dana_renner

OGE what track are you taking. I am taking District and Council.

Any one going to Venture Quest at Camp Tuckahoe May 6-8 2005?

More of Venturing /Early Exploring we argue over uniforms for Venturers. Recently at a crew meeting in which I am a Unit Commissioner of a young man who is a Boy Scout as well as a Venturer and just recently received an Eagle but from his troop went to an OA Auction and bought an old twill Explorer shirt with the Explorer BSA strip on it a circle-v-patch on the left pocket in him wearing this he got many looks and good comments on how well it looked on him. In an earlier time the one crew President had all the officers that worked with him wear the Venturing uniform. They looked great. I feel that if the uniform is available it should be worn the adage just do it kind of goes here. I feel the more modern the program is the more heart the program looses. If Venturing has the uniform which it does, why not require it in the manual. Now I do understand it is up to the crew to select their own DDI but I feel in trying to de-scout Venturing they missed out on a lot of meaningful tradition. Early Explorers wore their uniforms with pride.

Bob The job to recruit commissioners in our district and council rests with that of the District Commissioner and as far as I know he has not recruited 3 more commissioners for any Venturing Crews in our district. In our district Venturing crew advisors are very reluctant to have Commissioner visit them. The crew I work with is very cooperative most the other ones are not very cooperative.I do visit the Venturing Officers Association meetings monthly on the council level and they are very informative and I am trying to encourage my crew to do some VOA activities and the youth are not very interested. Because they have done much of that as a crew.

This would set up a program using the Small Boat Handler and Qualified Seaman awards and letting the Venturing and Sea Scout awards and ranks be optional for Sea Scouts male or female that would want to earn them. Also the First Class to Eagle for male Boy and Varsity Scouts as long as they were under the age of 18 would still apply. The traditional Sea Scout youth ship officers would still apply as well as the ship committee and the Skipper and Mate positions still be there. But here would the different twist. More of a maritime program concentrating on either Maritime Occupations. or Sailing or Seamanship Interest Ships this specialty could very well bridge both Venturing-Sea Scouts maybe say " SEA VENTURING".

Now this is going to throw some people for a loop, But this is about Learning For Life/Exploring any advisors, post committee, Exploring Youth that are interested in posting anything lets do it. No we are not scouts in the traditional sense,but we are a part of a BSA subsidiary organization. Health Career Posts, Law Enforcement Posts, Law and Government and Aviation, Science, Civil Air Patrol Posts any information on upcoming Exploring Conferences. Anything on Post Leaders Workshops, Post Officers Seminars. Let's talk too.

Gentlemen please let me clarify my recent ravings, first of all I am in Venturing as a unit commissioner. I am not outside the scouting movement. I am a person who enjoys Venturing, Sea Scouting and Exploring. About the publications this is what I mean. Crew Program Guides, Non-Traditional Ship Planning or Program Guide. the 5 clusters of Venturing would publish seperate program guides for each of the five clusters. The only difference would be Sea Scouting which has it's own manual. Then there would be a Venturing Handbook and the Ranger Handbook also an Advisor and Committee Manual which could also have a section included for Sea Scout Leaders. Venturing Handbook would have all the general information concerning the program and the Crew Program Guides would be for each of the other clusters and Sea Scouts or Aquatic Interest Venturing could use the Non-Traditional Ship Planning or Program Guide .

I imagine there is about 8 or 9 crews in the district. However in the council there are about 27 or so. The Venturing Commissioner Team could be on the Council Level and have a Commissioner Team Committee chairperson and then have Venturing Commissioners working with the crews on a council level. In our district there would probably not be enough to start district Venturing Commissioner Team however on the council it could be done.

In recent days I have been doing some research on the Explorer program from 1949-1965, and I noticed there are many similarities and then when I went on the Venturing website I noticed that in looking for ideas for the creation of our"Neo-Traditional" Venturing many ideas were borrowed from Explorer Leader Handbook seems like that of the 1950's and early 1960's before Exploring took a turn toward the careers emphasis. The Venturing awards are just modern recreations of the Explorer awards of earlier times. The uniform is not all the way like the old style was. But the spruce green shirt is close enough. Guys we have been talking about the loss of scouts and youth and programs dwindling, and if people in Texas use the old to recreate something for today, maybe one thing they are missing is the heart of the program. Keeping it simple enough for the youth.

I sincerly believe that Venturing needs a Commissioner Team that just handles Venturing and Sea Scouts. Why?? Because Venturing is organized differently than Cub and Boy Scouts the problems that Crews and Ships face are somewhat more different from the that of Troops and Packs. One because of the coeducational nature of Venturing the Youth Protection issues are somewhat more unique than those of Cub Scouts and younger Boy Scouts I will however say that Youth Protection issues of older Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts may be similar but not quite the same. Also since Venturing crews are somewhat more independent than Troops,Teams and Packs and they are Youth-led then commissioners need to be more specialized. I do realize my understanding yet sharp critics will be on me like white on rice I am a Venturing Unit Commissioner and Venturing is quite a bit more different than other forms of scouting.

What I am referring to in that Sea Scouts should publish a pamphlet to ships that want a more non-traditional form of Sea Scouting maybe just a Seamanship Interest Crew or a Scuba Crew but the youth in these two crews may not be interested in the Venturing Recognition System like a B option. Also simplify the Venturing publications create Programs helps for the clusters 1 for Religious Life 1 for Outdoors and 1 for Sports and 1 for Arts and Hobbies it seems like Venturing is just concerned with the outdoor program and does not care if the rest of the program does well or not. And I am aware of the popularity of Outdoor Adventure Venturing. Also a crew committee manual and a advisor's manual as well. Simplify Venturing.

I firmly believe that the monsterous Ventuing Leader Manual is too big and hard to understand. I think that Venturing should publish an Advisors and Crew Committee Handbook, Continue with the Venturing Handbook and Ranger Handbook for youth. Maybe publish Venturing program guides for Outdoor, Arts and Hobbies, Sports, and Religious Life clusters. Sea Scouts should consider a pamphlet for ships that do not follow the traditional ship program. Venturing should publish a distinctive dress identity question and answer guide. Crew Officer Program guide

Venturing is indeed a confusing program, and can be a lot for youth that are already busy with school and involved with after school jobs and if the young men and women in the crew also involved in a troop as well as being in the crew. If we look at Venturing it evolved out of the more traditional area of Exploring the backpacking, camping, whitewater rafting area that was popular in the early days of the program. Exploring was also somewhat more stuctured then more then what Venturing is now. Exploring even had an advancment system. There is a recognition system in Venturing the structure is more loose now, but there is still structure. Maybe if we will look at the more traditional literature as well as the literature of the present program. Think adventure, think service, and think leadership and let the youth lead the program, but sell them on the traditional side and blend it with the non-traditional to form the new traditional, generalize and specialize maybe the crews can get going. In the new Venturing website they even claim to using the old Explorer Leader Handbook when they wanted to design the new"old" Venturing program. If you have a co-ed crew sell the program to the young men and women and then let them lead. Remember use the Crew Officers Seminar in training your newly elected officer and sell them on the program. The advisor sets the tone for the crew. He/she also starts the tradition. Think out and inside of the box take from one to help the other. The solution is local as well as National.

Congratulations to the young man who did this, I see he is an inspiration to the other Sea Scouts.

OGE Congrtulations on your appointment, And I know you will do a great job. Show them vision and a little patience and you will do great. Give them the Big Picture and pay attention to the details and you will do good. YIS Dana

Trail Pounder I am a commissioner, I do not work much with Sea Scout Ships, While I do know the mechanics of how to start a crew. I do not know what organizations would best support a crew or ship. In other words how did you do it? Seems like your ship is very creative and very in tune with the program. Now I do know that any scout unit takes time to grow and find it's own way. Back to the original question Just how does one start a Venturing crew or Sea Scout Ship?

How do I get a Venturing crew or Sea Scout Ship started?

How about if a Venturing crew would adopt a Venturing adaptation of the Classic Explorer uniform of the 1960's with a tie, and white belt, green trousers, white leggings the whole bit, and on the left pocket where the circle-v would be put the Venturing patch. And then for an activity uniform use a spruce green twill shirt with the venturing patch and the brown buttons, instead of csp we use the community patch and numerals and use the strips with the crew officer positions instead of the round patches. Use a Venturing BSA strip and under the US flag patch have a crew patch. Develop a cluster patch and put that on the right pocket.

In the Venturing Handbook on page 84 there is a listing in the Venturing Reference Guide under the letter O Order of the Arrow here we see that the OA is a Boy Scout honor camper organization OA youth membership candidate elections are authorized to be conducted in Boy Scout Troops and Varsity Scout Teams at the discretion of the lodge and under the direction of the Arrowmen serving as members of lodge unit election team. Order of the Arrow is a Boy Scout honor and worn by Boy Scouts, however these scouts can and are many times members of both the Troop and a Crew the OA flap is authorized for wear on both the Boy Scout tan uniform and the Venturing spruce(kelly) green uniform on the right flap pocket by Venturers who were inducted into the OA as a Boy or Varsity Scout and by Advisors who were inducted into the OA as a Scoutmaster or Varsity Team Coach. However Sea Scouts do not allow OA flaps on their uniforms and hence a ship may be right in keeping the OA flap wear restricted. And those Sea Scouts and Adult leaders may have to restrict the wear to the Tan or Spruce uniforms. In the interest of a peaceful scouting atmosphere, Lets all learn to adjust and don't sweat the small stuff.

Can male Sea Scouts who were inducted into the OA as Boy Scouts wear the OA flap on Sea Scout Uniforms? If not then Trail Pounder's Ship has a point.

Venturing Commissioners are a rare breed indeed, In our council there are about 30 crews and a lot of Unit Commissioners, but not too many for crews, most are involved with packs, troops. I am the only Venturing Commissioner and I work with 2 crews and do Venturing Roundtable Commissioner. I was recruited by the District Executive and he said he needed Unit Commissioners and I said that I would do UC if I could work with Venturing. I just do Venturing. Problem is that Venturing is too little known and seems like when Venturing is done all that is done is the Outdoor Crews and the other crews are little known of . And everyone feels that a Venturer is a Boy Scout looking for a crew, where he can be with young women. This a sad stereotype. A Venturing commissioner can be a person with a passion for Venturing and willing to work with teens. My commitment is to see Venturing grow and to see a quality Venturing program in my district and council and to see Venturing on equal footing with Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts.

How is the Rover Scouts set up, We have Venturing here in the USA and it is open to both boys and girls ages 14-21 Venturers can do a lot of outdoor things, camping, hiking, backpacking and such, but they also can do things like bowling, community service, sailing, we also have Sea Scouts who sail, but many Sea Scouts wear Naval style uniforms with sea scout patches and badges on them. What does the Rover Scouts do?

In my previous post I referred to a National Association of Outdoor Venturers. There is a National Outdoor Venturing Committee but not the former. Sorry

Where this idea comes from is 1 area, from LFL/Exploring where there are Fire Explorer and Law Enforcement Explorer Associations to my knowledge these associations existed before Learning for Life acquired Exploring. I believe that there can intercooperation between Councils in Venturing, Sea Scouts and as we see there are already associations for areas in Exploring.As I stated before the associations would not take away any district, council or chartering organization relationships with any crew. This association could meet on a bi-yearly basis much as the NEC's that some areas of Exploring has and would come together to compete and have fun, but also have a common thread they would be a part of an association that all crews of a certain cluster be a part of National Association of Outdoor Venturers which does exist. Cluster associations for all the 5 clusters that are in Venturing BSA. This is what I am talking about. Sorry about any wrong signals that I have given.

What I am referring to is this, A Venturing Association be formed that would include crews from one council to another,They have chartering organizations locally, but would come together as an association with each council being represented on a joint committee the Association could deal with crews that have a common interest such as outdoor, high adventure or sea scouting or other areas. This would not replace, council, or district jurisidiction or that of the chartering organizations. But would be an association of crews that could plan activities together. I believe that this could be useful in areas where Venturing crews are few and far between.