Re: Jambo 97
(no name) ((no email))
Sun, 26 May 1996 16:19:57 -0500
Bob Taschler wrote:
> Our troop just received an invite to apply for the Jambo 97
> (in AP Hill, Va.) troop for our council. Most of boys and
> leaders have never been and we would like to hear about
> anyone's personal experiences, positive and negative, of
> going to a Jambo instead of summer camp.
Bob, this and related discussions are going on within the Jamboree
discussion group which was set up back in the fall. If you like, you
can join in (I'll forward your question there to get some more
response than what you'll get from here. Many of the folks here are
also readers/contributors there in the Jambo97 list.
Going to the Jamboree is a very different experience than going to
your Council's summer camp, for more than the program reasons
which are obivious.
The Jamboree experience is something that each Scout and
Scouter should experience for themselves at least once. Part of this
is the adventure of attending such a national event. It's also meeting
and working side-by-side with Scouts and Scouters from all over
this nation and from around the world.
The National Jamboree experience also allows you as a Scouter to
further "bring home" the ideas of patrol and troop leadership
moreso than what they would experience at your Council's summer
camp program. While the concept is the same, the Jamboree gives
it that extra "ummph" by allowing your Scouts and Scouters to see
how other Troops and patrols operate enroute, during and returning
from the Jamboree.
The only "negatives" about attending centers around two big
issues: money and time. Both are important; both can make the
event more of a nightmare than a worthwhile venture.
The money aspect is simple: the Jamboree is NOT CHEAP. It is
very expensive for the person, for the Troop and from a local
Council perspective. It is one of the biggest reasons why more
Troops don't attend the Jamboree as a unit. The Jamboree
presents a large finance problem for the unit, because each person
has to pay his or her own way and the Troop has to purchase
equipment to bring with them which are "Jamboree quality".
Then, it is the issue of how to get there safely and how to insure
the health and safety (read this insurance) of each person
attending. Finally, it is the minor but all important factor of where
are you staying enroute and how will the participants be fed
enroute and returning from the Jamboree experience. Depending
on where you are, it could be a three or four day trip both ways.
The time aspect is not as cut and dried. During the Jamboree, you
will have plenty of time (most Scouts will tell you that they don't
but then, they spend much of that time hobnobing with new
friends and doing "other programs" other than the BSA's official
program (like patch trading, looking for "babes", and the ever
popular "let's see what *their place* looks like!" personal/small
group tours) ) to see the official program of the National Jamboree.
Enroute and returning, you will probably find time in which to
visit some of our national monuments and historical sites. However,
to the person participating, this entire trip may be perceived as
"too fast a train" for them to completely enjoy themselves in. This
is NOT the same thing as driving two or four hours, having to
set up camp, and then having the rest of the evening to "just
goof off" as most Troops experience at summer camps. There's a
LOT to do enroute, during and returning from a Jamboree, and many
of your Scouts-- and Scouters-- will feel somewhat *pushed* to get
as much accomphished in the short ten-day period of the
Jamboree. My personal advice: take it SLOW, don't plan more than
ONE significant event per day (this has the advantage of giving
your Scouts the "option" of discovering more than what you or
others have read about in some brochure someplace) and LET THE
SCOUTS HAVE A GREAT HAND IN THE PLANNING OF THE
TRIP TO AND FROM instead of you and your Assistants sitting
around a map planning where *you think* they would have the
most fun at.
Going to the Jamboree as a unit, Bob, takes a LOT of careful
planning, coordination and yes, is an adventure worth pursuing.
However, so can going to a summer camp program in a location
half the country away, or in going to one of the national outdoor
("high adventure") bases. While the Jamboree is a special event,
you can turn just about *anything* out of the ordinary into a
"special once-in-a-lifetime event".
The Jamboree discussion listing will be able to answer more
of your questions about the "nuts and bolts" of the Jamboree and
give you more advice about bringing your entire unit to participate.
Here's how to subscribe, taken from Doug Gentry's posting here
a while back:
>From: dwgentry@netcom.com (Doug Gentry)
>Subject: Announcing Jambo97 Mailing List
>Cc: mikepb@hoplite.org
>
>Hello, Jamboree Scouters!
>
>Through the generosity and good efforts of Mike Brininstool (a Webelos Den
>Leader in Silicon Valley) we have a mailing list for those interested in
>the 1997 National Jamboree.
>
>To subscribe:
>
>Send an e-mail to: majordomo@hoplite.org
>In the body of the message say: subscribe jambo97
>
>Please note that the mailing list is called jambo97 .... there is no "-L"
>like with "Scouts-L"
>
>Once you have gotten a return, welcoming message back, send your messages to:
>jambo97@hoplite.org
>
>In your first message, please give a brief introduction, and mention your
>function (real or planned) with the Jamboree, and any past Jamboree
>experiences.
I hope that this all helps in your planning and decisionmaking.
Either way, have a great camping experience and please let us know
what you decided on doing!!
Settummanque!
(MAJ) Mike L. Walton (Settummanque, the blackeagle) (
co-Owner, Blackeagle Services of Kentucky (502.826.7046) __)_
174 Chapelwood Drive, Henderson, Kentucky 42420-5036 | ** |]
(H) 502.827.9201 (F) 502.826.7046 (W) 888.284.4848 (yea!) coffee?
anytime!
(Email) blackeagle@hcc-uky.campus.mci.net/kyblkeagle@AOL.COM
(WWW) http://scout.net/~cardinal/index.htm
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