Unique Urban Camporee Marks Local Scouting Council’s Anniversary as Membership Continues to Grow
More than 700 Scouts, Venturers, volunteers, and area families are pitching their tents, preparing for an adventurous weekend along the Ottawa, Illinois, riverfront to celebrate native son W. D. Boyce, a founder of the Boy Scouts of America.
This weekend’s “Forward with the Founder” Celebration Camporee is the hallmark event in a series of activities over the last year, marking the W. D. Boyce Council’s 50-year history in central Illinois.
The BSA’s W. D. Boyce Council was formed in 1973 from the merger of three regional councils. The council’s name recognizes William Dickson Boyce, the Ottawa, Illinois, newspaper publisher who brought the Scouting movement to America and incorporated the Boy Scouts of America (“BSA”) in 1910.
Cub Scout packs, Scouts BSA troops, and Venturing crews from across the State of Illinois will gather along Ottawa’s riverfront September 22-24, 2023, to celebrate the BSA’s origin story. Participants will tour historic sites, including Ottawa’s Scouting Heritage Museum, and will honor W. D. Boyce’s contribution to
Scouting in a memorable procession. This Camporee will also feature daylong programs on Saturday, September 23, 2023, for Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, and Venturing in downtown Ottawa. A fireworks spectacular is also planned for campers on the Illinois River Saturday night to celebrate the W. D. Boyce Council’s 50th anniversary.
Area families not currently involved in Scouts are encouraged to register onsite Saturday afternoon as a free day for visitors to experience first-hand what the BSA program can offer their children, ages 5-17. Public visitors can stop by our registration booth at the Jordan Block or Washington Square Park to register and get their wristbands and other Camporee materials.
“Post COVID, Scouting continues to grow as parents seek extracurricular opportunities that will make the biggest lifelong impact for their children,” said W. D. Boyce Council Scout Executive and CEO Ben Blumenberg.
About the Boy Scouts of America: The Boy Scouts of America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people to be “Prepared. For Life®.” The Scouting organization is composed of more than 1 million youth members, including boys and girls, from
Kindergarten through age 20, and approximately 960,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories.
For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.scouting.org.For information on joining the Boy Scouts of America, visit BeAScout.org.