We often refer to the Summit as a high-adventure base. It is that, but to truly understand what the Summit is all about, you have to look beyond the high-adventure moniker and consider the long-range vision of the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve.

Let’s start with what you already know: The Summit is now the permanent home of our national jamborees, the first of which will be the opening event at the Summit next summer. Immediately following the 2013 National Jamboree, the Summit support staff goes into high gear preparing for its first season of high-adventure programming. The programs that will be offered in 2014 will leverage the facilities developed for the jamboree, but the actual programs will be determined by Scouts and Venturers from around the nation. You can be part of that selection process by watching for a survey to be released this month giving Scouts and Venturers the opportunity to tell us which programs are of greatest interest. Watch for it at http://scouting.us.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_ekQCQmbtOsNA1iR.

Simultaneously with the development of the Summit’s high-adventure program, construction will begin on a number of the facilities that will populate the centerpiece of the Summit, the Summit Center. These facilities will help support the Summit’s ongoing operations as well as help in expanding the Summit’s future offerings. These expanded offerings include a national camp school and training center, national Scout camp, and a series of special programs designed to address broader issues confronting Scouting and our nation. These special programs will be delivered through centers of excellence focused on specific topics. Currently in the planning stages are a leadership excellence center; a better body, better life center; and a technology center.

Development of all these capabilities is a multiyear project that will continue to unfold as the Summit expands. Interspersed every four years will be our national jamborees and one world Scout jamboree in 2019. It’s a development effort Scouts of today will be following throughout their Scouting career. Watch for future updates as the Summit build-out plan matures!

Yours in Scouting,

Dan