BSA's ScoutCast

This episode is all about training. We’re talking with seasoned Scouting veteran Dan Maxfield about why it’s important, how to get trained, and everything you need to know about training. Whether you’re new to Scouting or have been around the Scouting block a time or two, you’ll be left wondering, “With so many training opportunities […]

So, you’ve decided you might like to be a Scoutmaster. Congratulations! Are you a member of a school, church, or civic club that thinks it might be a good idea to have a troop? Good for you! But, hmmm … where do you begin? Fear not! This episode gives you a step-by-step guide to starting a troop. You’ve got this!

The new Scouts BSA program—in case anyone out there hasn’t already heard—means girls will be allowed to join Scout troops in February 2019. This is a big change to our already fantastic organization, so naturally the questions have been pouring in. We’ve gathered a list of the most frequently asked questions and joining us is the woman with all the answers—April McMillian. April is the department manager of Program Development here at the BSA National Service Center and will help us get the right answers to all those burning questions.

This month’s episode stems from a tweet we received asking if we could have an episode not on youth who cross over from Cub Scouting to Scouts BSA but on adults who cross over from Cub Scouting to Scouts BSA. And we agreed that would make for an interesting discussion. So, we invited Steve Bowen back to the show. You may remember Steve from the November 2014 show where we discussed the development of merit badges. In addition to being on the National Merit Badge Subcommittee and other national committees, Steve has served as both a Cubmaster and a Scoutmaster, so we look to him for guidance on this topic.

OK, listeners, we’ve had discussions on new-unit development and recruiting youth and leaders, so now is the time to start planning those meetings and activities. But we don’t want to throw everything out there at once, so let’s figure out what you need to do to Be Prepared for that first meeting. To help us with that is Lorie McGraw, a Scouting volunteer for 23 years with the Indian Waters Council in Columbia, South Carolina, Somehow, she found time to also prepare to be an assistant Scoutmaster for a new all-girl troop that will start next year.

Jamboree-on-the Air and Jamboree-on-the-Internet events held every October. The World Scout Bureau reported that last year, JOTA and JOTI events had more than 1.5 million Scout participants from more than 160 countries! In this month’s episode, 2 of the JOTA/JOTI team members, Jim Wilson, (JOTA rep) and Greg Wojcicki (JOTI rep) share with us how you can be a part of these world-wide events. The events take place in October so you should listen to this episode soon… like right now.

Girls will become eligible to become Scouts BSA troops in 2019, which will be here before you know it. We talked a few months ago about new unit development, so now let’s talk about recruiting leaders for those units with Scott Berger, a 50-year BSA veteran who currently serves on a multitude of committees and task forces with the Patriots’ Path Council in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey.

If you’re a regular listener (and of course you are), you’ll recall that back in May we discussed what you need to do to start a new unit. But first, you need the youth for that unit. Now is the time to start recruiting. We need some fresh ideas for the digital times we live in, so join us to discuss recruiting campaigns with Hayley Cordaro, the Social Media Specialist with the Communications Team here at the National Service Center. One of her main responsibilities is developing digital strategies for the BSA.

Back in March of 2015, we did an episode about introducing STEM into your unit, and we talked about some pretty cool STEM activities. Since then, STEM has gotten pretty popular, and units are really taking their activities to the next level. In this episode, Emily Campbell Roundtable Commissioner for in the Gulf Coast Council in Pensacola, Florida, shows us how STEM can be integrated into stuff you’re already doing to earn the Nova and Supernova awards.

We all know by now that girls will be able to join Scouting in 2019, but it’s already May, which means 2019 is just seven months away. That seems like a long time but we all know it’ll be here before we know it. Gene Butler, the Business Development Specialist for the National Alliances team at the National Service Center, joins us to explain what’s needed to start a troop so we’re ready on day one to provide this wonderful program we call Scouting to girls.

April is Youth Protection Month and the Boy Scouts of America takes that very seriously. True youth protection can be achieved only through the focused commitment of everyone in Scouting. In this special crossover CubCast/ScoutCast episode, BSA Director of Youth Protection, Michael Johnson, explains how the revised Youth Protection training helps volunteers and professionals maintain […]

April is Youth Protection Month and the Boy Scouts of America takes that very seriously. True youth protection can be achieved only through the focused commitment of everyone in Scouting. In this special crossover CubCast/ScoutCast episode, BSA Director of Youth Protection, Michael Johnson, explains how the revised Youth Protection training helps volunteers and professionals maintain a culture of Youth Protection awareness and safety at the national, regional, area, council, district, and unit levels.

In this special CubCast/ScoutCast episode, Amy and Bryan chat with Linda Baker, Program Vice President of the Northeast Region, about preparing both your Webelos Den and your Scout troop for the Webelos-to-Scout transition plan. Linda is currently working on the task force updating the Cub Scout handbooks and is a local Troop Committee Chair, so she has a great perspective from both sides of the transition process.

Why are we talking about Den Chiefs in ScoutCast? Because not only is a Den Chief great for a den (and we’ll talk about that, too), but Northeast Illinois Council Commissioner John Duncan shares with us how it’s fantastic leadership training for your Scout or Venturer.

Why are we talking about Den Chiefs in ScoutCast? Because not only is a Den Chief great for a den (and we’ll talk about that, too), but Northeast Illinois Council Commissioner John Duncan shares with us how it’s fantastic leadership training for your Scout or Venturer.