The scouts of Pack 108 & their families had their family BBQ on Sunday, June 01, 2014. After a late morning of typical “kid fun” at Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, the families shared a scrumptious buffet of grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and a plentiful array of fruits, salads, chips, dips, and desserts.

For their afternoon event they elected to have Ron present our What 2 Know B4 You Go! program. The crowd pulsed in size from 20-35 as some families arrived late or left early in order to tend to other kid duties such as baseball practice, graduations, etc. The Scouts and adults alike seemed intent on learning the lessons taught by the 6 true-life stories. And the shelter-building and fire-starting demonstrations were met with great enthusiasm.

An afternoon thunderstorm midway through the program was short-lived but wreaked a little havoc. Luckily for Ron there were plenty of helpful adults very ready, very willing, and very able to move his notes, display items, handouts, and dry erase boards into the shelter of the pavilion. The same group helped him pack up at the end of the day and carried all of the gear to his car. His thanks to all!

At least one “outside” Scout leader was in the audience and she seemed anxious to explore the possibility of presenting the program to her Boy Scout troop sometime in the future.

At the end of the day, Amanda, the delightful young lady who coordinated the event, told Ron that the boys in her pack had never been as attentive to a presentation as they were this one. As well, a number of the parents stuck around after the program to ask Ron questions about fire-starting techniques, both flint & steel and bowdrill; and to listen to two of Ron’s experiences in teaching the skills to a Wampanoag elder and trying to teach them to a 5th grade boy who failed to respect the “gift of fire”. It appeared that Scouts and adults alike had an enjoyable and fruitful experience.