SummitCorps

The trails have been blazed and cut

2011-07-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

The day started off with a hearty breakfast of Pop-Tarts and dried fruit to energize the participants for their arduous day of work ahead.

The participants then proceeded to hike to their work sites for the day. The amount of work done today was phenomenal, over 6,000 feet of bench was cut today alone. This just proves that the cheerful service that these arrowmen have come together to provide will not only affect these trails but the hearts and minds of the ones who have worked on these trails.

After coming back to the West Virginia National Guard Armory a patch auction was held to benefit a local charity. This week's charity helps people get back onto their feet by giving them a place to live with positive reinforcement all around them so they will most likely not relapse onto bad habits.

The path auction brought in a lot of money for a well deserving charity and the crews are building amazing trail, it is only fair to see what this week will do because they keep doing amazing things at every opportunity they are given.

Week 4 is starting strong

2011-07-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

7/24/11

Lodges from across the country have come from all across the country to finish out the SummitCorps service project in Week 4.

The check in process went really well with no problems and all the guests excited to be here for their week of service then fun.

The Opening show went off without a hitch, the guest speakers included Captain Jamie Bowen of the West Virginia National Guard, Rap Capp ( the National Committee Chairman), Jonathan Hillis (2011 National Order of the Arrow chief), Dwayne Fontenette Jr. (the 2011 Southern Region chief), the Adult Incident Commander, Matt Walker, and the Youth Incident Commander Samuel Bellomy.

A special presentation of the night was when Captain Jamie Bowen gave Jonathan a coin which represented his unit in Iraq which had been taken to war and come back.

One of the quotes of the night given by Matt was that "No one leaves horizontal!"

7/25/11
The day began with a successful first Week 4 deployment of buses to the work sites

The day started off like every day should, ea complete tool talk to ensure safety is kept 1st in all the work sites

As the participants got off the bus, coming back to the armory they were greeted by smiles, high-fives, ice-pops, and even stickers for their helmets.


One of the events that happened today was crew photos, these will be posted later in the week on www.photobucket.com/SummitCorps2011

One of the new things at the Mountain Man exhibit is that they had a brand of the NRX symbol so participants were able to brand things of their choosing to remember SummitCorps

Friday is fun day!

2011-07-23T05:01:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day. The food was not Philmont food, the activities did not just include trail building or cutting back slope and even though thunderstorms pestered us all afternoon the show still did a wonderful job in the drill hall.

With today being recreation day all of the guests had a chance to get out and do something fun for all their hard work in the past week. Many of the guests did whitewater rafting on the New River Gorge National River. The ones who did not, had activities that included maountain biking, rock climbing, and even zip line. All of the guests had a blast not only at their activity but also building theur bonds of friendship with the people they had just met.

After the activity all of the guests went over to a lake where a pig roast was held for OA members only. The pig roast included a whole pig along with various sides to help supplement the glorious taste of the pig.

Once all of the guests had been fed the staff got a warning for thunderstorms and directed all of the participants to inside the armory where it is safer from many more of the elements.

As the old saying goes "The show must go on" this holds especially ture for shows. They must be "Rigidly Flexible" and be able to help others around you at all times.

The service is done now onto the FUN!!!

2011-07-21T22:43:00.000-07:00

The last day of service for Week 3 is done! They have given blood, sweat, and more sweat to the New River Gorge National River Craig Branch area.

They have built thousands of new feet that the National Park Service can use to better serve the public's thirist for outdoor adventure.

yellow flags include special messages from the National Park Service, they can include positive remarks or improvements needed for the trail

The participants came back to camp for a movie night, lodge flap painting, and even a I-Corps vs Wiatava ultimate Frisbee game (which I-Corps won). With a night of catching up about the work week the participants are ready to move on.

Now the participants are excited for their recreation day. Whether it be whitewater rafting, mountain biking, zip line, lake adventure, or rock climbing. These participants have had some of the best times of their lives bonding, building, and growing to be better people. Now it is time for their time at SummitCorps to end with a bang of fun and adventure or a small taste of what the Summit will offer in the future.

We keep on rocking and rolling.

2011-07-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

With only the last work day ahead of us, we are all pumped to blaze some amazing trail. The participants have all had a blast on the trail and off the trail.

On Tuesday a patch auction was held where over 3,000 dollars were collected. All of that money goes to local charities in the southern West Virginia area.

Today a campfire was held in camp. At the campfire a light mixer was held where certain guests were pulled down to the stage to tell a story with the story ball. The story ball is a ball of string that is multicolored, when you reach the end of one color the ball gets passed on to the next person to continue the story. Some of the stories they came up with included rafting, outer space, and boy scouts.

After the campfire ice cream and cookies were served as a treat to the participants for a job well done so far.

With the last day ahead of us we can only have high spirits to what we can accomplish.

We are ready!

2011-07-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

The first morning of work started off with a cheerful attitude and a Philmont breakfast before loading the buses.

As transportation staff guide guests onto the buses, the water coolers are loaded into the back of the buses. Many faces were smiling as they boarded, ready for work.

One of the challenges on the first day is to find the work location on a map, then trek to this completely foreign location.

The first thing that every crew leader did was a tool talk to make sure that every guest knew how to use and store the tools.

One of the challenges of today was to transplant a rare orchid that was in the middle of the trail.

As the work day continued, the guests built some amazing trail that will last lifetimes. For program this evening, a mountain man display was in full effect. The National Park Service, National Guard, and even a blacksmith were here to show off what they do and how it is relevant to the New River Gorge area. Crew photos were also taken, they have been posted on www.photobucket.com/summitcorps2011

With the first day over, the crews now feel like they are getting a hold of what they need to do and soon we will see miles of trail being built by Week 3.

The future is in our hands

2011-07-17T22:06:00.000-07:00

The Week 3 guests have arrived at the West Virginia National Guard armory and they are more pumped to build trail than you can imagine. They completed the check in process this afternoon. This includes the Medical check, Crew assignments, Crew leader check-in (information handout), Safety issuing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), Contingent pictures, and then finally Orientation given by the I-Corps.

The guests kept entertained by the recreation staff while they waited for their leader to return with information on what to do.

One of the important things that happened today was that the crews met their crew leader (I-Corps member) for the week.

Captain Bowen relaxes with the I-Corps on their couch that they bring to the opening and closing gatherings.

The Week 3 Youth Incident Commander addresses SummitCorps about how thankful everyone is of the work they will be doing to help this area of the country.

Everyone left the opening show ready to wake up early in the morning and get to work with their brothers.

Week 2 is over and now onto week 3

2011-07-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry there haven't been any posts for the last few days, the limited internet connection has prevented uploads by the digital media team. Alas I will text updates for the last few days and pictures will resume soon.
On Thursday the crews completed their sections as much as they could. This ended up making the SummitCorps total about 8 miles. Then the crews came back for a movie night and a preparation for recreation day the next day.

On Friday, the crews began their recreation day with whitewater rafting, mountain biking, canopy tour and even climbing. All of the participants had a great time on the activity they chose. After their activity the participants went to a pig roast at Ace adventure play park. The participants left the play area with great memories of the day and friendships to last a lifetime.

Today Saturday, the contingents left the West Virginia National Guard Armory to go back home after a week at SummitCorps that they will never forget. The staff for Week 2 left their Week 3 staff with wonderful advice that will guide them in their week 3 tasks. As we get ready to welcome Week 3 guests the staff is overjoyed with excitement to make a difference in West Virginia that will last a lifetime on the land and in the hearts of kids all across the country.

Not all work is trail work

2011-07-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

The day started out with an estimate of the previous day's work, over 7,000 feet completed! This not only pushed the participants to work harder on their trail work within the day, but also motivated them to see that what they are doing at SummitCorps is a project with a huge scope.

The buses load in the morning at day-break. The buses leave so early in the morning because this maximizes the time the participants spend at the work site completing the trail.

Not all of the work done at SummitCorps is trail work. One of the crews painted the deck of the National Park Service New River Gorge National River Headquarters.

One of the most important jobs at SummitCorps is done by the cook staff, cooking meals for 500 hungry kids at the end of the work day.

This whole section of trail will have a mechanized turnpike machine used on it. The machine will press the rocks into the trail to make it sturdier and able to withstand water more easily.

Excitement comes easy at the end of the day when the showers are in sight.

A local bluegrass band played before the campfire tonight. They really knew how to get the crowd excited and singing along to their music.

Preston, the Youth Incident Commander for Week 2, hands out ice cream and cookies at the campfire.

A National Park Service Ranger tells the group at the campfire about different stories about what he has encountered, then invites groups of scouts down to play a storytelling game with a ball of yarn. When one scout's section of color ends, he passes on the yarn and the story continues with the next person.


After a long hard day's work, the I-Corps carried a couch to watch the campfire talent show. The talent show included a singer, a guitarist, and a beat-box team.

With day 3 behind everyone, sleep came easier after a hard day's work. We're getting pumped for the last work day of Week 2, where hopefully the inner loop of Craig Branch will be finished.

To view a map of what is being built at Craig Branch:
http://oa-bsa.org/annc/g11/summitcorps/sctrailupdate.htm

Work, Work and More Work

2011-07-12T23:07:00.000-07:00

The excitement at SummitCorps has been high with participants cheerfully working among their brothers. The crews this week are working so well that they are beginning to start on trails that they did not think they would get to begin cutting.

Crews eating the hearty Philmont meals for breakfast

With so many buses leaving to different places, the participants have to pay attention to where they are going in the morning, otherwise they will be with the wrong crew/work site.

Some of the larger rocks require many people to move. With so many people around the rock and feet shuffling everywhere, it's very important to communicate and watch your toes! The rocks may be used for retaining walls, rock walls, rock pitching, or any number of features.

A crew tamping their trail after a rock retaining wall

With the temperatures getting hotter and hotter, it becomes more important to hydrate while working to prevent dehydration and overheating.

This is an example of a fire line. A rake clearing the organic material, a mattock cutting the backslope, and then a hoe taking away the duff (dirt and stuff).

The day ended with the program staff holding a patch auction, both a silent auction and a more exciting live auction. This was followed by a presentation for the Summit. The auction raised a lot of money for two great local charities. All of the crews had their crew photos taken today also. These will be posted on photobucket.com/SummitCorps2011

With the night setting in, the participants went to bed to get a good night's sleep to wake up in the morning for trail work.

A cheerful spirit makes any work light

2011-07-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

With the roar of the buses loud as can be, nine buses pull away from the armory, taking participants to do trail work at the Craig Branch area. And the participants couldn't be happier. They are "Alive, Awake, Alert, and Enthusiastic".

Buses loading up to leave for Craig Branch

A critical element to any trail-building activity is the safety. The crew leaders all started out their days with a tool talk, which explains how to hold the tool, how to use it, and how to store it.

As the day wore on, the trail features became more and more technical. This required a lot of teamwork from all the members of the crew to move big rocks and to create a fire line, that is a line of people who all have a distinct job building the trail.

We ended the day with a beautiful sunset over the mountains and we couldn't ask for a more perfect start to SummitCorps Week 2.

There are many websites that have posted information about this project. Here are a few of them:

http://www.youtube.com/user/oabsa This is where the Week in review videos will be posted each week, along with the photo slideshow

www.Photobucket.com/SummitCorps2011 This is where the crew and contingent photos will be posted

http://www.wvva.com/story/15036482/boy-scouts-begin-countdown A local news story

The Challenge has been issued!

2011-07-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

SummitCorps Week 2 has officially begun!

Over 30 contingents of Arrowmen arrived today to continue the cheerful service to the New River Gorge National River area. They came in by plane, van, and even a few by train.

Contingents from all over the United States have come to SummitCorps with camping gear in hand.

Registration is one of the key points that happens on the first day. The youth contingent leader and the adult complete the check-in process while the rest of the contingent enjoys themselves playing games hosted by the recreation staff outside.

The I-Corps even have a job in camp on the arrival day: giving tool talks and safety lessons to the participants before they hit the trail. This is to minimize the time discussing safety on the trail and maximizing the time for work on the trail.

After dinner, everyone gets settled into camp and the crews meet their crew leaders in meetings to prepare them for the hard work week ahead of them.

At the opening show, everyone is pumped to serve the National Parks and to be in West Virginia for this massive service project. The scouts can't wait to get to bed and get up in the morning to work! Let's hope they're up for it.

The "Golden Hammer " has been passed

2011-07-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

The day started off with all of the Week 1 contingents leaving after their amazing experience at SummitCorps. This is when the new staff for Week 2 had to step it up a notch and really take on their roles they had come to SummitCorps to play.

Brandon (Youth Incident Commander Week 1) handing off the Golden Hammer to Preston (Youth Incident Commander Week 2)

To make the trade-off of staff official, the Youth Incident Commander of Week 1 handed off the Golden Hammer to the Youth Incident Commander of Week 2, all while the National Chief presided over the ceremony.

To make sure all the staff are on the same page and to be sure that the SummitCorps Week 2 guests have one of the best experiences of their lives, a staff meeting was held after staff photos were taken. The staff photos have been posted on www.Photobucket.com/SummitCorps2011

The Team Leader of the Order of the Arrow gave an inspirational message to the staff of Week 2 about our purpose of being here in West Virginia and how we are helping the youth of the Order of the Arrow as well as the local community. It is not just to "build trail".

To make sure everyone has a safe time on the trails, the safety staff handed out hard hats and safety eyeglasses to protect everyone from hazardous situations while trail work is going on.

All of the staff members left the meeting excited and ready to receive guests tomorrow.

For friendship and fellowship

2011-07-08T23:18:00.000-07:00

There comes a time when we must all look back and see what we have done. For Week 1 of SummitCorps, we constructed and finished over 2.5 miles of trail, we donated over $1500 dollars to a local charity that will teach young children how to ride a bike on the trails we have built, and we have established friendships that will last a lifetime.

For Recreation day today, many of the participants went whitewater rafting down the New River Gorge National River. The rafting trip was a lot of fun between the tricky rapids and finding time to swim in the flat water between some rapids.

Apart from whitewater rafting, there were options to go mountain biking, zip lining, or even relaxing and catching up on some sleep.

After the activities for the day, everyone went to a pig roast for some really good BBQ, fellowship, and reflection upon their work.

The day ended with the closing show inside the drill hall due to rain. The show featured guest speakers from the Summit, the National Park Service, the West Virginia National Guard, as well as the National Chief and Vice-Chief of the OA, and the National Committee chairman.

After hearing about the impact SummitCorps had made in the past week and the path it had forged for the next three weeks, everyone circled up and sang the song of our order to close SummitCorps Week 1.

The work is done, Now it is time for FUN!

2011-07-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

With the work days of SummitCorps Week 1 done, it becomes time for the recreation day. There are many options for tomorrow including whitewater rafting, mountain biking, rock climbing, zip lining, or even a boat ride. Sorry there wasn't a post yesterday, there was so much going on that there wasn't time for a blog post. It will be included in today's post, though.

Yesterday 7/7/11

The day started out with a successful mobilization to the north and south Craig Branch areas thanks to our logistics staff.

Then the trail work continued as crews made amazing progress along their sections, eventually making the final counts for the day 14,800 feet of trail completed for Week 1 so far!

At night for program, a local bluegrass band came and played before the Wednesday night campfire.
The campfire consisted of not only a scary story (The tail of poly-tail) on behalf of the National Park Service, but also a talent show, the Matt and Marty in the Morning show *evening edition, and even a Minute-to-win-it camp edition. All of the kids had a blast singing along to the songs they knew and laughing at the funny skits.

The campfire was summed up with a special song sung by the national officers. (video possibly to come soon)

Today 7/8/11

As the crews finished their trails which they had been working for the week, all of the crews had high spirits, even while doing rock work. Rock work is the toughest kind of trail building, since it requires time and precision to complete correctly. As the crews finished up, they loaded the buses and headed back to base to a tasty surprise: Ice-pops as they got off the bus.

After dinner, the evening consisted of a movie in the drill hall while the staff served popcorn and a lodge flap painting event. These lodge flaps will be displayed at the Summit once it is open. This evening was also the last time that guests were able to buy things from the trading post, so many people bought the shirts, hats, and even the souvenir DVDs which will be mailed to them later in the year.

As these wonderful times come to an end, we can cherish and remember them for years to come.

PS: Sorry there aren't pictures today. The internet connection was having trouble when I uploaded pictures from today's work. There will be pictures tomorrow for sure.

They have seen whites of their eyes

2011-07-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

With day 1 over and day 2 just beginning, the participants couldn't be more excited. Everyone loaded up the buses with water, Philmont meals, and a cheerful spirit.

As the day went on, we constructed many different trail features all around the Craig Branch work site using different types of tools and trail building techniques.

A tree stump needed extra force to be pulled out of the ground

With sections being completed, one crew had to be moved from the north section to the south section. To keep morale high, and to celebrate this achievement, a special treaty was written up, and a golden stake driven into a tree stump, signifying the line dividing the north and south branches.

The two branch directors coming to an agreement over terms

After the work day was done and all the crews had returned back to the National Guard base, crew photos were taken. The crew photos will be available on the photobucket website after they are uploaded tomorrow.

The program for the evening was a silent patch auction in which money was raised for a local charity. Many things were auctioned off. Not just patches, but also tools, bolo ties, and even playing cards.

During the course of the patch auction, a representative from the Summit came to speak about how the property was chosen, what is happening on it, and what will happen on it in the future. The Scouts were all very excited to get a sneak-peek at what is going on.

After a long day we all are exhausted and we all want to go to sleep. Some of us just can't wait, like the operations youth chief.

"For he who serves all his fellows is of all his fellows greatest"

2011-07-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

With today being July 4th Arowmen from around the country have all chosen to forgo their normal 4th of July traditions of parties, BBQ, and fireworks to give their time to the New River Gorge National Park.

The day started out at 5:30 AM with reveille being played to wake the camp up from their slumber. After people woke up they began to assemble in at the lower parking lot to receive their delicious Philmont breakfast and lunch. While the crews ate breakfast the buses that were going to take us to Craig Branch pulled up into the parking lot.

The I-Corps assembled to review details for emergency action plans if they must be put into place, lets hope they never need to be.

We loaded up the buses and headed out to the work sites, some of us went to south Craig Branch and some of us went to north Craig Branch. The crews then went out to their respective sites to begin the trail work needed that they had come to cheerfully give.

The work began with a tool talk that helped all the guests understand the importance of safety on the trail. After the tool talk the participants began removing the organic layer then grubbing (removing all the roots and other materials, so the final product is clean dirt).

As the day wore on each crew found their own challenges.

Finding rocks in this forest environment proved to be a challenge

Smashing rocks is not always the best job but you do get rid of aggression

Many of the crews faced times where logs blocked their ability to proceed down the trail, so they called in reinforcements, the US National Park Service with chainsaws.


Brothers bearing the load together

Part of building trail is also tamping down the surface so that you have a flat area for hikers and bikers to get through on.

The end of out work day was cut short with an impending rain storm, which we just missed as we pulled away in the buses back to base camp.

Once we were back at camp and dinner was eaten, a program for the evening was put on by man different organizations. Some of these included the national guard, the US National Park Service, a bluegrass band, native American exhibits, and even a snack.

Creating a nail with a forge

Creating a fishing net

With the first day over the different teams had to debrief and collect information of what was good and what was bad from this first day.

Many of the participants are having such a good time they cannot wait for tomorrow.

We have called and they have come

2011-07-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

With contingents from all across the united states coming for week one of SummitCorps the West Virginia National Guard base has been taken over by OA members of all ages ready to give their service to the New River Gorge National Park.

With registration being one of the main issues of the day the communications team shut down the internet for all staff except for registration so that the process is sped up as much as possible and it is painless in some ways.

Logistics had a last minute meeting to explain some small details that were critical to be explained to participants right off the bat, for example that if you hurt yourself after you have been warned over and over again then the park service is not liable for you. The I-Corps had a meeting right after to go over some of the program that they will deliver to the participants then they were handed their park service radios which each cost more then they will make then entire summer. Many different teams across camp were also given radios which will be used on the trails to communicate effectively.

With registration going smoothly, medicals being turned in correctly and kids pouring in from all over they started to put up their tents and erect a tent city on the base where they will sleep for the next week after their day of service and night of program.

Lunch included a special suprise, the national chief throwing rolls to all the guests eating dinner.

The afternoon was spent with group contingent photos being taken which are now up on www.photobucket.com/SummitCorps2011
along with the I-Corps giving orientation to the participants. This orientation includes a tool talk, a history of the area, and even a LNT(leave no trace) talk. Last but not least it included DRINK WATER!!!!

The day ended with the shows giving a spectacular show which included the national chief, national vice-chief, Central region chief, the youth incident commander, and so many more suprises that await you when you come to the show.

Show here is the National Vice-Chief Dan Dick

After the show ended participants and staff alike went to bed awaiting the long day ahead, that starts at 6 AM.

It's the Final Countdown...

2011-07-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

With Participants arriving tomorrow all the committees are running through their final check lists so that participants are able to have the time of their lives at SummitCorps 2011 Week 1. Transportation has their vehicles gassed up and waiting to pick people up from the airport, cooking staff have all their ovens ready to heat up those delicious corn-dogs (for breakfast/lunch it was not the same food as the wonderful cooking crew that cooked with love), Communications have all their radios charged up and ready to roll, operations hiked the trails today to get a preview of the trails along with drop points, and as always the wonderful command staff were heading the charge making sure that every last detail is taken care of for the participants.

Not only were the staff getting ready for participants they also participated in an interfaith worship service led by a chaplain who spoke about the need for volunteers in this time where there is so little people volunteering.

After dinner all of the staff went outside to take group photos which will be posted on www.photobucket.com/SummitCorps2011 tomorrow, sorry but I am tired now.

But here is the photo of all staff except I-Corps, it was their day off today.

Sorry for less photos than normal today, The digital media team was working on photo videos of the last week which will be posted shortly.

All of the staff can't wait for the participants to get here and begin this journey.

And so it begins...

2011-07-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

Today many things got done that needed to get done. The day started off with the I-Corps loading up and getting out to the Craig Branch area to set the tool caches. This gave the operations, Communications, and even the transportation a chance to test out their functions and see how they would fare with when all of the participants come to SummitCorps.

Loading up the vans to go out to the sites

Once the I-Corps were out at the sites they divided up the tools and started to take them out to the sites they are needed at once participants get here.

Kent observing all the tools to make sure they all get the right things

A standard tool cache

They then started out towards the GPS coordinates they were given where each tool cache must be near.

A stake of where the GPS coordinates were

Now when we went out to find the stakes it was not so easy as walking along the path, many times we got lost along the way and had to use orienteering skills that we learned to find our way back to the main roads.

Once we found our site we needed to make a tool burrito to keep the tools out of the rain until participants get here.

With all of the extra tools a branch cache was made near Drop Point 7 but they had to be packed in their own burrito so the I-Corps banded together to make one last burrito before heading back to base for dinner.

This dinner was not a normal dinner but a special dinner as it was the last being cooked for us by the cooking staff before the OA cooking staff came onto base to cook, so the I-Corps gave a think you to the ladies for all their delicious food.

While the I-Corps were out in the field work did not stop at camp but happened faster and faster. The shows have been preparing and preparing, operations has put up their screen in the drill hall for all indoors and the OA cook staff had moved into their new home.

Later this evening the Staff had a meeting where we met all of our leaders and our incident commanders, they all stressed saftey and HAVE FUN!!!

It's Moving Day

2011-06-30T21:37:00.000-07:00

The day started off with the I-Corps moving from their current tents right behind the armory to the fields below with the participants or guests.

The I-Corps then were tasked with taking the ground between the armory and the campground and making it into a trail, not a hard thing for these men of character.

This is what the trail started out as with the flags marking the sides

The I-Corps were also tasked with marking off the boundaries of the campsites for participants or guests they ended up marking off over 200 10x10 sites for tents.

The I-Corps are being given their instructions


Marking off the lines

As the day progressed the trail work got done the organic layer was removed, the rocks were being put into place and the fencing was being put up.

Teamwork is key to finishing

Here you can see all the different layers being removed

The trail was finished, the campsites were marked, and more staff had arrived so reregistration for staff finally opened.

To make sure that everyone was on the same page different departments had meetings to make sure all things are Green light for participants in less than a week.

With the week ending the I-Corps have to say goodbye to their adopted mothers, the cooking staff, but not before a group photo to remember all the great food they enjoyed.

Lets not forget the shows staff working hard to prepare for their FIRST SummitCorps opening show on sunday, they even have a finished arena.

Working Hard to Get My Fill...

2011-06-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

With more and more people arriving at the SummitCorps Service Project at the West Virginia National Guard Armory cooperation has become a key player in all the things that the staff does. This is especially true with the construction of the Shows stages. After the holes had been dug with the bobcat yesterday and the poles ad been built they had to be put into the ground with percision that only a elite team of OA volunteers can have.


Bringing up the poles was not as easy as it looks but these guys sure do make it look easy

A good portion of time had to be spent making sure that the poles were as even as possible otherwise the final product would not look right when the shows were put on.

After all the poles were put into the ground and placed properly electrical wiring had to be set to allow the lights to get power. The volunteers who did this wiring did a phenomenal job of it because once it was all hooked up it worked on the first try!

While all this construction was going on at the shows stage there was much more going around camp. This included the construction of the staff tent site and the bathrooms/showers for everyone.

With so much going on around camp some parts of the staff had to get together to make sure everyone is on the right page. Here is the logistics team meeting where everyone went around and checked off that everything is good and ready for participants.

Back at the stage the wires to run electricity had to be buried so that no one trips on them during the show, so they called in the specialists, the I-Corps of course after their days off.

With the frame built, the electricity hooked up, and the cables buried it is starting to look like a stage fit for an OA show, maybe not as good as mysterium compass but it may come close.

After the I-Corps had finished burying the cables, they found that a large pile of wood needed to be moved down to the arena. They cheerfully loaded their burden upon their brothers and burdened it until another took it from them.

As the day came to a close the I-Corps looked at the newly construsted stage along with the shows crew to find out that for their hard work in the past few weeks and for the hard work ahead they were being given pizza at night as a thank you.

And so ends another beautiful day at the SummitCorps Service project at the National Guard Armory in West Virginia. The Trail awaits!

Holes, Holes and more Holes

2011-06-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

Today was an exciting day, many new people arrived at the National Guard armory to see how the project was progressing. The Communications guys are all set up right across from us the Digital Media Team in the logistics room.

Today was one of the rare days when the I-Corps has off and you can find them all around, some went to Kentucky, some to DC and some just stayed on the base. There were a few of them who helped shows prepare the arena by starting to put together poles which are going to hang banners, lights, and the screen.

This was done with many supplies and many kind hearted volunteers many of who working on their day off or vacation. Thank You to all of you.

These are some of the I-Corps members that gave up their day off for this better cause

Later five holes needed to be dug to put the poles that are needed in, the volunteers started to dig these holes, 8in X6 feet (with rock about 2 feet down).

Luckily Terrel found a drill that could make the holes that were needed after he had called everyone he could think of. So the drill came out and was attatched to a Bobcat, then proceeded to make the necessary holes for the area show poles.

This contiued until late in the evening where another beautiful day at the SummitCorps service Project ended.

The Digital Media Team has arrived and survived

2011-06-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

The Digital Media Team is the group of Photographers and Videographers who are documenting the SummitCorps service project at the New River Gorge National Park. They will be at the SummitCorps Project all four work weeks and will get around to document the progress that each crew makes each week.

The Digital Media Team is comprised of one main videographer, Parker S. , one main Photographer Alan R. and their adviser Terrel M. This group of people are joined by other staff members each week to help document this momentous project.

After arriving on-site Parker and Alan went out into the field to see the I-Corps last training day. The I-Corps are the InstructorCorps who will be in charge of all the crews when the service project starts. This group of highly skilled men have been chosen from around the country and are some of the best of the best that there are for trail building.

They started off the day with an inspirational talk from one of the National Park Service employees, Tom (not sir) helping to assist them on their training.

On this last training day the I-Corps did not slack, they started off the day with a safety tool talk. Then they went on to not only make the trail better but did it with a cheerful manner.

On one occasion a large rock needed to get up a hill and over to the place where everyone thought it would fit best. So about 8 guys grabbed a rock sling and pulled this rock over the hill.

Once this rock was put into the place where it was wanted the group could not do anything but cheer and cheer and cheer.

One important task of trail building is that the rocks be broken up into smaller rocks that are then used for the top layers of trail.

At the end of the day the I-Corps had to destroy some trail by naturalizing (adding vegetation to it so people do not use it as much) it and they were given the task of deciding what needed to be done and who does it. As they listened closely they learned their assignments for the naturalization.

At the end of a long hard day of work the I-Corps heads back to the National Guard Armory in Jean Glenn West Virginia to rest and get back onto the trail soon with crews.