User:BenBanjo

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Hi, my name is Ben Killen. Along with Tim Hall and Chris Brightwell, I am a Co-Founder of the Scout History Project. I'm also the Producer / Co-host of our Scouting podcast, ClothTalk.

Outside of scouting, I work as a Designer at Time Out New York Magazine in New York City. I really enjoy my job and actually consider myself quite fortunate to have such a cool job at such an early stage in my career. Also, I enjoy learning about and exploring video editing and visual effects. Another great joy of mine is music. Although I'm not actively playing with anyone right now, I enjoy singing, playing the banjo, keys and guitar. Also, you might find it interesting to know that I am also the winner of the first ever NOAC talent show which was held on Founder's Day at NOAC 2004.

Email me: ben at scouthistory dot net

Contents

[edit] Scouting as a Youth

[edit] Cub Scouts

Believe it or not, I was actually never a Cub Scout. When I was in elementary school, I joined the Tiger Cub group at my elementary school, and shortly after that time, the unit fell apart due mostly to a lack of interested and/or willing adult leaders. However, while living in Panama City Beach, FL, I took the opportunity to serve for a short time as a Den Leader for a local Cub Pack.

[edit] Boy Scouts

Once I was old enough to be a scout, I joined (Tennessee Valley Council) Troop 3 in Florence, Alabama (chartered by Northwood Methodist Church—which, incidentally, is where my Grandparents attended). I actually have a surprisingly vivid memory of my very first troop meetings as a young scout at that church. Of the eight or so people in that 'new scout' patrol, I am one of only 2 who earned the Eagle Scout award.

Although I'd consider myself something of a late-bloomer in scouting, during my time, I held most every position in the Troop. Most memorably, of course, would be the position of Senior Patrol Leader. Not surprisingly, because I played the trumpet in band throughout school, I also served briefly as the troop Bugler.

Throughout my time on the troop level, my Scoutmaster was Mr. Sims Lawson. I am very grateful for Mr. Lawson and I could never thank him enough for all he's done. He will always hold a very special place in my heart and I will think fondly of him always.

[edit] Junior Leader Training (JLT)

Once I had become an older member of my troop, I was selected to attend White Fire—my council's Junior Leader Training (JLT) course. As a participant, I was a member of the Black Patrol. By the end of the course, I was elected permanent Patrol Leader and awarded the Quartermaster's Award. The next year, I was invited to be on staff. I was placed in the position of Assistant Senior Patrol Leader of Scoutcraft. In this position, my Adult counterpart was Dr. Bob England. I have an immense amount of respect for "Dr. Bob" (whose college history class I would, ironically, find myself enrolled in several years later) and he, too, holds a very special place in my heart.

After serving as ASPL, I was again invited to be on staff. However, this time I was asked to be the youth leader of the entire course and serve as Senior Patrol Leader—an incredible honor which I humbly accepted.

[edit] Order of the Arrow

I would consider my involvement in the Order of the Arrow as the pinnacle of my time in Scouting. Through the order, I have gone farther and achieved more than I ever would've imagined. What's more, I can honestly say that the OA has kept me involved in scouting far longer than I would have been otherwise. This, I think, is one of the great strengths of the order—retaining Scouting's greatest scouts.

I was inducted into Kaskanampo Lodge 310 in 1995—the lodge's 50th Anniversary at Camp Westmoreland. This was also the year Kaskanampo hosted its last ever Conclave (at Camp Jackson). And, I'm afraid as a young candidate-turned-ordeal-member, talk of the impending Conclave fell, sadly, on deaf ears, and I did not attend. However, since that time, I have heard many great things about that particular conclave—as people still talk about it. And, as is the case with far too many new arrowmen, after my induction, I fell out of involvement in the OA.

That involvement would not be re-energized until several years later when another great adult leader in my scouting career, Ms. Martha Davis, dragged me and 3 or 4 other scouts from our troop to the local OA Chapter meeting being held at Camp Westmoreland. At this meeting I met Tim Hall (then the new Menawa Chapter Adviser) who is now my closest friend and mentor. At that meeting, we held chapter elections, and by the time I left, I was the new Menawa Chapter Secretary. Incidentally, at that time, Dan Watson—an older scout from our district and the SPL from my year as a participant at White Fire—was currently serving as Lodge chief of Kaskanampo. Later that year, the Chapter Chief of Menawa stepped down and I assumed his role—which gave me a seat on the LEC. The next year, I ran for and was elected Lodge Secretary, and the year after that: Lodge Chief. This was in 1999—Kaskanampo's final year. As such, I also played an integral role in the consolidation of our three lodge into one: The great Coosa Lodge. Also in 1999, I was fortunate to be a part of Kaskanampo's final Vigil class.

Also, While serving as chief of Kaskanampo, I served Section SR-8B as Section Secretary—under Section Chief Mike Bazonis. This was a very tough job but one that I really enjoyed and learned a lot doing. And, even though, I consider my enrollment in college to mark the end of my time as a 'youth' in the OA, that was not exactly the case. In fact, while in college, I attended an Aracoma Lodge 481 event and participated in my first and last OA ceremony ever. They were inducting a class of new Brotherhood members and needed a Nutiket. I was actually quite honored to fill the spot.

But, needless to say, of all the things I did as a youth, I'll not soon forget the feeling I had standing before the brothers of my Lodge delivering my speech, "Lay the Oak and Pine Together" at our final Lodge banquet—after which I was given with a standing-ovation. I am unspeakably honored to be the last-ever Chief of Kaskanampo Lodge 310.

[edit] Scouting as an Adult

[edit] Order of the Arrow

Even though my involvement in Scouting while in college definitely stepped back, it has never completely ended. And now, I'm happy to report that I'm as involved in Scouting as I ever have been. However, my areas of involvement have changed dramatically from when I was a youth—more out of necessity than anything else. As a youth, I was most heavily involved in the political aspects of the Order. Obviously, as an adult, I would not be able to continue down that path. I soon found my niche on our Lodge Shows Committee which we call Coosa Shows. Also, in 2006 I was once again unspeakably honored to be given the Founder's Award by my brothers in Coosa Lodge—an honor I am immensely proud of.

[edit] Coosa Shows

Since joining Coosa Shows, I have both learned and done many things I would have once thought impossible. This is only one of many reasons why I can't stay away from it. In Coosa Shows, one of our ever-present goals is to always take our shows and projects to the next level—never being satisfied with that we've always done. This sounds like a high expectation, and it is. However, with great challenges come great accomplishments, and Coosa Shows provides a perfect environment in which to take-on these challenges and thus grow beyond what one currently believes he can do. What I mean is, its a safe environment in which to fail—not that we ever have....ahhem. But, in the end, if absolutely everything goes wrong, its not an earth-shattering problem. All is not lost. We can learn from it and know we'll never make that same mistake again.

But, as I mentioned before, probably the thing I appreciate most about the work we do in Coosa Shows is the constant stretch....the endless reach for the unreachable. One project that, to date, has easily been our most ambitious is a video project we called "iSash." In the end, after months of planning, shooting, learning and hard work, it came off as a remarkable success. And everyone who has seen it has had nothing but positive things to say about it. More than anything, people are amazed that it was produced completely by volunteers, and with absolutely no budget.

[edit] Looking Forward

When I think about my future in scouting, I'm not at all sure what it might hold. There is a lot on the horizon.

First, The Scout History Project. Needless to say, everything about this project excites me. I'm very anxious to see what it will grow into, but I'm even more excited to see what the Scouting community will contribute to it. After all, we are nothing if not for those in our audience.

Second, my continued involvement with Coosa Shows. At the time of this writing, we have several very exciting projects in the works. I always have loved working with the close-knit group of brothers in Coosa Shows. I can't imagine that would soon change.

On a related note, I've been extended an invitation to be a part of OA National Shows. This is something I find to be very exciting. I'm not sure how they would utilize my talents but I am certainly open to exploring what they might have in store.

Finally, I have recently begun to persue Scouting in the NYC area. I attended the 2006 Section NE-2C conclave and met a lot of Arrowmen in the area. I am excited about getting involved with Shu-Shu-Gah Lodge 24 in Brooklyn. It will be interesting to begin the process of 'starting over' again in a lodge.

[edit] Patch Collecting

NOTE: This list is being actively updated as I sort through patches.

[edit] Coosa Lodge

  • Dupes:
    • TBA

[edit] Kaskanampo Lodge

[edit] Cherokee Lodge

  • Have:
  • Needs:
  • Dupes:

[edit] Achunanchi Lodge

  • Have:
  • Needs:
  • Dupes:
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