Kandersteg International Scout Centre — World JOTA-JOTI Team Meeting

This week I’m headed to the Kandersteg International Scout Centre in Switzerland for the World Jamboree on the Air – Jamboree on the Internet Team Meeting. We will be finalizing the 2018 World JOTA-JOTI Report — including improved participation numbers.

However, I’ll also be saying good-bye to team members that I’ve worked with since 2014. Yes, I’ll be stepping down.

During my tenure on the team we have accomplished a great deal. We’ve developed a considerable number of resources including the website, registration system, and social media. Plus, we’ve seen some growth over that time and it appears to me at least some increased enthusiasm around the world. As just one example, we’ve easily topped the number of country reports that have been submitted this year over our previous four years.

Traveling Kinda Guy

On Monday of this week I’ll be traveling to Amarillo to visit my daughter, Brooke, and her husband. I’m hoping to activate a few grids on satellites while I’m there. My primary purpose is to look for rover locations for an eight grid rove during the ARRL June VHF Contest. Hopefully, we’ll get some great Es during the contest and I can put DM83, 84, 85, 86, 93, 94, 95, and 96 into many, many logs.

I’m also a refugee from my home in Grapevine, Texas, where my wife is hosting her college roommates for their annual gathering. It’s best to give them some space — or perhaps give me some space, wide-open space in the Texas panhandle.

On Thursday I’ll be headed to Geneva via airplane followed by train to Kandersteg. I’m pleased that I’m traveling through Geneva. My World JOTA-JOTI Team journey began in Geneva when we held our first meeting at the World Scout Bureau. That’s where I met Richard, Philip, Banda, and Ali — the team mates that I’ve worked with over the past five years. Also shown in the nearby photo from our first meeting is Pedro from Brazil in the center, who was not able to continue after our first meeting.

Since that time we’ve held quite a few conference calls via TeamSpeak and now Skype. Plus, we’ve met in person every year — Kuala Lumpur and the new World Scout Bureau Office in 2015, Kandersteg in 2016, Kuala Lumpur in 2017 and 2018, and now for my final time in Kandersteg.

JOTA-JOTI Next Steps

I’m ready to step down from this role. As a team we’ve accomplished a great deal and it has been fun and quite satisfying to make a difference for Scouting and “the largest Scouting event in the world.”

However, I feel not burned out but tapped out. Our team has been implementing a number of new ideas — like simulating a World Jambore on our website. But, as an old ham radio operator, I’m puzzled about the exact benefit toward facilitating Scout-to-Scout conversations. With that mindset, it really is time for some one else to step into my place and take this incredible Scouting event to the next level.

I’m finding that’s also true in my role as USA JOTA Coordinator and BSA JOTA Task Force Chairman. As I look at our current activities and support information, it appears to me that all is well. That’s probably not the right answer — there can always be improvements. But I guess not from my meager store of innovation. It’s time that I step aside and let others move this effort forward.

Ramping Down Volunteer Time

All this ties in with a commitment my wife and I have made to ramp down our volunteer efforts so that we can more readily head out for impromptu weekends and longer excursions. She’s down pretty well. I’m making progress with my Scouting activities but committed the colossal blunder of taking on the role of capital campaign committee chairman for my church. Gee whiz.

World Jamboree

I will note that I’m working overtime on the World Scout Jamboree and the NA1WJ amateur radio operation. As just one example, we’ve recently learned that we’ve been approved to move to the next phase in the process of setting up an amateur radio contact with an astronaut on the International Space Station. I’m really excited about this effort.

We’re also working on setting up three Pico balloon launches during the Jamboree and tracking them across the Atlantic via WSPR. After the Jamboree, we’ll continue to track them as they hopefully complete one or more trips around the world.

Staff recruiting continues with 31 staff members currently on our roster and looking for 9 more. The current staff members come from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United States. What a blast it’s going to be working with them to get Scouts on the air from West Virginia.

We’re also working on a promotional plan to get other hams on the air to work our station. The Sun will not be very helpful. So we’ll need lots of hams from the USA to serve as the other side of the contact during our amateur radio demonstrations. Watch our website and social media for more information. We’ll also have an article in the June issue of QST.

Time to Saddle Up

First it’s off to Amarillo and exploring a few grids. Then to Kandersteg. Watch my Twitter account for updates.