Once the Summit Bechtel Reserve is up and running during the jamboree, it will be the second-largest city in West Virginia. Yep, that’s pretty big.
There were 43,434 Scouts and approximately 50,000 visitors at Fort A.P. Hill last year, so calling the jamboree a city isn’t too far off.
A city needs people working behind the scenes to run smoothly, and the Summit will be no exception.
Think garbage disposal, recycling, plumbing, food delivery and supplies. Folks at the Summit will also constantly be fixing and maintaining bikes, skateboards, firearms, zip lines, scuba tanks and climbing gear, just to name a few.
“All of the supplies have to move in a very coordinated, pre-planned way so they get to where they need to be on time,” said Mike Patrick, the general manager of the Summit.
So how is the Summit preparing?
With the help of some super-smart experts, who are no stranger to logistics, and there are a lot of people, goods, transportation and technology involved.
To start, a distribution center will be built near the Summit in order to receive and store all of the goods needed to run a 10-day, action-packed jamboree. That simplifies the logistics because a large portion of the items will already be moved near the property before the jamboree even begins.
We’re also making it easier for you to travel to the Summit by providing you with jamboree gear at the site and planning all of your meals well in advance.
[pullquote]“The less people notice this, the better job the people behind the scenes are doing.” — Mike Patrick, general manager of the Summit [/pullquote]
Want to know the coolest part? You may never see any of this in action.
“The less people notice this, the better job the people behind the scenes are doing,” said Patrick.
And how do you know everything is being done right? We called in the pros.
Consultants were called in to analyzed the 2010 jamboree and offered ways to improve the logistical operations. They’re working with us to make sure the supply chain management is as good as it can be.
How do you think better logistics will improve the jamboree? How are you going to get organized for the Summit?