Re: Needed advice about Venturing...
Cooper Wright (CoopWright@AOL.COM)
Wed, 22 Jul 1998 20:47:58 EDT
Mike
Cal Gray passed on some good advice. We have had a very active Venture
program in our troop for the last five years. Right now, we have fourteen
11-12 graders who are active and seventeen 9-10 graders who are active. I
don't believe that our figures represent the norm for most troops (and our
troop has 70 registered scouts). The Venture program has kept our older boys
active and advancing. However, after attending a conference outlining the new
Venturing concept, we are taking the first steps to form a separate Venturing
Crew, just for our 11-12 graders. I know that this is not what BSA is stating
(14 year old eligibility), but it is how the LDS units will be organized. The
9-10 graders will stay in the troop and begin experiencing their first high
adventure activities along working towards Eagle. The 11-12 graders, most of
whom are Eagle or almost, will form the new unit, the Venturing Crew. I think
that it will take an exception scout to try and earn Eagle at the same time
completing the new awards offered by the Venturing program. We will use the
same chartering organization, but will have separate committees, finances,
etc. This way our chartered organization can offer a full range of Scouting
activities to the community.
We can only do this because we have so many older scouts. If you have a small
troop, you will decapitate the leadership by forming a Venturing Crew. Stick
with a Venture patrol in your troop to give your older boys something exciting
and still have them in the same unit where they can serve as role models and
mentors to the younger scouts.
Good luck.
Cooper Wright
ASM-Venture, Troop 1519 (soon to be Crew 1519)
Alexandria, VA
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