Responses to the last Post about the "Spirit of Wood Badge"
I hope to have a opportunity to surve on
the staff this summer at Wood Badge, &
have requested to do for the same reasons & feelings you have express hear,
I hope that my request is accepted & I
can return to Gilwell one more time before
I return to my father in heaven, that would
be a dream come true, to be with the best
of the best one last time! My O My !
Marvin
This picture evokes lots of feelings. It's a bittersweet feeling. It makes you happy but breaks your heart at the same time! It holds memories of things that can never be recreated but at the same time a promise for the future! I miss my Wood Badge family!
Tara
Tara pretty much summed up my feelings, but I feel an additional sadness. I will not have the opportunity to see this view when I staff Wood Badge this year.
Shauna
This scene is so bitter sweet. Having had the opportunity to staff at this particular Woodbadge course was a blessing in disgise. Every course I have been on was inspired. The people there were supposed to be there. I have made lifelong friends and learned something new every time. This particular day that you took this photo, was filled with laughter and tears, we made amazing friends, memories, and connections thay we get to carry for the rest of our lives. I hope everyone has the desire and opportunity to attend.
Lisa
Woodbadge is one of those things that you don't even realize the GREATNESS that you are missing until you have been! It has effected my life in so many ways. It has made me better. It was a big sacrifice for sure, I have found though that normally great things always require sacrifice. Don't put it off anymore. Come enjoy something GREAT with Chad and I.
Ryan
I loved last summer adventure at
Troop 1 W2-107-16-2. It a is one
of kind leadership training for all
who attended for sure! If you want
to have a real life changing event
in your life attend Wood Badge &
you won't believe what you will
see, hear, experience, be shown,
learn, grow, be with people you come to love & care about forever! This
is truly an one in a lifetime dream
come true to you & your friends &
family on this earth. You need to
check this one out, I promise you
this one is for real, and will do
wonderful things to you and your
family for ever. We are all leaders
for those we know an care about,
the real question is what kind of
a leader do you want to be for those
whom you love & care about? You
can change, get better, improve for
everyone you come in contact with
through you life here and beyond
this life, and here is you golden
chance. Contact me or anyone
know who you know that's been
at Wood Badge and change your
life even more for the better to all!
Even the most talented, can fit in
and even get better, that means
even you! MY O MY!!!!
Marvin
As I have taught Scouts, the best and hardest part is seeing them advance. So happy that they achieved and accomplished their objectives and then the realization sets in that it also means they are moving on. I look at the empty space as a symbol of a job well done, leadership skills built, friendships made, valuable understanding of the program instilled, the continuation of connections and relationships; if you could see the threads that connect back to this point, you would see all the good that was done and felt during Wood Badge and more! I think it would be overwhelming to know the full impact.
Mariah
The Spirit of Wood Badge
Click on the photo above and open it as wide as you can. I took this Saturday, June 25th, the last day of Woodbadge for the June course 2016. Its empty.....
Take a moment and ponder the site. What kind of feelings does this photo give you to see it empty? Do you feel a little at a loss like me? Do you miss it?...
Think of the feelings you felt when this was full. What was the thought or thing that hit you the most?, or had the most profound effect while you stood in this courtyard?
Look at the spot where you stood. Think of the people who stood around you. Think of the sounds and smells.
Who will stand there this June? Who needs to stand there this June?.... Who are the people we are going to meet for the first time and hopefully have an effect on them? I am excited to meet them.
I find it odd, when I meet somebody for the first time, in a setting where we have to co-mingle and work together, that I came to meet that person. Out of all the billions of people in this world, why did that person meet up with me at this time and this place? What is it that took that person's path from where they began their earth life, and after meandering all over the place over the years, to meet up with my path that has meandered all over the place over the years? The odds for winning the lottery are a lot better. What is the greater plan and how does He know we need to meet that person?
Everybody on staff is trying to recruit. They know people I don't know or would never meet without their efforts. Who are the people that I am going to photograph in June? What is their story? I can't wait to find out.
I don't believe in coincidences. I believe that a person comes into our lives at the right time and the right place and there's a reason for it.
When I look at this photo, I feel the "Spirit of Wood Badge". I remember the sights, the sounds and the smells and most importantly, the people. I felt a lot of emotion during the flag ceremonies, and taking on the responsibilities of the different things we were required. It was hard to come up with a yell everyday and do everything we needed to do, but I'm glad I did. I am fortunate to get to do it again as a staff person.
Back to Gillwell, Happy Land.............
I would love to hear your comments and feelings. Please post them.
Hit that Knothead Hard with a lot of Ax Strokes and He'll Fall
Recruiting....
I hope things are going well and that you have some people in mind to recruit. Aimee said that about 1 in 10 people that are asked, might accept an invitation to enroll in Wood Badge. I should have about 15 here pretty soon.... I got up and bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting last week, about the importance of Wood Badge and that they should go no matter what calling they are in. I even specifically mentioned some callings that will hopefully inspire those particular groups. I am estimating that there were about 150 people in attendance and so 1 in 10 would be 15. Now I can sit back and relax and let the applications roll in....
 |
| Me relaxing. Not the guy in the grey jacket, that is Bridger. Those are my feet though, on the left, which proves I am relaxing. |
Anyway, what I was really thinking today is the amount of effort it might require to get a few people to join Wood Badge. Over the years I have been asked probably a dozen times if I would like to go to Wood Badge. The typical conversation went something like this:
Former WoodBadger: "Hi, Chad would you like to go to Wood Badge?"
Me: "No"
Former WoodBadger: "Ok, well let me know if you change your mind. See you Sunday."
Me: "Ok"
A few months or a year would pass.
Same Former WoodBadger: "Hey Chad, have you thought about going to Wood Badge?"
Me: "No"
Same Former WoodBadger: "Ok, well let me know if you change your mind. See you next week!"
Me: "Ok"
and so on and so on and so on... only with different Former Woodbadgers.
What went wrong with those Former WoodBadgers? ...
Finally, after quite a few years, somebody named Ryan comes up to me and this is how that went:
Ryan: "Hey Chad, how's things going? Do you need any help with anything?"
Chad: "Nope I'm good, How are you doing?"
Ryan: "I am great. Hey if its ok, I would like to come over to your house and visit with you and your wife for a few minutes?"
Chad: "Sure, how about Sunday evening?"
Sunday evening rolls around and there's a knock on the door.
Chad: "Hi Ryan, come on in and have a seat. "
Ryan: "Sure."
We shoot the breeze for a minute and then Ryan is pulling out some papers:
Ryan: "Well, the reason I came over today is I want to talk about Wood Badge."
He then proceeded to tell me about the program. He talked about all the great leaders he'd had and all the great leaders that were going to be course directors for the next year. He talked about stuff he had learned and felt and how the spirit worked on people to change lives. He said I could go to any one of them but he especially recommended the one with Tom Barry in June. He was super excited to go because Tom was a great guy and had asked him to be the Senior Patrol Leader for the course. He had the application in hand and let me know that the Stake was paying for it.
For me, I don't make hard decisions until I feel motivated. If I feel motivation it is because the Spirit is hitting me hard. I had no question that night that I was going. It turned out that I could make June work.
The Former Wood Badgers were no different than Ryan in their enthusiasm for scouting. The only difference is that Ryan came to my home with a sincere plea. I'm sure he had said a prayer before as well.
 |
| Obviously its a redwood and not an oak. |
Not sure who said that. Not saying I'm a great oak either, just a stubborn person, but there is a prior story to this. I don't know how many times over the last few years that I heard Ryan get up in front of Round Table or some other group and highly recommend Wood Badge. I think he hit me with a lot of axe strokes and finally with one huge swoop he toppled me with that home visit.
1 in 10 seems likes its not too bad. My mission President always pounded into us "Open your mouths". Open your mouths to at least 10 people this week and tell them how great Wood Badge is. Sometimes you got to open your mouth a lot to the same person. Other times you don't. I have another thought about that for later.
I would invite any other thoughts on how you got to Wood Badge. Email them to me and I will post them.
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