with the volunteer team members of Alpha 3 Sub Camp.  These individuals representing all walks of life, races, gender and geography came together as a team, focused on insuring that the first National Jamboree campers at the Summit had an awesome time.  It was a personal privilege to have met and worked with them.

On the way out of town, I stopped by the City offices of Mt. Hope, to drop off some donations to Mayor Mike Martin- as a residual from the Day of Service.  Mike is a family friend and we enjoyed the opportunity to visit and celebrate the arrival of the Boy Scouts to this area.

For over 100 years, the Boy Scout program has been training young people in citizenship, character and physical fitness.  Young people learn the vital values embedded in the Scout Oath and Law.  Scouts grow up to be participating and productive husbands, fathers, employers, employees and leaders.

It is awesome to now know that for the next 100 years, the Scouting movement will continue its long standing traditions....and, my hometown of Mt. Hope, WV will be the new launching pad for the Scouting movement.

My professional work is to insure that every young person that wishes to be a Scout gets the opportunity to do so.  Further, I hope that every Scout gets an opportunity to visit Southern West Virginia to the Summit for either a High Adventure Trek or a National or World Jamboree.  It will be a life changing experience.

This will be my last post and I appreciate all who have followed me.  Tomorrow, I return to being Jack Sears, Scout Executive/CEO of the North Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America- whose vision is to offer the Scouting and Learning for Life program of the highest calibre to the greatest number of young people possible.  So long Jamboree Jack!

Staff photo of Alpha 3 Sub Camp Team

Zip Lines are but one of the robust high adventure
programs that await Scouts at the Summit

When it rains....it pours at the Summit

Gotta love that 'Jamboree" mud....it was everywhere

Fireworks light up the Garden Ground area
to wrap up our Jamboree

Departure day....the weather was not on our side

Mike Martin- Mayor- City of Mt. Hope, WV
Gateway to the Summit.
I enjoyed a parting visit with our family friend and we
celebrated the arrival of the Boy Scouts to Southern West Virginia.