Phoenix District

Summer camp is a week-long council-organized overnight camp for Scouts BSA that operates under council-retained leadership. The program provides opportunities for Scouts to earn merit badges along their advancement trail.

Summer camp is held at Camp Strake, a first-class and state-of-the-art facility for Scouts and their leaders. Program areas include shooting sports (rifle, shotgun, archery, sporting arrows), climbing, rappelling, boating (canoeing, kayaking, rowing, paddle boarding), swimming, ATV riding, ziplining, cycling, merit badge classes and more. 

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Individual Scouts who can't attend summer camp with their unit, or want to attend a second week of camp can register individually for Super Troop. Super Troop is a temporary troop made up of Scouts from troops around the council.

April 21-22, 2023  |  Cockrell Scout Center

Understanding and Navigating Behaviors and Mental Health in Scouting

BSA's National Special Needs and Disabilities Committee is hosting a two-day conference on Understanding Behaviors and Mental Health in Scouting. The conference is designed for Scouters in leadership positions at all levels (pack, troop, crew, ship, district, council, camp staff), BSA professionals, parents/guardians, caregivers, and anyone interested in learning more about supporting Scouts with special needs or disabilities.  Several knowledgeable guest speakers are scheduled to present on various topics: • Ages and Stages • Scout Transitions • Scout Transitions • Anxiety & Depression • Managing Behaviors • Mental Health First Aid • Success Through Failure 

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July 19-28, 2023  |  Bechtel Summit, West Virginia

Scouting’s flagship event is one-of-a-kind. Over the course of 10 summer days, once every four years, the Boy Scouts of America comes together for a gathering of approximately 40,000 Scouts, leaders, and staff that showcases everything that is great about the BSA and its members. The result is the national Scout jamboree. To keep up with the latest information, visit the Summit website. Scouts and Scouters will explore all kinds of adventures—stadium shows, pioneer village, Garden Ground hikes, adventure sports, patch trading, and more—in the heart of one of nature’s greatest playgrounds. With 10,000 acres at the Summit to explore, there’s no shortage of opportunities to build Scouting memories.

The council will take approximately 200 Scouts to the national jamboree as part of the council contingent. The contingent will head to the Summit for 10 days of activities ranging from shooting sports, mountain biking, zip-lining, rock climbing, white water rafting and more!  The jamboree is open to youth who meet the participant qualifications, are physically fit, and agree to the jamboree code of conduct on a first come first serve basis. All Scouts BSA youth must be currently registered in a troop and be a minimum of age 12. All Venturers must be currently registered in a Venturing crew and meeting Venturing age requirements.

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BSA requires all Cub Scout shooting sports to be supervised by a BSA-certified range master. Range master training covers setting up a range, safety, handling equipment, using a bow stringer, care and operation of BB guns, range etiquette and safety, and instructing Scouts. Cub Scouts can shoot BB-gun rifles, slingshots, and archery in a council or district event only and is not approved as a unit event. Certified range masters are needed for day camp and district events. 

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Wood Badge is the Boy Scouts of America's ultimate leadership training designed to meet the advanced leadership needs of Scouters in all aspects of the BSA, whether unit, district, or council level – from assistant den leaders to Scoutmasters, from Cubmasters to Venturing Advisors, from committee members to commissioners. It is a fun, energetic and inspiring course guaranteed to infuse your unit with fun and meaning – all designed to fulfill the mission of the BSA, and ensure our youth is getting everything they are promised from the program.

Reflecting the best of nearly a century of Scouting experience, Wood Badge draws upon the most current leadership models used by corporate America, academic circles and successful organizations throughout the country. Participants can expect to develop skills in many areas, including leadership theory, team building, problem-solving, communication, project planning and more.  These skills can be taken back to packs, troops, crews and ships to help leaders guide youth in dynamic Scouting programs.  Scouters will find these skills invaluable in their business and personal lives as well.

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We would love to hear from you! Please send us your feedback on our website.  Let us know about information that we need to update, broken links, or even typos.

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Now you can support Scouting without lifting a finger — or at least not more than one. AmazonSmile, the simple and no-cost way to donate to the Sam Houston Area Council, now works on the Amazon Shopping app for iPhone and Android.

That means it’s easier than ever to support Scouting anytime, anywhere. Through its AmazonSmile program, Amazon donates 0.5% of eligible purchases to the charity of your choice — at no cost to you. You’ll get the same prices, selection and service found on Amazon.com, but now Amazon gives 0.5% of its cut to a good cause.

The Sam Houston Area Council is an eligible AmazonSmile charity. Individual packs, troops, posts, ships and crews are not eligible.

Previously, AmazonSmile required the user to shop using their browser — either on a desktop computer or through the mobile browser on a smartphone. That meant that when you shopped in the official Amazon app, you weren’t contributing to your chosen charity — even if you had already activated AmazonSmile. By adding AmazonSmile to its official app, Amazon is making the program available anytime, anywhere. So now when you buy a blender from the back seat or a printer from the patio — our council still gets that 0.5%.

If you aren’t yet an AmazonSmile member, sign up at smile.amazon.com using a web browser (mobile or desktop). You’ll sign in with your Amazon credentials, and the site will walk you through the process. Amazon will ask you to choose your favorite charity. This is where you search for “Sam Houston Area Council.”

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To ensure that we promote our programs in a clear and Scout-like manner, it important to remind units to follow BSA Brand Guidelines and use approved materials from the BSA Brand Center in developing their recruiting materials. This includes following the requirements included in the Scouts BSA Branding Dos and Don’ts Guide and the associated Brand Training Guide.  

The Scouts BSA Brand Guidance Training is one of the efforts underway to be sure Scouters have a clear understanding of what they can do. This training should be shared with all volunteers to bring this understanding to all parts of our community.

BSA Brand Guidelines     BSA Brand Center    Scouts BSA Branding Dos and Don’ts Guide    Brand Training Guide

While our goal is to encourage youth to join our program, we must always be clear in our communications about the program they are joining.

• We are The Boy Scouts of America.
• The Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the USA are different organizations.
• We support all other youth organizations and do not disparage them.
• We encourage parents to enroll all youth in a character development program that meets their needs – and the BSA is certainly ready to welcome them.

Scout Days are awesome opportunities to get your Scouts, friends and family together for some exciting experiences around the area with other Scouting families. All Scout Days are offered at a discounted price of admission. Also, many of our partners offer merit badge classes and advancement workshops for Scouts BSA, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts.

Learn more about Scout Days

Help ensure the success of Scouting in the Sam Houston Area Council with meaningful gifts including donating cars, trucks, RVs, trailers, boats, motors, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, securities, uniforms, camping equipment, memorials and tributes, planned giving and yes, even services.

Many corporations match employee contributions made to the council. Some companies even make financial contributions for volunteering time to Scouting. Numerous local companies recognize volunteer time through the donation of cash grants to non-profits in which their employees volunteer. This means that for each hour of volunteer time, employers donate funds to support the Sam Houston Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. Volunteer time is money with volunteer grants.

The Sam Houston Area Council is continually searching for potential career employees who would like to work in a profession that has a meaningful, rewarding purpose. Bring to the BSA your varied life experiences, education, and perspective, and in return, have an opportunity to combine those skills and experiences in a career that values and respects others. Scouting is a profession with a purpose!  

Job Openings

The Sam Houston Area Council is focusing on leveraging the power of social media through Facebook.  The more Scouters share and repost, the more powerful our marketing can be.

We are compiling a list of unit social media sites so we can work together to spread the word about Scouting by tagging, liking commenting and sharing each other posts. 

Learn More          Take our Social Media Survey