Pass It On!
“Is there a Beaver in the house?” Does the question make you want to jump up and sing the Wood Badge Song?
Congratulations on successfully completing your two Wood Badge Course weekends! You must be full of that Wood
Badge feeling of accomplishment, and excited as you begin work on your ticket goals! You have made new Scouting friends, learned new skills, and are probably already trying out in your Unit some of the good ideas you’ve learned in
Wood Badge. I am thrilled for you and wish you great success in completing your ticket, and being awarded with your
Wood Badge beads!
I also invite you to Pass It On! Now that you have been through the Wood Badge Course, you know what it is, and how it has begun to change you in your Scouting role. So, though you may not know it,you are now our most effective promoter for other Scouting volunteers and leaders to step up to being a part of Wood Badge! Our best way to invite others to experience Wood Badge comes from recent Wood Badge participants like yourself, endorsing the experience to their fellow Cubmasters, Scoutmasters, Venture Advisors, Committee members, Council volunteers, and all of our committed Scout volunteers and leaders. So, if you enjoyed your Wood Badge experience, and you believe it will positively influence you in your Scouting experience, then I invite you and encourage you to reach out to someone and invite them to be a part of Wood Badge. Ask them to consider registering for our next Wood Badge Course in the
Spring of 2013, which is already on the Heart of Virginia Council calendar. You will have the satisfaction of recruiting another Scouter into our Wood Badge family, and the gratification of “passing it on.”
Again, all the best in working your tickets. Invite others in on the Wood Badge excitement!
Yours in Service,
John McCulla, Course Director, Wood Badge S7-602-13
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Follow Up to Day Six
It has been a pleasure to serve as your Wood Badge 2012 Scoutmaster and I look forward to hearing about the good work you are doing back home. Completing your ticket will cause great things to happen. It will be an important part of your Scouting legacy.
As Scoutmaster, it was my privilege to deliver the final Day 6 presentation called “Leaving a Legacy.” As with all presentations in the course there is a narrative in the syllabus to deliver, but we are encouraged to make it personal. I believe it is the personal stories that best send the message.
As if Leaving a Legacy wasn’t challenging enough for me to present, I decided to weave bits of my personal story into the presentation: my paintings in the back of the room, the image of the kids I work with on Sundays, my collection of rocks, and the story of Jim Ray. Together, these stories summarized why I chose “hearth” (and the 4 words buried within) as the organizing idea for the course.

Because of time pressures on Day 6, I couldn’t go into detail about some of the elements of the presentation. If you will indulge me now, I’d like to share the personal significance of the rocks I placed in the bowl.
•The cobble, pulled from one of the old streets in Richmond, was originally ballast in an English sailing ship that was to return with New World tobacco. The early streets of Richmond were paved with these stones. Like these pavers,
Scouting in central Virginia has an English origin.
•A gray rock smoothed from years of wear in the James River was found near my house. Itreminded me of the beauty of the earth and that we all are shaped by events and people.
•The piece of brick from an old house was symbolic of my work as an architect. It reminds me that any physical legacy is temporary. Our lasting legacy will be accomplished through sharing our faith and serving others.
•A piece of stone left over from my renovated hearth and chimney was a direct reference to the word hearth. It is the hearth stones that contain and direct the flames that warm and nourish.
•A small piece of red granite came from the top of Pike’s Peak, a special trip I took with my maternal grandparents when I was 6 years old.
•The 2007 World Jamboree in England was represented by a piece of flint I picked up on the assembly field at the
Sunrise celebration. This event was attended by 40,000 Scouts from every Scouting country on earth – marking the
100th anniversary (to the moment) of BP’s first camping trip to Brownsea Island – the official start of Scouting.
•Representing the 2011 World Jamboree in Sweden was a smooth stone found in a field near my tent. Ancient stone walls of this type of stone were omnipresent at the Jamboree and dividedthe overall site into small parcels.
•A small rock came from the top of Stratton Mountain in Vermont, a high-point of a 70 mile hikethat was part of the
1991 “Appalachian Trail All-the-Way” event. Council troops divided and completed the entire 2179 miles. The rock was picked up in memory of a friend who passed away shortly before the trip.
•A “Capitol Rock” represents my service to Capitol District that began as part of my Wood Badge ticket in 2002.
These rocks are given to first-time participants at Roundtable who are to bring them back the following month with a story about where it’s been. Mine has now been part of Wood Badge 2012.
•Finally, a piece of green stone was added to the group. It was given to me by one of the staffers on the previous evening as a gift. It completed my rock collection and represented the wonderful staff who poured their heart into the
2012 course.
Mark Larson, Scoutmaster, WB 2012