Bryan on Scouting

Sometimes the simplest things provide the greatest comfort. Recruiting friends, family and strangers to his cause, an Eagle Scout hopeful from Utah launched a nationwide effort to collect blankets for parents whose babies are stillborn. Benjamin Crane of the Great...

In less than a week, the Summit Bechtel Reserve will welcome more than 40,000 Scouts and leaders from around the world for the 24th World Scout Jamboree. It will be a monumental event, last hosted in North America in 1983 (Canada) — and in the U.S. in 1967. If you...

This post was originally published June 25, 2018, and last updated July 17, 2019.  Despite being one of the smallest patches in Scouting, square knots tell a big story. Many of these tiny, colorful rectangles represent an award earned as a youth or adult. Others...

Dawn Riley grew up on the water. Her family regularly sailed on Michigan’s Lake St. Clair, where she developed her love for sailboat racing. In high school, she joined Sea Explorer Ship 147, which met at a racing club in Harrison Charter Township, Mich., the North...

In every way but one, it’s your typical Boy Scouts of America camp. There’s the archery range where an instructor helps young people aim for the bull’s-eye. There’s the climbing tower with Scouts scaling all four sides. There are the Scouts roasting marshmallows for...

Call it hitting the ground running, or call it making up for lost time. Call it whatever you want, but I’m officially calling it the Best Summer Ever. Liz Harder is a First Class Scout in Troop 1885 of Omaha, Neb., part of the Mid-America Council. And in her first...

Star Scout Skyler Ruth of Troop 27 in Pierre, S.D., credits Scouting and competing on a BB gun shooting team to keeping him focused and disciplined in all aspects of his life. He can now credit both for helping him become a national champion. Skyler, teammate and...

When Henry Ross Perot passed away Tuesday, media coverage primarily highlighted his business endeavors that made him a billionaire and his two campaigns for the presidency in the 1990s. But Perot’s legacy to the general public was shaped during his childhood,...

This is Unsung Heroes, a Bryan on Scouting blog series celebrating under-reported acts of Scouting heroism. These are stories that don’t make national headlines — but should. That’s doubly true in this world that can always use more good news. Read the latest story...

There are still only 24 hours in a day, but Sunjay Chawla seemed to defy that fundamental fact about time. He captured five state tennis titles in Mississippi, holds his high school’s record for most goals in a soccer game (eight) and won several golf tournaments. His...

Scouting is the great equalizer. That’s true in a Scout unit, where every young person wears the same uniform and has an equal opportunity to advance as far as they want to go. That’s also true on council and national committees, where the opinion of a 30-something...

The tradition of the Stations of the Cross reminds Christians of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Garrett Johnson of Troop 81 in Tulsa, Okla., was inspired by that concept for his Eagle Scout project. He created the “Stations of the Flag” display for the Folds of Honor...

This is Unsung Heroes, a Bryan on Scouting blog series celebrating under-reported acts of Scouting heroism. These are stories that don’t make national headlines — but should. That’s doubly true in this world that can always use more good news. Read the latest story...

You can trace Jeff Rand’s quest to become a “highpointer” all the way back to grade school. In fifth grade, Rand had to prepare a report on the state of his choice. He lived in Michigan but chose Colorado “because of its mountains.” “When I learned of Mount Elbert as...

When welcoming a new family to your pack or troop, nothing beats a personal phone call, email or text message from you. But when welcoming tens of thousands of new Scouting families into our movement, a series of helpful and cheerful emails from the BSA comes in a...

Welcome to Scouts Then and Now, a Bryan on Scouting blog series. The premise is simple. We share two photos of the same Scout or Venturer: once in his or her early Scouting years (Cub Scout, younger Scout, younger Venturer) and again in his or her later Scouting years...

Fox needed a hero, and so the TV network took the most logical action. It called on an Eagle Scout. For the premiere of the new game show Spin the Wheel, Fox selected a contestant they knew home viewers would root for. Someone with a story so compelling that you...

Adventures await Cub Scouts — not only can they find them in their handbooks, but now they can find adventures online. You can find brand-new, online-only Cub Scout adventures, called Preview Adventures, on the Cub Scouting program page. You won’t find these...

The Boy Scouts of America is so synonymous with positive values and good deeds that people call a person of high character a “Boy Scout” even if they never were one. And yet, there’s a lot that American families don’t know — or don’t fully understand — about this...

A remarkable 15 Eagle Scouts from a single troop graduated high school together last month, carrying Scouting’s proven mix of hands-on leadership training and character development with them into the next chapter of life. The Scouts — 14 of whom are pictured above —...

If you watched the Indianapolis 500 last month — like 5.4 million people did — you might have noticed a familiar logo. The Boy Scouts of America logo was emblazoned on rookie IndyCar driver Santino Ferrucci’s vehicle. The 21-year-old Connecticut native is part of Dale...

When a professional basketball or hockey team wins a championship, the players aren’t the only ones awarded rings. Everyone in the organization — the head coach, the trainers, even the person who refills those little cups of sports drink — gets recognized in a...

Braxton Moral, a Life Scout with Troop 186 in Ulysses, Kan., isn’t your typical high school graduate. He walked the stage at Ulysses High School in May; a couple of weeks later, he did the same at Harvard University. Braxton, 17, now with a high school diploma and a...

When he wasn’t helping Sheriff Woody corral bad guys or annihilating aliens alongside Buzz Lightyear, Andy Davis was a normal kid. He went to school, helped his mom with chores — and was a member of the Boy Scouts of America. Thanks to an eagle-eyed Scout from the...

Boy Scouts of America volunteers and professionals are relentless in their pursuit of outdoor programs that are exhilarating, enriching and safe. That explains the popularity of the National Outdoor Conference, held every other year at Philmont Scout Ranch. This...

As you prepare to go camping this summer, you’ll likely write a checklist of what to bring. One thing you should have on that list that will help ensure a good time for not only you, but for your fellow campers is a clean bill of health. Healthy Scouts and Scouters...

Five words — that’s all that fundamentally separates an Eagle Scout service project from a standard Scouting service project. Five words make all the difference. I’m referring to these: “plan, develop and give leadership …” All service projects fulfill a Scout’s oath...

Timmy Hargate was diagnosed at an early age with autism and an extreme speech delay. Thanks to years of hard work and the help of dedicated professionals, he is now an Eagle Scout. At age 7, Timmy enrolled at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Lerner School for Autism....

A Lutheran pastor in Virginia, a land development engineer in North Carolina and a fitness-focused Instagram influencer based in Brooklyn, N.Y. One common thread connects each of these three women — and six others with similar success stories. All of them got their...

Gone are the days of BSA properties being open for a few weeks each summer and a weekend or two in the spring and fall. The newest trend in the Boy Scouts of America: finding ways to use BSA facilities in all four seasons. The best example might be the Summit Bechtel...