Wow! What a show. Being the Chairman of an event such as this is enough to turn your hair grey or make it fall out or both! Even though I may have gotten a little greyer and maybe a little thinner up there, it was worth it to see the kids having a great time at Scout-O-Rama 2018.

It takes a lot of time, commitment and quite honestly a lot of money to put on a show of this size. But when you see the results it truly hits you right square in the feels, as was the case for me. Months of planning and fund-raising came together last weekend in what we call a "Four States Scout Show," five if you include those Troops from Illinois, and we do!

Opening Ceremonies - Building a bonfire - SOR 2018
Opening Ceremonies - Building a bonfire - SOR 2018
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Thanks to those local Scout Troops who came in locally and put together some amazing Scout Craft displays. BSA Order of the Arrow Lodge 232 for their participation this year, we missed having them last year. Thanks to the Troops and Packs that drove in from Arkansas, Louisianna, Texas, Oklahoma and Illinois, the Civil Air Patrol for coming this year, the Girl Scouts increasing their presence and activities, the Iron Munchers, Knife Makers, Pre 1840's Venturing Crews, Civil War Reenactors and Cannon crew, Texas Connection Native American Dancers and Drum Team, the Hot Air Balloon Team, all the Chili cooking teams, the travelling Boy Scout Museum, our vendors who apparently had a great day, Texarkana Police and Fire Departments, Parks and Recreation Department, Waste Management and many more that I'm just not thinking of at the moment.

Super Sexton - SOR 2018
Super Sexton - SOR 2018
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Thanks to the Caddo Area Council and SOR 2018 committee, volunteers and sponsors, without which this show would never work. Most of all, thanks to the thousands of you who came out to share in the fun and skills that have been learned by those that give Scouting a try. The Caddo Area Council is happy to welcome girls into the Cub, Weblo and Scouting programs now, so if you haven't tried it before, check out how much fun Family Scouting can be.

Texas Connection up and dancing - SOR 2018
Texas Connection up and dancing - SOR 2018
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For more information on Scouting in Texarkana, call the Caddo Area Council Scout Service Center right here in Texarkana at 903-793-2179.

BSA Balloon - SOR 2018
BSA Balloon - SOR 2018
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#ScoutingIsFun

For more information about Scout-O-Rama, bookmark 4StatesSOR.com or follow us on Facebook.

Below, I think is one of my favorite pictures of 2018, me taking a selfie through the Tracked Kabota rearview mirror and capturing my buddies Pat Dunphy and Mike Sewell at the same time. Pat's looking at me like, "Is he taking another selfie?" Love it!

Jim's Selfie with Pat and Mike - SOR 2018
Jim's Selfie with Pat and Mike - SOR 2018
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