Beading ceremony

[Basementdweller]

So what if after completion of my ticket I don't want one????

 

I would like to just take my ticket councilor his wife and my wife out to dinner.

 

The boys would be bored with it.....to be honest they could careless whether I am trained or not.

 

 

So what did you do for your???

 

[diogenes]

I was in a bit of a time crunch because my job was riffed and I was getting transferred in a few weeks. Instead of a big ceremony, we took a few minutes during a merit badge academy. This way we were able to do some recruiting for the next course, and I didn't have to ask my patrol buddies or the course leaders to come from hither and yon just for me, since they'd already be there with their troops.

[Eagle92]

I have not gone through WB yet, but I've attended many beading ceremonies. While you may not think the youth maybe interested, and I think they would be surprised.

 

Most memorable one for me was a friend who is hyper involved in the OA. He talked to the lodge chief, and got approval to do his beading ceremony Sunday mornign of the Ordeal weekend for several reasons: almost everyone from WB would be there, part of his ticket involved the lodge, and a lot of the lodge members, both youth and adult, wanted to see him get his beads.

 

Another one that stands out was one done at a troop COH. Again all the youths, except our recently crossed over ones who didn't know alot about it, were interested.

[Stosh]

I got my beads, woggle and scarf in the mail one day. I wore them at the next troop meeting.

 

I occasionally wear the scarf, most of the time I just wear the beads, but the training is what I was after, not the recognition.

 

I guess the biggest plus for the beads is they are there as a constant reminder to me as to why I'm doing what I'm doing.

 

If I ever lost my beads, I don't think I would be all that upset and probably wouldn't bother to replace them. Who knows! After wearing them for 20 years, it's just kinda part of the uniform, kinda like the epaulets.

 

Stosh

[artjrk]

I didn't want to make a big deal about my beading either. Maybe a quick 5 minutes in a Troop meeting. But my Troop Guide encouraged me to have it as part of the closing ceremony at a recent camporee. Well, lightning storms caused the Camporee to be closed on Saturday night and all scouts sent home. Sunday morning we all reported back to gather our gear and close out as originally planned. Most of my WB patrol (Buffalo Stampede!)were there. It turns out, having the beading ceremony in such a large venue was great. It gave me a chance to meet many other Scouters from other Troops. Plus the boys in my troop were visably quite proud of having one of their own singled out. It sparked many conversations between us and helped them learn a little bit more insight to this wonderful thing we call Scouting.

[dg98adams]

It's your beads... you only have to please yourself.

 

I agree, any long-winded ceremony would probably be boring to many Scouts.

 

The bead explanation our CD has done is interesting and certainly not boring since he includes some BP history.

 

In our council, IMO the CD sees bead ceremonies a the final opportunity to close the course for the Scouter.

 

I have noticed that the presentation can be shortened based on the audience (adults vs youth).

 

I have observed several spouses or other Scouters attending a simple bead ceremony become more interested in Scouting because of it.

 

 

[gcnphkr]

Its is your ceremony so enjoy it as you want.

 

But it may me more important to the scouts than you think. Think of one of the other adults in the unit being beaded, would you like to have it done publically for them? I sure would and would feel a bit cheated if they didn't.

 

Besides, who could pass up on an opportunity to sing "Back to Gilwell"?

 

[VigilEagle04]

Besides, who could pass up on an opportunity to sing "Back to Gilwell"?

 

I know I can't, and I'm not even a Wood Badger yet.

 

I know when I was a youth it sparked my intrigue seeing a beading ceremony, especially since none of my leaders had done Wood Badge. I had no idea about it until I became a bit more involved in the OA and Camp Staff, where I had more interaction with other Scouts and Scouters. Later on I helped on staff for a WB (my Venture Crew was assisting).

 

Now, I can't wait to do WB, even if it is a lot of reiteration for me (based upon what I have gathered from others, a lot of my youth stuff, stuff from NLS, and even some old JLT stuff will be included with some extra stuff), and even if it's not as Scoutcraft oriented, I'm still excited to get some Wood Badge action on next year. I owe it all to the limited experience I have had with it, and most of that is through beading ceremonies as a youth. I can't wait to have go through the Wood Badge experience with my fellow Scouters.

 

By the way, I know I am extra enthusiastic about stuff like this, but I'm enthusiastic about all things Scouting.(This message has been edited by VigilEagle04)

[OldGreyEagle]

I was in the Council's first offering of WoodBadge for the 21rst Century, I shall pause here for the cheers and jeers, or jeers and cheers depending on how you look at it.

 

As it turns out, there were several people from the District at the Course and it turned out that 7 of us completed our tickets at roughly about the same time so we had our Beading Ceremony at a Roundtable. We were dubbed the South Mountain 7, mostly because of our District's name and the number of people who received beads that evening but since we were subversives at heart, I always felt a connecton to the Chicago 7... Well actually not, but I thought of Abbie Hoffman at al everytime someone said South Mountain 7.

 

Anyway, no children were harmed during our Beading Ceremony and it was more of an ad for the next course than anything else

[Beavah]

Some folks need public ceremonies, others are annoyed by 'em.

 

I'm a fan of adjusting to da way a scouter prefers to be recognized. If they like da public hoopla, do it at a RT or adult district event. If they prefer da company of their fellow patrol mates at da local pub, do it there. If handing 'em their accouterments in a back room at the council office with a "thanks for your contributions" handshake is more their style, do that.

 

So if you want to do it as a nice dinner with da people who supported you, sounds good to me!

 

Beavah

(who was da back room at the office guy )

 

[jhankins]

For the courses I have been a part of, we go to where ever the participant would like the ceremony, but we do insist on a brief ceremony. It's something special to complete Wood Badge, and should be celebrated. Not just because you put the work in but because of the legacy you leave behind for others.

[AwHeck]

I've been to a lot of different beading ceremonies over the years. Our council has a 'Wood Badge Breakfast' twice a year and some get their beads there. The breakfast is a fund-raiser for the JAMBO troops when they are formed and looking for fund raising, otherwise it is a fundraiser for whatever troop hosts it. It's a time for anyone who has been through Wood Badge to get together and have some fun as well as a bit of a recruiting effort for potential participants. Other than at Wood Badge Breakfasts, I have only been to ONE beading where 'the song' was sung. They've been at Troop meetings, Troop COHs, Roundtable, at University of Scouting, at camp, etc. Its up to the participant where/when they want their beading. Just a few weeks ago, I attended a beading that was for 3 adults from one troop (one husband/wife team plus another adult) and this one was JUST a beading ceremony, not tied to anything else and I was impressed at the number of youth in attendance.

[SSScout]

I was the last of my Patrol to complete my tickets. I emailed everybody (folks spread out literally over an area of 100 miles across) and a few Scouters I wanted to share with from other areas.

Four of the Patrol of seven said they could come, others sent regrets. I was able to schedule it about a month in advance at my son's Troop CoH; he received his Life badge there. Two of the four made it, arriving late; one had an illness, one didn't call. Still hasn't. Two old friends that I invited got hung up in a traffic accident (not theirs, thankfully) and arrived late, but they shook my hand. The CD/WBSM and my TG came on time (!). The "Special Award" (as listed in the program) was second to last on the nights agenda. After the CD told everyone the story of WB, they draped the necker around me and hung the beads and did the "mystic cord twist". We were the only WBers in attendance at the time, so the three of us sang "Gillwell". Presto! In walks everyone else! Juice and cookies.

[moosetracker]

I wasn't big into the beading, so I waited until someone else in my patrol of Bobcats was getting theirs at their roundtable, and hooked up with them and got mine at the roundtable with her. Didn't know many as it wasn't my district, but that was fine.

 

With us, we have a woodbadge dinner in March when it is the 1 1/2 year end for the woodbadge which is always held in October. Many, Many woodbadgers just get beaded at this, easy simple quick, you are one in 20 - 30 others being beaded, and everyone is there for woodbadge anyway.

[eaglescout1996]

Like Stosh, mine showed up in the mail.

 

It wasn't a big deal for me, as I had a terrible WB experience. I did have a lot of fun working my ticket and the beads are a constant reminder of why I'm a Scouter.