115 Years of Scouting
Last week, we kicked off our council’s year of Scouting with our annual meeting. We talked about how 2024 went and looked ahead to 2025. We elected our executive board for the new year and bid farewell to Steve Hammond as our council president while welcoming in Mike White to the role moving forward. It was a great meeting to talk about the business of Scouting.
This is important for our units because they rely on this group to conduct that business so they can focus on developing the young people we serve into the citizens we want them to become. The role of the board is to be a resource for our units, providing them with the tools they need to offer the Scouting program in our council. Our commissioners are there to link the units and the board. To talk with our units about what they may need so that the board can make sure they have it or come up with a way to make things work with what we do have.
As we begin this year we will celebrate 115 years of Scouting in the United States next month. That is also 115 years of commissioner service, because commissioners have been there from the very beginning. Our role has always been to serve our units, but we are always changing things up a bit to meet the needs of our youth. This year is no different but our role remains the same: serving our units. Helping our volunteers provide a quality program to our youth. We will continue to work with the executive board to provide those resources that our units need to carry on the activity of Scouting, letting the board focus on the business.
I am looking forward to another year of Scouting in our council, especially as we celebrate 75 years of Camp Shenandoah in Swoope. We have lots of exciting things coming.
Matt Phillippi
Council Commissioner at Virginia Headwaters Council
From the Council Commissioner
As we bring 2024 to a close, I am thinking back on what has been a fantastic year. We have done a tremendous job of growing Scouting in our communities, exposing them to the values we look to teach our young people.
With one month left in 2024 it is easy to start looking towards the next year. It’s going to be an exciting one for our council as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of Camp Shenandoah out in Swoope. We have a whole host of great things in the works to make this a big event, including inviting campers and staffers from years past to come out and visit this summer. We also have a lot of items in our online trading post so you can celebrate the anniversary in style!
We’ve been making a lot of progress on the commissioner front as of late and I am planning a conference for all of our commissioners on February 1st. We will use this to set goals and align ourselves with a vision of success for our council so that we can serve our units in an effective way. There is still time to become a part of the commissioner corps if you are interested in serving our units in this way, and we would be happy to have you!
I don’t have much to say this month as December is often a slow one for Scouting. I will just say that I am wishing all of our Scouting families a safe and happy holiday season. I can’t wait to see what comes in 2025 because I know it will be another great year of Scouting in the Virginia Headwaters Council, and I am looking forward to all of the excitement to come in Swoope!
Matt Phillippi
Council Commissioner at Virginia Headwaters Council
