Leaders, volunteers prepared for Boy Scout National Jamboree

GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — Preparations wrapped up Tuesday at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve for the Boy Scouts of America’s 2017 National Jamboree, which will begin Wednesday.

More than 40,000 people — including 25,000 Boy Scouts — will spend 10 days at the 11,400-acre Fayette County facility. It is the second Jamboree at the site, with the first being in 2013. Prior to having the Summit Bechtel Reserve, the gathering was held at various other locations, most recently at Fort A.P. Hill in Bowling Green, Virginia, in 2010.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the first National Jamboree, which was held in Washington, D.C.

Chief Scout Executive for the Boy Scouts Michael Surbaugh said much has changed since the first Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve.

“The site itself and the facilities have been improved, and the volunteers here are just noticing that we are so much more prepared than in ’13,” he said. “We learned a lot and we’re able to make the experience better for Scouts, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Some of the activities scouts will be allowed to experience include shooting sports programs, BMX biking and climbing. One feature shown to reporters Tuesday was “The Big Zip,” a three-quarter mile zip line in which riders can reach up to 50 miles per hour.

National Jamboree Director Matt Myers said as a result of having a permanent location for the Jamboree, the volunteer staff is ready for Wednesday.

“We’ve got health and safety teams,” he noted. “We’ve got lots of people on hand for any emergency. There’s a lot of planning that’s gone into this. Three years and 11 months of planning, really.”

Some of the Jamboree activity will happen away from the Summit; the Scouts are expected to complete more than 100,000 hours worth of community service across nine counties during the 10 days.

“This is part of who we are,” Myers said. “In our DNA, so to speak, is to ‘Do a Good Turn Daily’ and help other people. Those projects are cleaning up areas, providing labor to different counties and everything else in between.”

Dr. Glenn Ault, Michael Surbaugh and Matt Myers (L-R).

“Do a Good Turn Daily” is the Boy Scout of America’s slogan.

Dr. Glenn Ault, the Jamboree’s administrative chairman and volunteer, said the Jamboree will allow boys to meet fellow Scouts they otherwise would have never met, let alone unite with under a shared set of values.

“I come from Los Angeles,” Ault said. “Even for some of the kids that are going to come out of south LA who may have never been to a camp before, been in the outdoors or never spent 10 days in a tent, they are life-changing experiences.”

Surbaugh, Ault and Myers know well about the impact of the Scouting program; all three are Eagle Scouts, the Boy Scouts of America’s highest rank.

“Whether it’s in my professional life as a surgeon or in my volunteer life with the various things I volunteer in with Scouting and elsewhere, those traits and those characters follow you everywhere,” Ault said.

For Surbaugh, who became chief scout executive in May 2015, the Jamboree has an additional special meaning.

“I was born in Charleston, West Virginia,” he said. “My mom’s family was from about two miles from here in Oak Hill, so this is kind of home for me and it’s nice to be back here for our Jamboree.”

The Summit Bechtel Reserve will also host the 2019 World Jamboree with Scouts from 160 nations.

This year’s Jamboree runs through July 28.





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