Boy Scouts of America Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

North Central W.Va. Boy Scouts Council Elects First Female President

Local scouting leader Amy Garbrick was elected as the first female president of the governing board for the Boy Scouts of America Mountaineer Area Council, based in north central West Virginia.

Amy Garbrick, a scouting leader from Morgantown, was elected president of the governing board for the Boy Scouts of America Mountaineer Area Council Feb. 8.

Garbrick’s election earlier this month marked the first time a woman ever served as president of the council’s governing board. The council oversees scouting programs across 12 counties in north central West Virginia.

The role of president is generally held for three years. Jack Walker spoke to Garbrick about her plans for her new position, as well as gender inclusion in scouting since the Boy Scouts went co-ed in 2019.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Walker: To begin, could you just tell me a little bit about the new position you were appointed to?

Garbrick: I was appointed as the first female chair of the Mountaineer Area Council Boy Scouts of America. And that is a position that I will hold for — traditionally, it’s been about three years.

Walker: Could you also tell me a little bit about your background in scouting? I know that you had some experience running a Cub Scout troop.

Garbrick: Sure. So, back in 2013, I was a member of Reedsville United Methodist Church in Preston County, and one of our church members asked me. He said, ‘Amy, I’m going to start a Cub Scout pack here at our church, and I wanted to see if you would help me.’ … My sons were four and six, and six years old was, at the time, the youngest that you could be. You had to be in the first grade to be in the Cub Scouts. And he said, ‘Amy, I would like you to help me.’ And I said, ‘Okay, sure.’

So I thought he was going to bring them all to my house, and he was going to teach them “scout things” while like, I baked cookies, and they were just all hanging out at my house. The next week at church, he brought me the Cub Scout manual, basically, and he said, ‘Okay, let me know when you’re gonna schedule your first meeting, and you’re in charge.’

I said, ‘I don’t know anything about scouting.’ And he said, ‘Amy, you’ll learn it.’ That was in 2013, and we started out with six boys. That was before girls were in the organization. Then, when I stepped away as the cub master in 2020, we had over 50 boys and girls in our Cub Scout pack.

Walker: I know this is new to you, obviously, but are there any things you’re particularly looking to accomplish in your tenure?

Garbrick: I mean, it’s actually pretty simple. I want to make sure that everyone in north central West Virginia knows that the Boy Scouts of America is here for them. There is a pack or a troop somewhere nearby.

I would love to just get our word out there that scouting is still very much alive here in our counties, and we’re not just the ones that teach boys how to go camping. We teach everything from leadership and character development to citizenship and fitness. We teach all of those things to boys and girls in all different ages of life. We’re not just teaching kids how to tie knots and go camping. We’re so much more than that.

Any child, as long as you’re in kindergarten and up — any child, boys and girls both, are welcome in the Boy Scouts of America.

Walker: You mentioned that girls are also allowed to get involved in scouting now beyond the Girl Scouts, which is a separate entity. Could you tell me about that trend over the years, and how it has impacted the scouting experience from your perspective as someone who is overseeing a lot of these programs?

Garbrick: So girls in scouting is actually not new. Girls have been involved in scouting for decades. In other programs of the Boy Scouts of America, it wasn’t until the past five or six years that nationally girls were welcomed into the Cub Scouts, as well as into the Scouts BSA program. So that’s the younger girls in kindergarten all the way up to the age of 18. They were welcomed into the program about five or six years ago.

Honestly, I’m so glad for it. I was the cubmaster when we welcomed our first girl into our pack. Her name was Kennedy. I’ll never forget, she was so excited that now she actually got to not only come to the meetings because she was already coming with her older brother. Now she gets to come to the meetings and actually participate and earn advancement and earn recognition. So she was so excited. The girls at the older level, at the troop level — they joined the Boys Scouts of America in 2019, and they have hit the ground running.

Walker: Now, you’re obviously the first woman to hold this position. What does that mean for you, and how is it going to impact the way that you approach this new role?

Garbrick: Sure. So, it’s obviously very exciting. I’m excited mainly to show young girls and young women that yes, I am a woman, and I’m in the Boy Scouts of America. And you can be, too.

Really, if I can get just another handful of girls to join the program then I’m doing my job. I really just want young girls and young women to look up to me and to see, ‘Hey, there’s a woman who is leading this organization. I should join and see what it’s all about.’

Amy Garbrick attends the Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree in 2023. She is pictured beside her sons Tyler and Ethan, from left.

*Photo Credit: Amy Garbrick*

Scouts Put Together Cleaning Kits For Flood Victims

The Scouts are having their national jamboree this year in the Summit Bechtel Reserve near Glen Jean, West Virginia

The Scouts are having their national jamboree this year in the Summit Bechtel Reserve near Glen Jean, West Virginia, and participants are helping residents in flood-hit states.

During the jamboree, 15,000 scouts will be partaking in the “Flood Bucket” project. For this project, scouts are assembling at least 5,000 cleaning kits that will help flood victims to reconstruct their lives.

Tom Kraeutler says the scouts pledge is to help other people at all times and this is a great way to put their pledge into action.

“These buckets contain essential cleaning supplies, about 15 different items. There’s soaps, there’s gloves, there’s masks, there’s mildewcide to take care of mold,” Kraeutler said.

There are some flood victims partaking in this project who have had flood happen in their hometowns across the nations.

The Disaster Response Ministries of the West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church are providing assistance.

Watch the scouts assemble the kits. Any additional information is available here.

Boy Scouts’ Growing Impact On Female Members

As the Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree continues this week in Fayette County, there are more females on-site than ever before.

As the Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree continues this week in Fayette County, there are more females on site than ever before. There’s a growing impact on girls furthering their scouting ambitions, and the boys are learning a new thing or two as well.

Females in the BSA are nothing new. In 1969, the Sea Scouts welcomed females. Girls have been members of Venturing, a core scouting program for young men and women ages 14 through 20, since 1998. Girls were welcomed into the Cub Scouts in 2018, and joined the newly formed Scouts BSA in 2019. There are now scout troops for girls, for boys and co-ed troops.

Volunteer Jamboree Chairman Tico Perez said it is an extraordinary addition to welcome female BSA Scouts for the first time to the 2023 National Jamboree.

“I was watching units side by side, putting their tents together in their campsite yesterday,” Perez said. “All the boys were working on their own tents and getting it together. And all the girls were in swarms working on a tent and the next tent and the next 10. The teamwork and the communication was phenomenal. So it’s a difference in style. And it’s a beautiful thing for our boys to learn.”

Kim Irwin, a scoutmaster with a female troop in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, said there’s nothing gender specific about scouting’s commitment to outdoor adventure, diversity and leadership.

“It builds their development, and the girls weren’t getting that,” Irwin said. “There’s Girl Scouts and Girl Scouts is great. There’s nothing wrong with Girl Scouts, it’s just different. And this, I like the way it’s run. When we look at females in general, we’re not always good at promoting ourselves and may have to promote ourselves in these rank advancement meetings. I’ve seen my daughter go from sort of sheepish and meek and I just yelled at her to go do sustainability because she’s nearly Eagle.”

Scout BSA Aaron Anderson, from Charleson, South Carolina, said her all-female troop 742 is in the process of adding on a brother troop. But she added that she wouldn’t trade her scouting experiences so far, for the world.

“We’ve been able to grow with all these girls and be able to do all these experiences in scouting,” Anderson said. “I know a lot of the girls in our troop, they’ve been in it with their brothers through Cub Scouts. And so once they were finally able to join, I know that a lot of them saw they could experience a lot of the fun things that you see all the other people doing, and they would like, you know, get rank and get patches and camp out with everyone.”

Girls in Boy Scouts has given some parents some pause due to a history of sexual abuse charges. In 2020, the Boy Scouts of America filed for a Chapter 11 financial restructuring to offer “equitable compensation” to survivors and their families. The BSA cited approximately 200 pending lawsuits in state and federal district courts across the United States and 1700 potential claimants in total.

Recognizing the increased risk of abuse in volunteer youth organizations, the BSA created a sex abuse education and prevention program called the Youth Protection program in 1988 to address the problem. Perez said 35 years later, scouting has been labeled as the gold standard of youth protection.

“It’s a valid concern for parents in any organization they’re involved with,” Perez said. “Answer one is get involved. But more importantly, we have the most stringent youth protection program in America. We have a buddy system, we have two on one adults to youth, we have mandatory reporting. We are the best place to put your child. Did we make some mistakes in the 60s in the 70s? We did admittedly. And we want to compensate everybody who we had a problem with. But we have learned many, many lessons and this is the safest place for your child. The only way to make it even safer is for that adult to be involved in that unit and come out and experience scouting with their children.”

Scoutmaster Irwin said those types of problems can happen anywhere. in schools, churches. She says if there’s bad in human nature, bad can get in.

“As someone who was a pediatric nurse prior to teaching, I saw the horrible things that happened to kids,” she said. “But I’m also seeing all of this and this is amazing. And I know there were a lot of naysayers with females entering BSA as well, like it’s gonna cause problems, boys and girls. My kids go to church camp, and it’s boys and girls together. They go to 4-H camp and it’s boys and girls together. So now our girls have a chance to be Eagle Scouts.”

14-year-old Ruth Olsen from Utah said she wants to try everything scouting has to offer so she can “learn stuff”.

“I think it’s good that girls have the same opportunities as boys because I think girls are a lot more capable than people think we are,” Olsen said.

The 2023 Scouting Jamboree at Summit Bechtel Reserve in Fayette County runs through July 28.

2023 National Scouting Jamboree Highlights Adventure, Achievement

For the next 10 days, 15,000 scouts from around the country will camp out in the wooded hills and hollows of Fayette County. The action-packed 2023 National Scouting Jamboree takes youth development and diversity to a whole new level.

Entering the park, visitors can hear “swooshes” from five multi-strung zip lines stretching more than a half-mile over the nearly 11,000 acre Summit Bechtel Reserve. Dubbed “the adventure of a lifetime,” scouts can skateboard and scuba dive, there’s archery and shooting ranges, fishing, rock climbing, disc golf.

Fourteen-year-old Steven Belk, from Troop 3239 in Virginia, said, “there’s never nothing that’s not to do here.”

“This is just a good time to be a scout,” Belk said. “They’re just trying to involve people from all aspects of life, say like zip lines. BMX biking, a bunch of fun stuff, and we learn stuff, too.”

In 2019, the Boy Scouts of America expanded to Scouts BSA, opening up its ranks to female members. This year is the first National Jamboree to include female participants.

Fourteen-year-old Ruth Olsen, from a co-ed troop in Utah, said “it’s about time.”

“I think it’s good that girls have the same opportunities as boys,” Olsen said. “I think girls are a lot more capable than people think we are.”

California Scout Leader Andrew Blessum is sharing living history at a 1910 mock up of America’s first scout camp. Even though there are 13 cell towers and more than 250 Wi-Fi hot spots spread out over the camp’s 16 square miles, Blessum said the initial pledge of scouting as a value based organization hasn’t changed in more than a century.

“I believe the things that we still have at the core of scouting are outdoor living and character development,” Blessum said. “One of the founders himself, Luther Gulick of the YMCA, actually preaches that mankind is not complete without physical, mental and spiritual symmetry. And that itself is really the basis of our scout oath.”

The scouts camp in tents and cook their own food. Scout Aaron Anderson, from an all-female troop in Charleston, South Carolina, said the leadership and practical life skills scouting teaches help kids succeed.

“A lot of those things that we learn in our leadership programs I use in my daily life,” Anderson said. “I use it at school for interviews and things like that. A lot of us have been in situations where we’ve had training in emergency first aid and to be able to help people in emergencies. We know these skills and we can take them out and use them in the real world.”

And then, there’s 13-year-old, First Class Scout Max Dehnke from Milan, Illinois. Dehnke was enjoying hanging out at the busy scout patch trading tables and shared his reason for becoming a Boy Scout.

“My parents said, ‘Max, you need to do something.’ I’m like, sports? Or – I have all my friends in this big group thingy where you go camping and get pocket knives. So it was a no brainer. Boy Scouts,” he said.

A “no brainer” at the National Scouting Jamboree that enriches brain and brawn.

Boy Scouts Perform Service Projects In Return For Free Camping

Boy Scouts from the Buckskin Council in southern West Virginia will have the unique opportunity to camp for free in designated state parks in exchange for service projects.

Boy Scouts from the Buckskin Council in southern West Virginia will have the unique opportunity to camp for free in designated state parks. The council represents scouts in 40 counties across the south of West Virginia, as well as in neighboring states Ohio, Virginia and Kentucky.

In exchange, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Director Brett McMillion said scouts will complete service projects in the parks such as trail maintenance. He said scouts have already helped with the newest Almost Heaven swing at Pipestem Resort State Park.

“Some of the more popular projects will relate to trails, whether it be new trail construction, upgrades to existing or even basic maintenance on trails,” McMillion said. “There will likely be some facility upgrades or renovations, such as painting, and we won’t get into any full blown construction projects, but they’ll really be able to do a variety of items.”

McMillion said scouts can be a resource for smaller parks that may not have the bigger budgets. He said the DNR is already in contact with other scout councils from across West Virginia to expand the program.

“We’re early into this program, but I see a lot of potential growing, I think there’s some badge opportunities,” McMillion said. “The scouts will be able to work with our naturalist or nature programming. Our state park system have absolutely opened their arms to this project, and it’ll give the scouts opportunities to learn more about our West Virginia state parks.”

Jeffrey Purdy is the scout executive for the Buckskin Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He said the current agreement is for Pipestem and North Bend parks, but it could be expanded to other state parks.

“The idea is that scouts would go to the park for the weekend, perhaps spend the weekend camp out, they may do a service project for the park, which is a part of the scouting program, doing service for others,” Purdy said. “Then the parks can also provide some program opportunities.”

The Boy Scouts own many private camps across West Virginia, but Purdy said they are hard to maintain.

“At the same time, the state does an excellent job of maintaining their state parks,” he said. “Those are well-maintained outdoor facilities available for the public. They’re looking for people to work in the park system, and people with scouting backgrounds, young people would be good candidates because of their knowledge and experience in the outdoors.”

McMillion also expressed a desire to see scouts develop through the burgeoning program into the state’s future parks leadership.

Boy Scouts And WVU Team Up To Bring Outdoor Learning To All W.Va. Kids

The Boy Scouts of America is teaming up with West Virginia University to tackle an ambitious goal: getting all sixth-graders in West Virginia learning outside. A pilot program took place this fall at the scouts’ Summit Bechtel Reserve high-adventure property.

Reclaiming The Classroom In The Natural World

“I have straight A’s and my favorite subject is science and that’s why I signed up,” said Langston Lilly, a sixth-grader who attends Shady Spring Middle School.

Langston was standing in a hardhat in front of a climbing wall built in the middle of a 10,000-acre reclaimed strip mine in southern West Virginia.

“So far, it’s been really fun,” she said, describing some of the team-building strategy games she played with her classmates.

Langston participated in an expanded pilot of an outdoor education program West Virginia University is shaping called Science Adventure School. She and her peers camped on cots inside large tents for several nights at the Summit Bechtel Reserve.

For many students, even though they live in rural communities, sleeping outside, spending time in a stream, or hiking is a novelty and a total break from reality. Sixthgrader Dax Simpson, from Independence Middle School in Raleigh County, said he’s never walked so much in his life.

“I feel better about myself now than I ever have before,” he said.

Walking sounds simple, and easy — something we can all do in our own backyards, but leading educators in the field say taking a week in an outdoor setting like this can be life-changing for children.

Students took a breather along hiking trail to discuss phenology concepts. Environmental STEM curriculum was developed by the West Virginia Water Research Institute.

Director of the Science Adventure School, Ali Jeney, explained that the fall pilot program hosted 500 students and 40 teachers from middle schools in Nicolas, Raleigh and Fayette counties. Schools provided transportation to and from the site, but students attend for free and any supplies they didn’t have were provided. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and WVU raised $500,000 from private donors to pull it off.

According to Jeney, the purpose of the project is to bring outdoor learning experiences to children across West Virginia. They eventually want to offer the program to most — if not all — sixth-grade students in the state.

Jeney explained, the school was built on the back of established science. Researchers even came to assess specific educational needs in the tri-county region. Organizers like Jeney then built a program incorporating proven and studied curriculums — all designed to address those needs.

“The last thing I want to do is make it seem like this is a backward or sorry area because it’s not,” Jeney explained. “The reality is, these students and teachers are incredible. They do what they need to do with limited resources. But the research showed there are some socio-economic challenges here that really challenge students’ abilities to focus on school and be successful all the way through high school graduation.”

Jeney believes her program is already making a difference.

WVU developed lesson plans exploring the science behind rock climbing for the Boy Scouts of America. The curriculum was easily adapted for Science Adventure School.

Earth, Sport And Soul-Changing

Science Adventure School incorporates a lot of earth science and sports science lessons, since they’re enveloped in both at the Summit Bechtel Reserve. The idea is to make science fun, engaging, and accessible.

But the program is designed to be more than just fun. Kids work together to establish team values, and are encouraged to talk about issues that matter to them. They learn things like cooperation and critical thinking — skills that are harder to teach with typical classroom constraints. But educational leaders say these skills are critical for society to progress, and for our children to thrive.

When asked if she believed a four-day science and adventure experience outdoors could really have a lasting impact on the lives of students in West Virginia, Jeney said her experiences in the pilot programs convinced her.

“I might have not believed if before I saw it with my own eyes. I might have not believed it before I heard it from the mouths of people who know these kids intimately,” she said. “Hearing teachers talk about what it looked like to go back to school after Science Adventure School — that is the moment I knew without a doubt that this program is making long-term impacts in ways we may never be able to measure.”

Jeney isn’t alone in her conviction. One teacher from Beckley-Stratton Middle School, Angela Houck, is also convinced the program is providing something special for her and her students. She was involved in the initial pilot program last year, when 30 of her students got to come to the reserve. When WVU researchers interviewed Houck about her experience, she said she’d do anything to come back.

“Our kids need this. The future needs this,” Houck said. “Eighteen years of teaching, I’ve never seen anything come close to touching this — I’m amazed. And it’s going to be really hard for me to go back to my classroom. And I just hope and pray that other kids on our great state get this opportunity.”

Teachers like Houck say the program enables them to get to know their students on a more human level. She says outside the confines of four walls and 40-minute-classes, she can build more meaningful relationships, reach kids more easily, and teaching is a lot more fun.