When I was a boy in the Boy Scouts, I had every intention of continuing as an Assistant Scoutmaster, and hopefully later, a Scoutmaster of my own troop. I knew of Woodbadge and intented to start down the path of getting trained. In fact, I had completed a locally run course called "Mountain Man", which taught a lot of the basics. But the times being what they were, I knew my time with the BSA was to be cut short, but it was the best thing for my sanity at the time; I mean, I was only 18, and needed time to discover my identity, since it had been all but shoved to the back of the closet.
When I took the helm of BPSA-US back in the 2007-2008 timeframe, it was very much on my to-do list to arrange for a Woodbeads (WFIS equivalent of WOSM's "Woodbadge") course here in the United States. There were so many things we needed to get done at that time, between writing handbooks and assembling policies, the idea of doing a Woodbeads course seemed so far in the future. I remember speaking with Ric Raynor on the phone about doing a course, along with lots of other topics at the time that demanded attention. My term would last just under two years, which was not enough time to get everything done. Woodbeads would have to wait.
So you can imagine my excitement, upon returning to BPSA a few years later, to see that Woodbeads would be finally coming to the US, and none other than Ric Raynor himself would be on staff. There was no way I was going to miss this event.
This event drew in nearly 40 leaders from all across the United States, and our trainers all came down from Canada. Watching everyone transform over the course of the weekend was amazing, and a gift. Its nice to see when grown-ups get to discover the magic in things. Everybody always thinks of Scouting as something for kids. They're right... it is very much for kids. BUT if you don't have a few adults to guide the young ones, the young ones might not get to have Scouting. And the truth is, Scouting is very much a game... we call it a game at least, and it's a game for grown-ups as well as kids. Games are supposed to be fun, and I know I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't fun. Woodbeads was fun, and it was so much more.
If for nothing else, it was simply an awesome time, to be surrounded by like-minded people, in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. Hopefully there will be more of these, and hopefully I will get to be there. This event was hosted by 55th Cascadia, and organized by Ethan Jewett. Kudos to Ethan and all involved, and congratulations on an amazingly successful event.
For more photos of this event, view my online photo album.
For even more photos, visit Ethan Jewett's flickr album
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