1st Week of Summer Camp

I'm having a great time at Spanish Peaks Scout Ranch. 300 to 400 Boy Scouts per week working on rank requirements and merit badges, enjoying campfires with skits and songs, spending money at the trading post, and having clean fun in every way imaginable. It is great to be a part of it all. 

I get up at 6:00 in the morning and scurry by each of the eleven campsites checking on the adult leaders attitude and comfort. I meet with the leaders in my area at 10:00 everyday to teach/reinforce the patrol method and listen to general comments and concerns. At 2:00 each afternoon I cook something to broaden their collection of recipes (apple fritters, Spam casserole, jalapeños stuffed with Italian sausage and cream cheese, and ham & cheese sliders). I meet with the senior patrol leaders at 1:15 throughout the week to define their role as the troop leader and empower them to action within their unit.  After evening activities I drive to all the campsites to collect their trash sacks to reduce the possibility of a bear wandering through the camp. FUN, FUN, FUN!

BSA National Camp School

Last summer I volunteered to be a commissioner at a Boy Scout Camp near where we live. It turned out that I also helped cook three meals each day for the hungry campers. I had a great time though and have decided to volunteer at a Boy Scout Camp for six weeks this June and July.

The last week of May I attended BSA’s National Camping School for training to be the lead camp commissioner at Spanish Peaks Scout Ranch near Walsenburg, CO.

“What a Commissioner Should Know and be Able to Do”

1. Serve assigned units to see that youth and leaders have a positive summer camp experience

a. Provide detailed information to units for scheduling, problem solving, interpreting camp policies, program planning, people management, and customer service

2. Send scout troops home stronger and better-trained troops than when they arrived at camp

a. Empower the Senior Patrol Leader

b. Coach troop leaders:

i    In troop youth leadership

ii  The patrol method

iii Ways to make the patrol leaders’ council more effective.

3. Be a proactive troubleshooter working alongside the program director

a. Ideally the program director and camp director encounter no unpleasant surprises

b. The camp commissioner resolves issues that arise anywhere in camp, especially those affecting troop relations and functions

c. Commissioners reside near the troop sites.

4. Record concerns or questions in a notebook while in the leader’s presence

a. Research the issue

b. Provide feedback to the leader in a timely manner

I’m looking forward to performing this role. It has been 40 years since I last worked at a camp for more than a week per year. This is going to be FUN!