Hello from Sandy Matos, Health Officer

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Hello from Sandy Matos, Health Officer

Video Transcript:

Hello everyone. Thank you so much. This is just a short video. My name is Sandy Matos, I will be your Health Officer for the 2024 Wood Badge course. The Wood Badge course is 15-602-24. I just want to let you know our course runs from April 12th to the 14th, and the second week is April 27th through the 28th. You will be required to have a health form, sections A, B1, B2, and C, filled out. It’s a four paged form. The section that I want you to pay most attention to is two parts, are sections B2. There are two parts where your physician will need to sign in section B2. Then, part C is the section where the physical needs to happen, and your physician needs to fill out that section. This has to be within the past year of where this course takes place. Since we are in April 2024, the oldest we can take a physical form is April 2023. So, for March 2023 or later, unfortunately that would be too old. So, anything from the past year – 12 months – will be acceptable.

I will be collecting participant forms from the morning of registration, which is April 12th. I will ask fr them to be handed in, and will be taking them in person. I will not take them electronically or digitally, I’d rather have them in-hand, in case of an emergency. I do ask, make sure that if you have any kind of medications or things of that nature, that you keep those with you at al times and have enough for the program, as well as any EpiPens. Make sure nothing is expired. Also, if you have any allergies or anything of a medical nature that you think I need to be made aware of, feel free to pull me aside. That’s what I’m here for – to make sure you have a wonderful experience with the course, but also doing so in a safe manner. Please also know that I will be the only one who has access to these, to make sure that we respect your privacy. Paul Kreckman, the Director of this course, in the event that I am not available, is the next to have access.

You will have access to your medications to have them handed back to you on April 28th, the last day of the course (the second Sunday) when we depart. I will make myself available at the Main Dining Hall, this way not everyone is trying to crowd into the Health Lodge.

Again, I will be available April 12th. Staff, I would like to have your health forms sooner rather than later. Again, all sections do need to be filled out because we will be having the course for greater than a 72-hour period, even though it’s broken up into two weekends. This is a BSA requirement. If you have any further questions, please reach out to me. I look forward to seeing everybody on April 12th. Thank you so much!

Resources:

Annual Health and Medical Record: Parts A – C (PDF)

Hello from Charlie Fleet, Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop Guides

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Hello from Charlie Fleet, Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop Guides

Video Transcript:

Hi, my name’s Charlie Fleet.  I am the Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop Guides, and I would like to pass on some information about our upcoming course.  I am working on the presentation about the ticket, and some of you all may know what the ticket is or have some idea.  Maybe you are a little hesitant about it or may not really have a clue about the Wood Badge ticket.  So, I would like to answer a few questions, and hopefully this video will do that.

The ticket is basically your commitment as a follow-up to the course of taking your vision – really it’s just what your position is, what you’re excited about in Scouting, and what motivates you – and putting that together in a form that you can then work on over 18 months, hopefully sooner.  You have some time to get that done after the in-person coursework is done.  There are five goals, or larger tasks, that help support your vision.  We find that, if you pick something that really gets you excited, gets you energized in Scouting, and related to your position, that it is really not a task to be done.  It becomes part of who you are and what you like to do, and ultimately this is all about the Scouts.  We are trying to make the program better for our youth.

One thing that can make the whole ticket process easier is take the time – you will be receiving a questionnaire – take the time to fill that out and look over it.  Be honest with the answers because, there again, we are trying to find out the things about you, or help you find the things about yourself, that will be energizing and exciting, that will carry you through Wood Badge and your Scouting career and your work career.  I will be honest with you, the things I have learned in Wood Badge, I have used at work and my job more often than I thought I ever would.  So, take the time to fill out that questionnaire, and after filling it out, make sure that you bring it with you.  You will be asked several times during the course to reference the questionnaire, so having it with you makes it a lot simpler than trying to remember what you wrote down at home.

I look forward to seeing you all at Wood Badge.  Those who are thinking about it, I highly encourage you to register.  Take the time, come on out, and I feel comfortable in assuring you that you will have a good time, and that you will learn, and ultimately make Scouting programs stronger for our youth.

You all have a great day, and I hope to see you there.  Bye!

Resources:

Wood Badge Pre Course Assignment (PDF)

Greetings from Dave Ansell, Senior Patrol Leader

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Greetings from Dave Ansell, Senior Patrol Leader

Video Transcript:

Greetings, Scouters! I am Dave Ansell, and I’m the Senior Patrol Leader for the upcoming Wood Badge course. On behalf of myself and the entire Wood Badge staff, I would like to welcome you to our course. Over the past several months, we have been preparing for the course, working hard to make sure that this course provides you with the mountain top experience that you are expecting from Wood Badge.

Just as we have been preparing, you should as well. You should check out the course website, WoodBadge2024.org, for more information about the course. On the Wood Badge Preparation section of the page, you will see the “Personal Equipment List.” This is a list of basic and essential equipment that you will need to be successful on the first weekend. I bring to your attention that the list has a tent on it. You will be camping in a tent for the course. If you need to borrow a tent, or you’re going to purchase a new one, strongly recommend that you practice setting up the tent prior to coming out to camp. Time will be limited for set-up, so that is not the time to find out that you don’t have any tent stakes or that your tent poles are back at the garage at home. As you’re preparing and packing, please be sure to check the weather. Overnight temperatures can dip into the 30’s, so bring sufficient bedding and clothing for the anticipated weather. This will be important for your overall comfort. We do have a plan b in the event of severe weather; however, rain is not considered severe for Wood Badgers.

Your Wood Badge experience will begin on day 1, Friday, April the 12th, at 7am at the Cub Camp Welcome Center. Let me be the first to share some Wood Badge Wisdom with you. Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable. Staff will check you in, review your medical needs, collect your personal gear, and then transport that gear to your campsite. You will not have access to the gear for the most of the day. Be sure to pack a day pack with any essentials that you may need, especially any medications. After you’re checked in, you will be led on a brief tour of the camp before ending up at Gilwell Hall, where the fun and excitement of Wood Badge really begins.

I look forward to meeting you on the 12th.

Hello from Paul Kreckman, Wood Badge Course Director

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Hello from Paul Kreckman, Wood Badge Course Director

Video Transcript:

Hello, I’m Paul Kreckman, Course Director for Wood Badge 2024.  Thank you for registering for our course and for your interest in continuing to hone and sharpen your leadership skills.  Your commitment to Scouting and the youth we all serve is greatly appreciated.

Last summer, our staff began preparations for this course.  We continue to do so.  Our goal is to make this the best possible learning opportunity for you, and an experience we hope you will always remember.

Now, with any learning experience, there comes some homework, and we have some simple homework assignments for you.  But don’t worry – we’ll give you plenty of time to fit them into your schedule, and I think you’ll actually enjoy working through them.

In the future, we’ll be sending you additional short video clips like this one to help you in preparing for the course.  Here’s a few of those video clips that you will be receiving.

Sandy Matos, our Health Officer, will be talking about health forms and other health-related issues.

Dave Ansell, our Senior Patrol Leader, will let you know about the equipment you will need to bring in advance, so that you can be prepared for the course.

Charlie Fleet, our Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop Guides, will be talking to you about the ticket – your ticket – and to hopefully answer any concerns you may have about that process.

Dave Anderson, our Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, will be talking to you about what it means for a Scout to be reverent during the course.

And Heather Leake, our Assistant Scout Master for Program, will be sending you any additional last-minute updates on our program notes and other items.

Now, all this information will be posted out on our website along with both the video clips and attachments that we’ll be sending to you.  The website address is https://woodbadge2024.org/, so if you’re like me, and you lose this email, or any of the ones that you receive, you can always go to the website and find whatever you need right there.  Or you can contact me, and I’ll be glad to assist you with whatever you need.

So, until then, I look forward to seeing you in April.  Take care.

Welcome to Wood Badge 2024!

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Welcome to Wood Badge 2024! We appreciate your interest in the course and have designed this website to give you some essential information about the course, expectations, and our staff. From time to time we will be updating it with videos from various staff members about different aspects of the course and other useful bits of information, so check back occasionally to see what we are doing.

Once registered for the course, you will receive periodic updates with information to help you prepare for the course. These will include informational updates and links to the videos from our staff. And if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at the email address below.

Thank you for your interest in Wood Badge 2024. We look forward to greeting you as a participant.

Paul Kreckman

Course Director

paul.kreckman@gmail.com