Wood Badge ceremony

[Vicki]

I will be getting my beads on March 10th at our troop meeting (where my ceremony will be the lion's share). Very excited, also apprehensive - I understand the ceremony is supposed to be about 30 minutes long and the Scoutmaster's actual presentation only takes about 15 of those minutes. I have been told that I should come up with something memorable and appropriate that will encourage others to participate in scouting in meaningful ways (Scouts and Scouters).

 

Food will obviously be involved (duh). I have enough pictures and "stuff" for an exhibit table. More thoughts: have the Woodbadgers already in our troop (about six) stand up and be recognized and have the members of my patrol who can make it share their most memorable moment. That could actually do it.

 

But, and here's the point of my post, what have you done or seen that you thought was really great in a troop meeting setting?

 

Thanks in advance,

Vicki

C-12-04 "Energetic 8-clawed Bears"

[Vicki]

Let me ask a second, follow-on type of question - how many of you have been asked to plan any part of your ceremony?

 

The input I'm getting from other resources is that most of the time the recipient invites the guests and provides the refreshments and that's about it unless they specifically request input.

 

Thanks again,

Vicki

[dancinfox]

You could do a powerpoint presentation of pictures of you at the course interacting with your patrol and other participants. This could be set to music and last about 5 to 6 minutes. Hopefully the Course Director from your course or another staff member will be present. It's always good to invite your Troop Guide. There is a ceremony in the Wood Badge Syllabus for the bead presentation or there are some online. How the presentation is made is up to you. (you could have your spouse and children present your beads or your neckerchief and woggle)

Have lots of fun.

Dancin

[SR540Beaver]

I suppose our council would let us plan out own, but that has not been my experience. I just finished my last ticket item last night and have not notified my troop guide yet. Around here, they want you to do your beading at either a course like IOLS or a roundtable in order to promote WB to scouters who have not been. They can be done elsewhere, but they really try to use it for PR purposes if they can. I've seen one really cool presentation that was about 20 minutes long and I've seen some really poor ones that basically amounted to handing you your beads and shaking your hand. I'm being urged to do my beading at an IOLS course at the end of the month. The weather will most likely be cold and I really an leery of inviting any guests out to a campground after dark. My mom is 75 and I can't see her hiking across the campground in the cold. To my knowledge, no one in my council plans their own beading, just when they want to do it and at which venue.

[OldGreyEagle]

I have always thought this would be a Wood Badge reading

 

The Bridge Builder

 

An old man, going a lone highway,

Came at the evening cold and gray,

To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,

Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim-

That sullen stream had no fears for him;

But he turned, when he reached the other side,

And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near,

"You are wasting strength in building here.

Your journey will end with the ending day;

You never again must pass this way.

You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide,

Why build you this bridge at the eventide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head.

"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,

"There followeth after me today

A youth whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm that has been naught to me

To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.

He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;

Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."

 

Of course, it could be adapted to be gender appropriate

[Eamonn]

Our Council and the good looking Director of the last Wood Badge Course, that we hosted is very much of the opinion that the participant / recipient is the person in charge of the What, where and when of their Wood Badge Ceremony. The good looking Director does have a few ceremonies that he can offer. But if someone has something that they want to do, it really is their ceremony.

We have presented people their beads at Dinners, B&G Banquets, R/T meetings, training's. One Venturing guy is into civil war reenactments and has asked to have his presented at one of these where the crew is part of the reenactment. Once it was made very clear that there would be no live ammo and that English men were not going to get shot, we agreed.

We have at times presented the beads more than once. At unit meetings and again at events where the entire Wood Badge Patrol is in attendance.

Back when I got my Cub Scout beads, we had a course reunion and did the ceremony at a camp fire. It was kinda neat as the people who attended came from all over the region and we didn't get to see much of each other in our day to day Scouting. Some people came for the entire weekend and some just for the day.

On a sad note of the six members of the Bear Den, only two of us are still in Scouting.

I think that the best Wood Badge Ceremonies follow the KISMIF rule.

Eamonn.

I like the bridge builder, but it is now part of the NLE course and it is being a little over used.(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

[SR540Beaver]

Good looking director of the last WB course? Who voted on that? I demand a recount!

[Eamonn]

Hey no one ever said Scouting was a democracy!!

Only one vote counted!!

Eamonn

[Vicki]

Thanks for all the input, folks! We didn't have a powerpoint presentation but we did have a slideshow on a laptop showing a CD of pictures taken by various people during the course. Brought other knick-knacks (cup, sit-upon, song book, etc.) to fill the table. Our Troop 1 Scoutmaster and Troop Guide handled the ceremony and my sister (also a Bear from a few years back) assisted with placing the beads, woggle and kerchief. I said a few words when called upon, we did our favorite patrol shout and a bear rub and then handshakes and hugs all 'round. It took the place of most of a regular troop meeting. While we were setting up indoors, the scouts did a firebuilding exercise out-of-doors so we did get the smell of woodsmoke!

 

Then a crackerbarrel - I actually made a jelly-roll cake, borrowed my nephew's small axe and had the WB emblem! Glad it worked:

[Eamonn]

We have our Council Recognition Dinner tomorrow. The theme is based on the 75TH Cub Scouting Anniversary. We have five NE-IV-153 Participants receiving their Wood Badge regalia.

The Dinner Chairperson has let it be known that "This Can't Take All Night!!" I of course knowing that a Scout is Brave said "Yes Dear!!"

If you see me hiking home tomorrow night please stop and offer me a ride we can chat about how the ceremony took too long and how Her That Must Be Obeyed, got upset.

Eamonn.