When less is more

At the 2010 Jamboree we had less outside support. We had less military involvement. We had fewer cars from GM. We had less well know entertainers. We had a key cabinet member rather than the president. We we had one great jamboree. God was really looking down on us.

I was on security and we did have MP's help us, or we helped them. We had fewer MP's, but they were still extremely committed and helped out at key times when they were needed.

We had fewer GM vehicles, but that meant that we were able to use a limited number of personal vehicles. On security, that meant that each crew had one vehicle of its own and the shared common vehicle. This worked much better.

I personally didn't know any of the entertainers including Mr. Dirt. But they were the type of people the Scouts could relate to. I thought they did a fantastic job. I think the Scouts will remember them.

Secretary Gates gave a fantastic speech. He is an Eagle Scout and could speak from personal experience. The big advantage was that we didn't have any death marches and didn't have to have the Secret Service Rangers and countless black SUV's all over that we have when the president visits.

What we did have was well run. Sure the OA didn't do a good job of letting staff know when they could go and we had long lines at staff dining halls, but the kids had the time of their life. That is what counts.

What I find most amazing was that we had temperatures in the high 90's and 100's leading up to the jamboree and after the jamboree. From the moment the first troop arrived until the last troop left, we had absolutely great weather with highs no more than the 80's and some nice crisp lows. All in all, this was one of the best jamborees ever.

What is even more amazing is that we have a whole new jamboree site to look forward to in just 3 years. I envision it to start off looking like most World Jamborees where it is made up mainly of water mains in the ground and tents in open fields. The challenge they have in New River area of West Virginia is they don't have nice open fields yet and have to put in all the water mains. Lots of work to do.

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Comment by Daniel Maclaury on March 21, 2011 at 6:20pm: I have to disagree about having temps in the 80's. It seemed as if the heat index was always in the Black zone or close to it. And I look forward to the 2013 Jamboree.

Comment by Steve Henning on March 21, 2011 at 9:01pm: You must be a Westerner where the humidity and temperature are seldom both high. Weather in the 80s and high humidity feels much hotter, but you eventually can get used to it. Believe it or not, the weather during the Jamboree was the best we had all summer by far here in the mid-Atlantic region.

When less is more

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