I'll see you at the National Jamboree
I'm heading to West Virginia early next week.
The first (and only) time I attended a National Jamboree was in 2013.
It was as good a time as any to have my first Jamboree experience: The Summit had just opened, and the 2013 event would be its big debut. I was fresh off earning my eagle scout rank, and had just graduated high school. I was thrilled to go to this place where I would see the best that Scouting had to offer.
The experience largely delivered on that expectation. I spent my time there on the staff of Jamboree Today, the (now-defunct) newspaper run by scouts-turned-journalists. The role brought me to all corners of the Summit, and I left in awe of the sheer scale of the event and of the Scouting community.
Now, a decade later, I’m likely to have a much different experience of the National Jamboree, which kicked off this week and runs until the end of next. I’m visiting just for one day, and not as a scouter, but as a member of the media.
I plan to spend my time there doing a last bit of reporting for my book. The focus of my reporting will be the DEI community spaces, which cater to scouts of color, women in Scouting and LGBTQ+ and allied scouts. As I wrote in April, these spaces are notable for a couple of reasons: It’s the first time the BSA is supporting official DEI spaces for these communities at a Jamboree; and it’s the first National Jamboree since girls were welcomed into the Scouts BSA program in 2018.
The organization is, of course, also in a much different place now than it was in 2013. A decade ago, it felt as though the BSA was riding high, fresh off its centennial anniversary and eager to show off its new Jamboree site at the Summit, which seemed to spare no expense. In 2023, the BSA is in recovery mode, having weathered a global pandemic and bankruptcy proceeding simultaneously.
So I expect my time at the Summit will be a fascinating, rich look at where the BSA stands today on a number of fronts, mostly notably its DEI goals and its ability to attract and retain members.
If you want to find me at the Jamboree, I’ll be there on July 25th, and plan to spend most (if not all) of the day at the DEI community spaces. I hope to see you there.
I was on our Council committee for Jamboree before the pandemic put an end to the 2021 event. A commitment to Sea Base this summer kept me from going this year, but I did make sure to get my hands on the DEI merch produced for this year’s event. I hope your visit is fruitful and can’t wait to hear your impressions.