– Bryan On Scouting

Eagle Scout Corey Mullins ascends Vuwa Falls. For fans of Scouting, it was the ultimate cliffhanger. The action-packed Amazon Prime show World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji ended its 10 episodes without revealing the fate of Team Eagle Scouts, the impressive group of young BSA alumni we profiled in a post published the day the show was…

Faced with the challenge of keeping their pack active and running without the benefit of in-person meetings, Cub Scout Pack 145 from Christiansburg, Va., did what so many dedicated Scout leaders have had to do during these tough times: They got creative. Beginning in March, the pack leaders challenged their Cub Scouts to complete 35…

Scouting doesn’t stop, even after you move on from a unit. In 1988, a group of Scouters whose sons were no longer part of Troop 172 of Westfield, N.J., wanted to stay involved in the program that had shaped their families’ lives. So, they began working in a two-car garage at Winnebago Scout Reservation in…

“You were never a Boy Scout,” one character tells another as they prepare to face a villainous vampire. “I, however, always come prepared.” This line, found in Stephen King’s 1975 dark novel Salem’s Lot, is one of dozens of Scouting references in the master storyteller’s works. Of King’s 59 full-length novels to date, at least 32…

That’s me on the right looking way too casual with a hammer while working on my Eagle project in 1998 at the Heard Museum in McKinney, Texas. Twenty-two years ago, over a series of chilly Saturdays in December 1998, I completed my Eagle Scout service project. Wanting to find a project location that was personally meaningful,…

Now is the time to start planning your unit’s fall fundraiser. One company with a longstanding tradition of helping Scouts has a way your unit can provide beautiful, festive products and manage its profits, all while doing so safely for Scouts and customers alike during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 1977, Mickman Brothers, a family-owned business…

Team Eagle Scouts, from left: Matt Moniz, Katie Hancock, Eric Lillstrom, Charley Walton and Corey Mullins When assembling a supergroup to race across rugged backcountry terrain using whatever means necessary — paddling or mountain biking, rappelling or climbing, orienteering or canyoneering — you’ll want a Scout or two on your side. Or, better yet, you’ll…

Three years ago, Troop 25 of Emmaus, Pa., renovated its Scout room by adding a fresh coat of paint to the walls and replacing old cabinets with heavy-duty metal shelving to hold camping gear. The result gave the Scouts a cleaner, more organized space at the St. John’s United Church of Christ. One small cabinet…

Ship 198 of the Del-Mar-Va Council, in a photo taken earlier this year. An impressive recruiting effort to introduce area teenagers to Sea Scouting. Community service projects that build goodwill — and often make the local news. An I-gotta-try-that schedule of monthly outings that includes sailing, swimming, fishing, waterskiing and wakeboarding. Any of those could…

We’re a few months into coping with the COVID-19 pandemic — though it probably feels like so much longer. Your Scouts’ summer adventures might have been cancelled; you might feel frustrated navigating life at home or going out in public; you might be examining your and your family’s mental health like never before. The Boy…