Sunday, June 23, 2013

Camp T. Brady Saunders - Week 1

Reservation Superintend ant John Hankins
Summer Camp 2013 officially began last week with week 1 of summer camp.  We had 276 Scouts join us for the first of 6 weeks of camp. 

The first week of camp saw the launch of many of our new programs for the 2013 season.  The Wet Willy Waterslide was open for business, the new fishing dock was in full swing and the 16 new merit badges added to camp all started up this week.

Wetwilly waterslide & Iceberg at Waterfront
We also launched the Voyager Trek high adventure program.  A week long canoe adventure on Kerr Reservoir.  It was great seeing all the Scouts at camp enjoying themselves.  The weather was fantastic all week long.

Scout Parade for Closing Campfire
As summer moves on, there is a lot to be excited about.  This summer Camp T. Brady Saunders will host over 1800 scouts and scouters, we will be opening the time capsule that has been buried in front of Eagle Plaza for 25 years and will display the contents at our 100th anniversary celebration at camp on July 12, in a celebration open to all scouts and scouters in the Heart of Virginia Council and beyond.

Another interesting fact about week 1 is that it was a new week of camp this year.  It had been traditionally
the staff training week.  This year the staff came to camp early and trained over two different sessions so we could add an additional week of camp to meet the needs of our campers. 

The staff of camp T. Brady Saunders is excited for one of our largest summers in recent history.  Our staff looks forward to providing our campers with a quality experience.

I hope to see you at camp soon!
-Mic Mullins | Camp Director

Monday, April 8, 2013

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathmatics - NEW SUMMER CAMP DEPARTMENT

STEM is part of an initiative the Boy Scouts of America has taken on to encourage the natural curiosity of
youth members and their sense of wonder about these fields through existing programs. To support this initiative, the BSA developed the Nova Awards program so that youth members have fun and receive recognition for their efforts.

Learn more about the National STEM program at www.scouting.org/stem

Camp T. Brady Saunders is proud to introduce an entire new department based on the BSA STEM initiative.  The STEM department joins a long list of program areas offered at Camp T. Brady Saunders.  The new department will teach the following merit badges:
  • Photography+
  • Computers+
  • Graphic Arts+
  • Nuclear Science+
  • Robotics+
  • Energy+
  • Astronomy
  • Cinematography
+ new to camp in 2013

The new STEM department is geared towards older Scouts who have completed the more traditional merit badges offered at summer camp.  This will give them the opportunity to attend camp with their Troop and be role models to younger Scouts while also providing them the opportunity to earn merit badges that can be difficult to earn.

The new STEM program is being partially sponsored by a grant from the Best Buy corporation to help further develop our Astronomy equipment, Robotics equipment and Nuclear Science equipment.  The STEM program is a very exciting addition to summer camp and is a great opportunity for our Scouts!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Wet Willy Water Slide

Wow time flies when you are getting ready for summer camp!  It has been a few weeks since I last updated the camp blog.  In that time a lot of exciting things have happened at camp and we are well on our way to another great summer at Camp T. Brady Saunders.



This past weekend the Order of the Arrow helped clear the trail needed to install the supports for the Wet Willy Water Slide.  This is going to be an amazing addition to our free time program at summer camp.  If you have not heard about it yet, a Wet Willy is a water slide that is built with a cable suspension system.  On the edge of the water front we are building a 27 foot tall tower.  The two cables will be suspended from the tower, across the lake and anchored to the support beams (the trail that the OA cleared was to this site).

The water slide itself will be hung from the tower 100 feet into the lake with a exit point the same distance as the floating dock.  This is going to be something that every Scout and Scouter, who has passed the swim test, will have the opportunity to do during free swim and at our water front event nights.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Camp Cards to Support Camp & Campers!

The Heart of Virginia Council has initiated a new fund raiser to help make it easier for Scouts to get to camp.  Along the way it is going to help provide funding to improve the quality of our camping programs.  On March 25th the new camp cards will arrive at Council!

These cards have valuable discounts from local and national vendors.  They cost $5 to purchase.  Of that $5 1/2 goes to the Scout going to camp!  The rest goes to funding camp improvements at the Heart of Virginia Scout Reservation including Camp T. Brady Saunders and Cub & Webelos Adventure camp.

A Scout will be able to attend Camp T. Brady Saunders for free if they sell 102 of these cards.  That is it!  With the new no extra fees at Summer Camp a Scout can attend summer camp completely free by selling these cards.

These are not only good for Camp T. Brady Saunders.  They are good for Cub Adventure Camp, Day Camps, Philmont, Sea Base, Northern Tier, equipment to support your Troops camping efforts or anything that supports a Scout scouting experience.



The point in this card is to make it easier to camp.  However, we have a card that is also a seriously good value to those who purchase it.
  • $20 off any service at Midas
  • $5 off a purchase of $50 or more at Martins
  • $5 off any full service was at Car Pool
  • 10% off at over 100 local restaurants
  • $1 off any combo meal at Hardees in our Council
  • 15% off Yogurt at Sweet Frog
  • 2 for 1 small bucket of balls at The First Tee
  • $25 Richmond Raceway tickets
  • special priced tutoring sessions
  • 10% savings on Flying Squirrels merchandise
With deals like this, there is no reason we cannot get every Scout in our Council to camp and save them tons of money while providing a product that will benifit all who buy it.

Signup your unit or your Scout by clicking here

For more information and program specifics click here.

I am very excited about this program and look forward to seeing more Scouts out there camping, while saving Scout families their hard earned money!

See you at camp!
-Mic Mullins
Camp Director

Monday, February 18, 2013

Spring Break Camp

This year we will be having Spring Break Camp from April 1 - 5.  This is not your normal week of camp!  This is a chance to get out away from school and enjoy spending a week in the woods at Camp T. Brady Saunders.  Scouts can earn anywhere from 1 to 5 merit badges over the course of the week.

It runs a little differently than most people expect.  On the 1st you arrive anywhere from 8:00am - 11:45.  You have lunch then jump into Merit Badge Blocks 3 and 4 on day one.  Tuesday through Thursday you take all 5 merit badge blocks and then on Friday you take blocks 1 & 2, completing all 5 blocks of merit badges.  You have lunch on Friday and then depart.

Spring Break camp is a great time to be in the woods of Virginia.  The weather has turned towards summer with warm days and cool evenings.  The trees have already begun to leaf and wildlife is abundant.  The fish are near the surface of the lake and are very hungry after a long winter!  And for those who are not afraid of a little chilly water, we offer the canoeing merit badge.  What better time to get some sun then at Spring Break Camp.

Spring Break camp is a largely provisional week of camp.  Most of those who attend are Scouts without their Troops and maybe one adult.  To meet BSA leadership guidelines, all adults attending Spring Break Camp act as leadership to all youth who are in attendance.  This does require that the Scouts who attend Spring Break Camp have a certain amount of maturity. 

If you are looking for a fun Spring Break and want to spend it camping, join use for Spring Break Camp at Camp T. Brady Saunders.  The Program Guide is available at www.bradysaunders.net and be sure to check back regularly for any new merit badges that might be added to Spring Break Camp.  The merit badges taught at Spring Break Camp are taught by volunteers, if you are interested in teaching a merit badge please contact mic.mullins@scouting.org.

I look forward to seeing you at camp!
Sincerely,
-Mic Mullins
Camp Director
Camp T. Brady Saunders

Monday, February 11, 2013

Summer Camp 2013 - Many Weeks Are Filling Up

Today I published the 2013 Program Guide for Camp T. Brady Saunders.  It is full of good information for Troops that have signed up to attend summer camp and those that have not will be able to look at the actual merit badge schedule now instead of what is being offered.

It is a lot of stuff!  I had forgot how many new offerings we had created.  It is one thing to talk about them at a presentation but once you start outlining all the prerequisites and outlining the schedule, you see it all coming together.

We are also ahead of our normal registrations for this time of year.  I believe this is partly due to the "I'M GOING TO SUMMER CAMP" patch, which will be shipping out as soon as they arrive from the manufacturer.  However one week of camp has not had anyone sign up for it yet, which is odd.

It is our sixth week of summer camp.  This week had been offset a day last year to accommodate groups that wanted to show up to camp on Monday and leave Saturday night.  It was a very nice week last year, however it appears that there is no interest in it this year.  As of today week six is now on the normal schedule for camp.  It will run from July 21 - July 27.  This will be a great week to ensure program opportunities for your Scouts!

Our new week one has done quite well with registrations.  We have over 200 people registered for it already.  We 2 is basically sold out and week 4 is right behind it.  If you haven't registered for camp and need a specific week, I recommend you register soon.

Summer is right around the corner!
-Mic Mullins
Camp Director TBS

Friday, February 1, 2013

Camp T. Brady Saunders Sailing Program

For 2013 we are going to be offering a sailing program at Camp T. Brady Saunders.  The camp used to have a sailing program, but over the years it faded away.  This was largely due to the fact that sailing is an expensive sport and requires a lot of equipment.

Camp T. Brady Saunders is proud to be working towards improving the offerings we have for our Scouts and increasing program opportunities not only for young scouts, but also our older scouts who are seasoned summer camp participants.  Sailing is a great program for the scouts!

We are working on acquiring the equipment that will be needed to make this program a reality.  We have already received a commitment for the donation of a complete sail boat!  This is a generous offer and we at the Heart of Virginia Scout Reservation are grateful for this act of generosity.  Unfortunatly, you can not build a sailing program with one sail boat.  We are looking for Sun Fish sailboats or boats of the same size and use to help build our sailing program.

We need your help to make the Camp T. Brady Saunders sailing program a reality.  If you have equipment you would like to donate to Camp T. Brady Saunders, it would be greatly appreciated.  All donations are tax deductible.  Any assistance you can give would improve program for our Scouts.