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

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

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.

Winter Camp 2013

This last weekend was the 5th Winter Camp at the Heart of Virginia Scout Reservation.  It was a great weekend.  Coming into it there was a lot of rain and it actually snowed over an inch the night before Winter Camp began.  However, on Friday the clouds parted and we had 4 great days of sunny weather with cool temperatures during the day and cold temperatures at night.

This year we brought in new event tents to help spread out the merit badge classes and give the instructors more room to teach.  They were a great successes and we will be seeing them return for Winter Camp 2014. 

Every year the merit badges change a little at Winter Camp.  This is because Winter Camp is a volunteer effort.  Without the dedication of volunteer merit badge instructors, Winter Camp would not be possible.  We had over 60 people volunteer their weekend to not only teach merit badges, but to run the dining hall and provide meals for the campers.  I would like to thank each of them for their dedication to Scouting and providing an example of service to others through Scouting.  Thank you for everything!

Some of the new merit badges we were able to bring to Winter Camp this year included:

• Indian Lore
• Law
• Cinematography
• Genealogy
• Cooking
• Pioneering
• Geocaching
• Automotive Maintenance
• LNT Training Course
• Totin' Chip

We had 675 people participate in Winter Camp 2013.  This was the largest gathering we have had at Winter Camp.  To make this work we split the dining hall into two shifts, creating a smaller feel than last years Winter Camp and spread out classes throughout the Heart of Virginia Scout Reservation.

2014 is going to be another exciting Winter Camp.  It will take place on January 18 - 20, 2014.  I have looked through all the evaluations and some of the merit badges that we are trying to bring in for Winter Camp 2014 include:

• Citizenship in the Community
• Robotics
• Orienteering
• Meteorology
• Space Exploration
• Chess
• Crime Prevention
• Metalworking
• Firem'n Chit

Of course I cannot say for sure which merit badges will be in Winter Camp 2014.  We need your help to make these merit badges a reality.  If you are skilled in any of the merit badges taught at Winter Camp, we can use your help to make 2014 the best Winter Camp ever!

This past weekend was a great weekend of Scout camping and fellowship.  For all of you in attendance, I had a great time seeing you at camp.  For those who did not make it, I hope to see you at camp soon!

Visit www.bradysaunders.net for the most updated information on Winter Camp 2014.

-Mic Mullins
Camp T. Brady Saunders Camp Director

100th Anniversary "I'M GOING TO SUMMER CAMP" Commemorative Patch

Its hard to believe how quickly 2012 came and went.  Its now 2013, the 100th anniversary of Scouting in the Richmond area.  On July 12, 1913 the first Troop was created in what would eventually come to be known as the Heart of Virginia Council. 

Camp T. Brady Saunders is proud of our council's history and will be celebrating it each week of summer camp this year.  There will be special displays and programs offered throughout the summer to help teach our Scouts about the history of Scouting.  On Friday July 12, 2013 the camp will be opening its time capsule, buried in front of Eagle Plaza.  The items it contains will provide a glimpse of what scouting was like in our council 25 years ago.  There will be special celebrations and food at the event.

To kickoff the camps involvement we are offering a special commemorative patch to all our Scouts and Scouters who register for camp at The Heart of Virginia Scout Reservation by January 31st, 2013.  This patch will be issued to each registered Scout and Scouter in February and can be worn with pride. 

It will be one of a series of patches featuring the 100th Anniversary design.  Be sure to register in January (or if you have already registered) to receive this limited time collectors edition patch and join Camp T. Brady Saunders in celebrating 100 years of scouting in the Richmond area!

16 New Merit Badges for 2013

After looking over the end of season 2012 evaluations, one thing was clear...

Scouts want more merit badge options.

Camp T. Brady Saunders has listened and will be adding 16 new merit badges to our 2013 merit badge options.  These merit badges will be across the board, from eagle required merit badges to fun and exciting merit badges geared toward older scouts.  We are also creating a brand new department at camp this year, the S.T.E.M. department, more on this in a future blog.

With the 16 new merit badges, Camp T. Brady Saunders will be offering 54 merit badges.  Checkout the list of new merit badges below:

·         

·         Chess

·         Citizenship in the Community

·         Coin Collecting

·         Communications

·         Computers

·         Energy

·         Fire Safety

·        Geology

·         Graphic Arts

·         Nuclear Science

·          Photography

·         Robotics

·         Safety

·         Salesmanship

·         Search & Rescue

·         Small Boat Sailing 

F   For the complete list of 2013 merit badge offering download the planning guide at www.bradysaunders.net

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Summer 2012 ... what was new?

The summer of 2012 was my first summer as the Camp Director of Camp T. Brady Saunders.  There were a lot of changes made to the camp and a lot of new programs and merit badges were added to the camp.  We entered into a partnership to create a quality Mountain Bike program that offered a lot of the requirements for the Cycling merit badge.  We built a new 27 foot tall climbing wall reintroducing Climbing merit badge to the camp.  The camp also offered the newly created Kayaking merit badge.  In addition we offered Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the Community, Reptile and Amphibian Study, Geocaching and Cinematography merit badges.


We also added many new programs not directly linked to merit badges.  Our highly successful early check-in program was introduced.  Through a donation from Trail's End Popcorn we were able to create a 3D Archery program allowing our participants the opportunity to shoot a 3D archery range.  We added the Dutch-Oven Cook-off program where the Troops were able to compete for who could really cook the best cobbler at camp.  We built a rock throwing range where Scouts could throw rocks to their hearts content and installed a 9-hole disk golf course through the heart of camp.


The most visual change to camp had to be the 14 foot tall inflatable iceberg climbing wall and water slide that was added to the waterfront.  This giant floating iceberg was a great addition to our nightly aquatics free-time and made for a great challenge during our waterfront games.  Climbing the iceberg turned out to be much more difficult then I would have imagined and once your at the top, due to the angle of the slide, you cannot see the water you are sliding into.  It is quite an experience!

The summer of 2012 was a great summer at Camp T. Brady Saunders.  Building on our successes we plan to make a great deal of additions to our 2013 program offerings.  Be sure to check back here to learn more about what we are doing to make Camp T. Brady Saunders an experience a Scout and a Scouter will never forget!