Wood Badge
 

Wood Badge is for the adult leaders (18yr old and up) in Scouting America. Similar corporate courses cost thousands of dollars per attendee. Wood Badge is a modern format of training that delivers the latest in 12 leadership skills that will help you be the best leader possible. These are skills that will become part of your everyday life. You will use these skills at home, church, and anywhere leadership is needed. The course is made to provide the highest quality course with the most experienced staff to a diverse audience. We promise you friendship, camaraderie, knowledge, personal awareness, and most of all fun! If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong!

What do we see on course?

We do many things on course, like:

• Listening
• Managing conflict
• Leading change
• Stages of team development
• Coaching & Mentoring
• Leadership for different stages
• Servant leadership
• Project planning
• And more!

These come to you in presentations, games, discussions, activities, and other methods.

Why do you want to go?

You want to participate in a Wood Badge course because of things you will learn and do. Here are some of the benefits:

• Stronger units. You will make your Scouting unit — and your sons’ and daughters’ units — stronger.
• What and why of Scouting. You will have a deeper understanding of what Scouting is and why we do it.
• Experience. You will learn and experience things that will stay with you in Scouting and the rest of your life.
• Fun. You will have fun and you will meet interesting people.
• Other groups. You will make your other groups, like work, church, even family, stronger.
• New skillset.  You will use these new skills not only in scouting, but in your everyday life as well.

Wood Badge is here for you. This is not a Troop leader training but is designed for Cub, Scout, and Venturing leaders. This course will help you better understand “how” and “why” all the Scouting programs tie together. It is meant to make you think “ScoutSide the Box”.  It will provide you with many useful servant leadership tools to help empower our youth to have the best possible Scouting experience. There is no better time to attend a Wood Badge course and make a difference in your unit than when you are a Cub Scout Leader.  The time is NOW, for the future of our youth members!

The Ticket

Have you heard of “The Ticket” and wondered what it is? The ticket is a group of five S.M.A.R.T. goals you set for yourself to accomplish after the curriculum phase with the end result being to improve your unit strength, membership, depth of trained leaders and overall unit health. Your Wood Badge training helps you develop and/or hone your unit programming; once that happens, the program will speak volumes and sell itself. You will learn more about this on the course.

Purpose of Wood Badge

• The purpose of Wood Badge is to develop skilled and servant leaders who can strengthen Scouting units in achieving the mission of Scouting America.
• When we accomplish the mission of Scouting, we execute the program at the unit level.  Every scout DESERVES A TRAINED LEADER.
• Although the course is different today, what Baden-Powell said in 1919 still applies:
• One of the purposes of Wood Badge training is to get Scouters to think about the practice of Scouting, to meet together, to exchange experiences, and to live together in the spirit of the Scout Oath and Law.

For More information: Checkout our Facebook Group Here or contact the course director, Jeff A. Simkins (Po), at Jeffrey.Simkins@outlook.com

Do not let the cost deter you from attending this premier leadership course!  Some employers will assist in paying for the course, individual scout units may have scholarship opportunities as well. Please contact the course SPL Paul Vassos (Sherpa) at paulv093-arch@yahoo.com for further scholarship information.

2026 Course

Our 2026 Wood Badge Course is October 2, 3, 4 and 17, 18 of October, at the Lake of the Ozarks Scout Reservation. Attendance at both weekends is required. Please refer to the Wood Badge Additional Info 5_653_26 PDF attachment for more details.