SHAC Jam highlights Scouting adventure

My Scouting career began in the fall of 1974 when my friend Kevin McConnell encouraged me to join Cub Scout Pack 161 at Niwot (Colo.) Elementary School.
That invitation changed my life. It set me on a course that took me through Webelos and the Arrow of Light award (highest youth award in Cub Scouts) and on to Boy Scouts where, in 1981, I was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout.
In those few years I had many great adventures which included many campouts, wood cuts, skiing, canoeing, cooking, hiking, climbing, pinewood derby races and much more. Scouting was a family affair, with my mother serving as a den leader for me and my two younger brothers and later, my dad serving as Scoutmaster for Troop 161.
But my real adventure was just beginning. I spent four of the best summers of my pre-adult life on staff at the Ben Delatour Scout Ranch in the northern Colorado Rockies.
That was my coming-of-age season of life and it was unlike anything most people can imagine. It’s hard to put into words what it’s like to live in a teepee, wear buckskin clothes and teach wilderness survival and Indian lore for two months of the year in one of the most scenic places on the globe.
When I finished college and got married, I thought my Scouting career was over. It wasn’t. I volunteered at the district level for a couple years when I lived in North Carolina. That came to an end when my daughter was born.
A few years later, that marriage ended and I returned to Colorado where I met and married Sandy. I adopted her son, Wesley, and when he turned 6 I wanted him to get involved in Scouts. The church we belonged to didn’t sponsor a Scout unit, so a fellow Eagle Scout and I started Cub Scout Pack 158. I served as the Cubmaster for the first five years and Sandy served as a den leader much of that time.
When we moved to Amarillo in December of 2005, Wesley moved on into Boy Scouts with Troop 94. We later moved to Troop 1776 with his former Scoutmaster. In the meantime, my middle son, Luke, became old enough to join and we entered Pack 301. Once again Sandy took on the den leader role.
When we moved down here at the end of 2008, Wesley joined Troop 1000 in Richmond and Luke joined Pack 1000. Once again Sandy became a den leader. This year, our youngest, Colton, has joined. Sandy is now the Cubmaster and I am going to be a Webelos den leader.
What brings this all to mind is this past weekend at the Sam Houston Area Council Jamboree, or SHAC Jam as it’s commonly called. I have been to many Scouting events (with the exception of the two biggies – the national jamboree and Philmont Scout Ranch) and I have never seen anything quite like this. It was Scouting heaven! There was so much going on you couldn’t do half of it in a day.
Wesley camped out there with his troop and Sandy and I took Luke and Colton as part of the pack. The Boy Scouts were there from Friday through Sunday. The Cub Scouts had a day trip. We camped Friday night nearby at Bovay Scout Ranch with about 2,000 of our closest friends.
There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm that weekend at Texas World Speedway. It was Scouting at its finest. My compliments to the huge staff of volunteers who worked diligently to make the experience delightful, fun and well organized. Even though there were 26,000 people there, it really didn’t feel too crowded. There was plenty of room and so much to see and experience.
Each of us came home thoroughly exhausted but enthusiastic and reinvigorated about Scouting. All three of my boys want to reach Eagle and Wesley is currently working on it.
As for my friend Kevin, who got me started, he is a Scout leader for his son Tristan with a troop in Austin. Kevin and I advanced through Scouts together, each earning rank at the same time and ultimately holding our Eagle Courts of Honor together.
Thank you, Kevin, for setting me on an adventure of a lifetime.
If you know a boy who would like to experience Scouting, you can find more information and unit locations at www.shac.org.