SBR | |||
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The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve
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Owner | Boy Scouts of America | ||
Location | Glen Jean, West Virginia | ||
Country | United States | ||
Coordinates | 37°55′N 81°07′W / 37.91°N 81.11°WCoordinates: 37°55′N 81°07′W / 37.91°N 81.11°W | ||
Founded | 2010 | ||
Summit Group Director | Todd McGregor | ||
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Website https://summitbsa.org |
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The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, often shortened as Summit Bechtel Reserve (SBR), located in Fayette and Raleigh Counties, near Beckley, West Virginia, is one of four facilities managed by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The Summit Bechtel Reserve is the home of the National Scout Jamboree, the Paul R. Christen National High Adventure Base, the James C. Justice National Scout Camp, and the John D. Tickle National Training and Leadership Center. The reserve comprises properties totaling over 14,000 acres (57 km2). The facility's opening event was the 2013 National Scout Jamboree.
On November 18, 2009, the BSA announced the acquisition of the property comprising the main 10,600 acre site of what is now The Summit Bechtel Reserve. Its acquisition was made possible through a donation from the Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation. The $50 million donation is the largest in the history of the BSA.
On October 22, 2010 the BSA announced that total donations had reached $100 million, including a $25 million donation from the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation. Both Stephen Bechtel and Walter Scott, Jr. are recipients of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. October 22 is also the day the BSA announced the dates of the 2013 National Scout Jamboree and the day ground was broken at SBR with 22 golden shovels. The Scott funds funded the building of the Scott Scouting Valley and the Scott Visitor Center. Another gift from T. Michael and Gillian Goodrich led to the creation of centerpiece lake on the main site property now known as Goodrich Lake. Mike Goodrich is also a Distinguished Eagle Scout Award recipient.
The Summit Bechtel Reserve is located adjacent to the New River Gorge National River. Managed by the National Park Service, the National River comprises approximately 70,000 acres (280 km2) that exemplifies the typically rugged Appalachian Mountains, and is a popular whitewater rafting, mountain biking, rock climbing, and tourism destination. It is also the home of the well known New River Gorge Bridge, which hosts an annual base jumping event each October.