Dark and ominous clouds linger afar, signaling the approach of a strong storm. We need to hurry.
“Andrew, scout out a spot to assemble the tent.”
“Derek, grab the green tent bag out of the trailer. Brian, go with and help. Hurry! We need to finish before the first drop if we don’t want to get wet!”
“The rest of us will haul up the cooking gear and cook supper over a fire.”
Understanding the situation, the Troop sets into action without any defiance. Every summer, my troop and I camp in the middle of the woods at Many Point Scout Camp. During the weeklong trip, I have been placed in positions that have given me the opportunities to display my knowledge of leadership qualities, such as giving guidance to others to insure completion of a task, motivation, making others feel important, and time management. Climbing the treacherous steps to the campsite, Jacob and I lug the bulky patrol boxes loaded with kitchen supplies to the designated kitchen area. Immediately, I analyze the situation. The clouds are darkening and rolling in fast. At the very most, we only have a couple hours until it hits. Time is of the essence.
“How is the tent coming along?” I asked Andrew, Derek, and Brian. “A few poles are troubling us, so we are going to need some extra man power.” Knowing the detailed instructions will be difficult for the tent crew to understand, I carefully instruct the guys in the cooking area what to do until I return. I walk with a mission up to the tent site and bring
Along with my happy attitude, I will put the best of my cooking abilities to work. I hope to take to camp the things that I learned from a Consumer Science class, including nutrition, preparation, and hygienic conduct. A clean space is key when preparing a meal, so dishes will be squeaky clean, as well as the counters
Wrongberight, Virginia is a rural farming community, and its residents depend on accurate weather reports. The locals believe, those profession meteorologists could not predict rain, even if raindrops were falling on their head. On Thursday the local weather guru of Wrongberight, Charlie Jones, age eleven forecast a ten-hour deluge would hit on Friday. It did. In fact it dumps eight addition inches of rain, to the already, saturated farmer’s fields and woodlands from the previous intermittent rainstorm that he also predicted. According to him, that storm on Friday was just a prelude to another storm that will strike Wrongberight, sometime early Saturday night. He also said, that this kind of storm would produce, at least one or two unique
I recently completed my Eagle Scout rank, achieving the highest honor in Boy Scouts, and I am also a brotherhood member of scouting's honor society, the Order of the Arrow. I served a six month term as Senior Patrol Leader, the most senior scout leader within my troop, as well as serving as Assistant Senior Patrol Leader for one term. Before that, I did three six month terms as Troop Guide, a position in which I acclimated first year scouts to the troop, teaching them the ways of scouting. My experience in Boy Scouts has presented an abundance of opportunities for me to develop my leadership skills, giving me a competitive advantage over other candidates.
I’ve been camping ever since I was two years old. Every year a group called the Arizona Rough Riders hosts an event called the Spook Rally which happens near Halloween. This year my parent’s friend’s son, Dylan, who I’ve grown up with, was going to be driving the Spook Jeep Run event with his friend. The Spook Jeep Run is a big event where people volunteer to make a spook house in the middle of the desert. There is usually five spook houses and each one gives you a clue sheet that leads you to the next house. Everyone gets a different number the week before the Spook Rally starts and the number tells you what time you’re going to be leaving to start the run. Before the run there is a meeting which tells you the rules and safe driving. The people at the meeting then received a packet which gives you the story. The story is used to help you figure out the answers to the first clue sheet that they give you at the starting line.
I feel a drop of water on my face and quicken my pace. It’s possible for the monsters to come out before dark if the sky is dim enough. The camp comes into view quick enough, but I am drenched to the bone. My grip on my dagger is weak and slippery, doubtful to help me much if need be.
Suddenly the sky darkens and you hear the dreaded rumbling of an approaching storm. Rain begins to fall, starting slowly and quickly increasing in intensity.
“All right now we fire it.” The says as the puts it on a pan and places it in the roaring fire.
Fastidious as ever, he bent over and reluctantly untied and took off his shoes, then neatly set them on the curb. He rolled up his pant legs; unfortunately, not far enough. The rising mud ruined his trousers as he sank deeper than the two lightweight explorers. He looked down at the muck working its way up his legs and sighed, then waded in determined to come get us before the rain increased.
“The Germans are coming, we need to lose ‘em and fast! Any ideas young’un?” I ask, praying William has an answer.
Before overnights, Jody checks the weather forecast to make sure that there won't be any severe weather conditions such as thunder. If rain is in the forecast, then Jody prepares the teens by giving them a heads up about potential schedule changes due to the weather. However, if the rain comes unexpectedly while we are playing games in the field Jody has to improvise. She works with the staff to develop a plan for the rest of the overnight. Depending the severity of the rain, we may have to bring the kids under the shelter and have them play games there. Instead of sending the groups out on hiking trips we may have them have some tent time, or time for board games. Again depending on the severity of the weather, campfire may have to be on a camp stove under the shelter instead of in a campfire pit outside. Jody with advice from her staff approaches the problem from a variety of angles trying to figure out the best
“Ok, let’s start to build a camp, because we are going to be here for a while.” Devin seemed to be glowing and spreading heat, literally.
Just an average Saturday morning with some heavy rain, we already knew there was hurricane nearby but the direction it was heading was supposed to only pass us, so no worries except for a couple of slippery roads. We should've known better, Mother Nature doesn't always play by the rules. She could make it rain enough to start a flash flood and then the next day throw out a drought that could last years. She especially wasn't keen on following them today. Like I said, we weren't expecting it then BOOM, here it came straight at us. We only knew because a message from the local news came in on our phones. It had sudden change of course. 30 minutes, we had 30 minutes before it was right on top of us.“Was it enough time?” We all thought as we got prepared.
Luckily, scouting is designed to overcome this obstacle gradually. As you mature in scouting the expectation is that the older scouts will lead the troop through planning camping trips, meals, and excursions for monthly camping. To help the scouts be a more effective BSA offers a youth leadership course, National Youth Leadership Training, NYLT. Of course, my dad sent me to this very same program. “… The new NYLT integrates the best of modern leadership theory with the traditional strengths of the Scouting experience. Through activities, presentations, challenges, discussions, and audio-visual support, NYLT participants will be engaged in a unified approach to leadership that will give them the skill and confidence to lead well.”() Looking back, I was glad that he did because it prepared me and many others to accomplish the pinnacle of Boy Scouts which is earning your Eagle rank. Scouting challenges all the boys to take a leadership position within a
We pitch tents in Yellow River State Forest, just yards away from the creek where rainbows and browns hide
My personal experiences of leadership started when I was younger, roughly 7 years old, I was elected the captain of my travel soccer team. At the time I didn’t think much of it, nor did I have any extra duties that I was explicitly told that I needed to perform. Later throughout the season, I started to notice my teammates mimicking my styles and techniques and I highly enjoyed this feeling of being looked up to. I didn 't realize until years after that the recognition and pride I felt was leadership. This privilege of being captain was the first time I had realized that people weren 't necessarily following my actions because I was extraordinarily skilled, but because I provided this role model status with my confidence and encouragement. Some of the most valuable leaderships traits that I acquired and fortified are: