On May 13th through May 15th, seven crewmembers from 1042 along with two Venturers from other crews staffed Days 4 and 5 of Wood Badge training for adults around the area.  As far as I could see, all staffing Venturers did a great job as we presented the seven Principles of Leave No Trace and attended many of the same classes that the adults did, setting up games for the adults, and even acting in skits that the adults in their group put together.

The beginning of the three day staffing event started with us all meeting in the infamous Wal-Mart parking lot, some of us nervous, seeing as this was some of the crewmembers’ first staffing event.  We all packed into our vehicles and drove to Camp Parsons, where the training was being held.  Once we got to camp, we met up with the rest of the staffers and set up our sleeping area.  We then set off to eat the day’s delicious dinner in the Camp Parsons mess hall and meeting the rest of the staff.  Once we finished, we moved to the other side of the camp and set up our model campsite and practiced our previously written (hopefully) Leave no Trace presentations and with that (mostly) well and ready we ran off to play a game of what most would call soccer and go to bed.

Day 2 of us being there started with a rousing breakfast in the mess hall and then walking down to our model campsite and pulling off a spectacular Leave no Trace presentation that left the crowd well informed on the Principles of LNT and our Advisors shocked.  We grouped up with our individually assigned Wood Badge Patrols that we would be sharing much of our time and meals with and we each helped our patrol unload their gear and set up their camping areas.  After we became associated with our patrols, we ate our first lunches and found that there was a certain rivalry between the adult patrols that was both good natured and funny at the same time.  We also attended a seminar about Generations in Scouting. Later that afternoon, we set up the Round Robin, a series of decision-making games that everyone had fun either participating in or watching.  We all went to practice skits with our patrols. At the Campfire Bowl that night, all patrols had either a skit, song, or both that our Venturers participated in and at 9:12 that night everyone gathered to watch the International Space Station pass overhead.

The third day of staffing started with the Venturers traveling to their patrol campsites to eat a breakfast that was cooked (or not so much cooked) by their patrol and then heading to the daily flag ceremony where awards were passed out.  After the Colors were posted, we attended another presentation and then headed off to the conservation project where we helped regrow the Camp Parsons Arboretum.  We then returned to our patrols, ate lunch, and reviewed the Patrol Projects that we presented later that day about things they learned, some talking about lint (LNT) and even one were someone cut off their “finger” (really just a hotdog) when discussing the Guide to Safe Scouting.  After the presentations, our Venturers said goodbye to the patrols by participating in a march throughout the wooded campsites that involved all of the staff and then leaving them to spend the night alone.

Our Venturers were thanked by the staff many times and were told that we did a fantastic job all weekend and I believe them wholeheartedly and I have no doubt in my mind that we will be invited to staff again.

-Stephen