DDHII

I don't know what you mean by a "well run BS program," but Venturing is a well run BSA program. Venturing is a program ran by today's co-ed-youths for today's co-ed-youths. From ages 14 to 21, young men and women can make their own decisions for their crew, with limited influence from adult advisors (over 21 years of age). There are 5 core areas of Venturing, but not limiting to High Adventure, Sports, Youth Ministries/Religious Life, Arts & Hobbies, and Sea Scouting. Because of the age associated with Venturing, BSA has allowed many activies banned to Boy Scouts in the program, such as pistol shooting and snow mobile riding. The biggest attraction to Venturing is the fact that a uniform is not required and is adopted by each individual crew. If a crew decides on wearing the kelly green uniform, green loops are required on the uniform.

At a regional and national level, Venturing is lead by youth known as the National Venturing Cabinet, http://www.nationalventuringcabinet.org/, that represent youth in each of the 4 regional areas, in one in Sea Scouting and lead by one national Venturing president.

As for advancement, Venturing does not have a push for advancement or award recognition. It is up to each individual to determine whether or not he or she will advance in the Venturing program.

As we like to say in Western Region,

West is Best!

YIV,

Dale, Venturing Unit Commissioner

Venturing Silver Award, 2002

Venturing Ranger Award, 2002

Council Venturing Leadership Award, 2002

I'm a pre-medicine student, with majors in Emergency Medical Services and Bio-Medical Research... awaiting acceptance to medical school. Currently, I work for a hospital as an ER Tech.

Ours costs $210. As a college student paying for rent, tuition, etc, it's extremely difficult to pay for outings and the costs of scouting. Our council has a scholarship/campership program that will cover up to 50% of trainings and my troop covers the other half. I know if I couldn't get these scholarships, I wouldn't be able to for a long time. My council is also sending me to National Camp School (I'm being asked to serve as either camp commissioner or program director for summer camp this year) and Powderhorn.

Dale

A significant conservation project would be the same as an Eagle Scout level project (or even higher). A very good resource guide would be to follow the William T. Hornaday award guidelines and select a project under the 8 catagories. A Venturer may also use the project for the Ranger Award as an Eagle Scout project and/or Hornaday Badge project. Subsitute the required merit badges for Plant & Wildlife and Ecology in the Ranger Buideboook.

Dale

It's interesting that the Insignia guides states that only 5 medals can be pinned on the left breast pocket. If you look at the width of the medals, only 3 can fit on the pocket without them going beyond the width of the pocket. As an Eagle Scout, Venturing Silver Award, Venturing Ranger, Silver Hornaday, and God and Life award earner (Training Award too, but it's such a tiny medal compared to the others), it's hard to choose which ones to put on my unitform. Medals become more of a pain to put on because they all start to "clink" everytime I walk around, especially when I wear those neck medals too.

However, adults can wear any medal they have earned as a Scout, and it is encouraged for adults to do so. It sets as a good example for Scouts to see.

For the bronze, gold, and silver palms, they can be worn on the Eagle Square knot or on the medal when it's worn.

Dale

Packsaddle, you're right when you say that Scouts (or Venturers) may choose to pursue the Congressional Award, however I wouldn't choose the term "competitive." Congress didn't make this award program to compete with the BSA (a Congressionally chartered organization) or any other non-for profit group (4-H, GSUSA, ROTC, etc). This award was started to recognize those youth who have served others, regardless if they have been Boy Scouts or not. In 1999, only 5 of the 17 Gold Award earners were Boy Scouts, one of them was a female ASM. The awards were not meant to be competitive, yet something a youth can achieve by goal setting. The Gold Award takes a minimum of 2 years to achieve. The awards in it's self are not hard to earn, but time consuming. This teaches youth to set a goal and work for it.

Another good award program is called the President's Student Services Award http://www.student-service-awards.org/ which the hours of community service can be transferred into the Congressional Award.

Dale

As a 1999 Silver Congressional Award receiptient and current applicant for the 2004 Gold Congressional Award, BSA does not currently have plans for a knot for the award. The award is recognized by BSA, and many award earners are from the BSA program, BSA does not merit the usage of a "square knot" due to the fact that it is not an offical BSA program. For more information, you can contact BSA's relationships division or go to http://congressionalaward.org/congress/.

On a side note, this award does not offer a competitive venue due to the fact that it is not a competitive award.

I hope this helps...

Dale(This message has been edited by DDHII)

Check out http://www.mninter.net/~blkeagle/knoindex.htm

There's a lot of useful information on knots and awards.

I'm trying to find a Wood Badge course that's in July/early August or even on the multiple weekend courses. Has anyone taken the weekend courses? Do you recommend them? I'm in college right now, and it's impossible to take a week off in the beginning of my semester and risk losing all of my classes. My council currently does not have a weekend course for Wood Badge and local councils around me don't have one planned at this time. Is there another way to get Wood Badge trained?

I forgot to add one more thing... Powderhorn covers the topics found within the Ranger Guidebook... usually covering the 8 core courses and the 18 electives.

BW is right. Powderhorn and Wood Badage is not the same. Wood Badge for the 21st Century covers topics in Venturing as well as all other programs BSA has to offer with a primary focus on leadership. The Venturing Powderhorn course covers leadership, but it's primary focus is on high adventure training, and in some cases providing certifications in BSA training programs such as Climb on Safely and others. Unlike Wood Badge, however, Powderhorn courses are held at a regional level and hosted by a different council annually. For more information about Powderhorn, check out www.powderhorn.org or contact your regional Venturing President at http://www.nationalventuringcabinet.org I hope this helps...

The 25-hour emergency first aid course plus the American Red Cross's When Help Is Delayed is the basic certification course BSA recognizes for the Venturing program. It is also the same certification needed for the Venturing Siver Award. However, whatever class module you choose, Venturers need to be certified in at least When Help Is Delayed at the time of completing the Award. Working with the First Aid Merit badge is fine, however, it doesn't cover the certification requirement of ARC or EMT-B courses.

Currently, BSA Supply Division does not issue distinctive dress identity knots for the kelly green Venturing uniforms or other Venturing/Sea Scouting uniforms. Other organizations/firms/companies have made special versions of these knots to be available to wear on your uniform, however, they are not officially endorsed by the BSA to wear them. You will need to contact your local Council's Scout Executive for permission to wear these emblems. If your unit is a Ship, check out http://www.seascout.org/general_resources/ships_stores/patches.html for knot emblems that can be worn on your uniform... only on the disgression of your local Council's Scout Executive.

The anser is no. The Venturing program has a very relax uniform code where the individual units decide on the uniform and how it's worn. However, only green epaulets maybe worn on the Kelly green Venturing uniform. No other colors (with an exception to grey for council, yellow for national, and red/white/blue for international scouting) may be used on the uniform. The Venture strip designates the Venture Patrol only and may only be worn with red shoulder epaulets on the tan uniform. Notice it says "Venture" and NOT "Venturing." These are two separate programs with different legalities. The Venturing Program allows units to determine the uniform policy within a unit's bylaws, however there are limits to what a unit can and cannot wear. I hope this helps...

There's already a website similar to this. It's www.meritbadge.com and I also agree with Bob White.

Dale

Regional activites work well. As you may know, Powderhorn activities are held by the Region and you could coordinate your activites based on Powderhorn locations. It's an annual event, held at a different council every time. It's a great way to know who your Venturing Regional President is and what he or she can do for your units to help them succeed.

Dale

The best way to find out what qualifies as a LNT-service related project is to go to www.lnt.org. If you can get 60% of your active registered scouts and scouters involved in the service project, you can also qualify for the unit William T. Hornaday Award as well. Any LNT project that improves the land that you are taking care of by following the 7 principles of Leave No Trace would qualify for the award. Some are easier to plan a project for, but here are some guidelines you should follow:

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare

2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

3. Dispose of Waste Properly

4. Leave What You Find

5. Minimize Campfire Impacts

6. Respect Wildlife

7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors

I hope this helps you with your projects... good luck...

Dale

It's good to hear that your council is promoting more Venturing units. The best way to keep the unit you have active within the council is to form a Venturing Officer's Association (or a VOA) once a month. This is very similar to a PLC, but this involves every unit within the council and meet once a month to plan activities. Everything you have listed sounds really great, however, BSA has guideleines against any gambling activites such as a poker run. Have you tried contacting your council Learning for Life coordinator? Learning for Life and the Exploring program have the same age groups found in Venturing (ages 14-20) and they are co-ed as well. By bringing these two separate groups together, recruitment makes it easier since individual units have different specialties (such as High Adventure, Youth Ministry, Arts and Hobbies, Sea Scouting, and Sports). The same goes for Exploring units since they also have different specialties so your Venturers can find a common interest. Also, try contacting Alpha Phi Omega fraternaties at your local colleges and universities. APO is a scouting co-ed fraturnity and you can check them out at www.apo.org. Don't forget to invite senior girl scout troops on your Venturing activites, they're within the age group as well. I hope this helps...

Dale

I'm going to be in the Washington DC area for 6 months for a presidential internship program. I'm looking at joining a Venturing Crew while I'm there. Currently, I'm serving as a Venturing Unit Commissioner. Do I need to fill out the Leadership Transfer Notice even though I'm only going to be in DC for only 6 months?

Dale

yarrow,

I've submitted my Silver Hornaday Award application in June and I'm currently waiting for an answer from the national committee. To answer your question, no, the awards do not need to be earned in order, however, a youth participant (under 18 years for Scouts, under 21 for Venturers) can earn multiple awards at different periods of time and in any order.

For the bronze, a scout must:

1. Have earned First Class rank

2. Plan, lead, and carryout three projects from three separte categories listed below. For the Silver, carry out four projects from four separate categories.

1. Energy Conservation

2. Soil and water conservation

3. Fish and Wildlife management

4. Forestry and range management

5. Air and water pollution control

6. Resource Recovery (recycling)

7. Hazardous material disposal and management

8. Invasive species control

The Merit Badges:

Energy*

Environmental Science*

Fish and Wildlife Management*

Forestry*

Public Health*

Soil and Water Conservation*

Atomic Energy

Bird Study

Fishing

Gardening

Geology

Insect Study

Landscape Architecture

Mammel Study

Nature

Oceanography

Plant Science

Pulp and Paper

Reptile and Amphibian study

Weather

*Required MB's for the Hornaday Awards

For Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts, earn the Environmental Science MB. For the bronze medal, earn at least three more merit badges listed in (*) plus any two other MBs. For the silver medal, earn all six MBs in (*) and any other three.

For Venturers, complete the ecology and plant and wildlife requirements for the Venturing Ranger Award and submit a project documentation.

Remember, each project must be of significant value and importance. Just doing 4 projects doesn't necessarily mean it's silver quality. You may just earn a bronze regardless of how many projects you do.

I hope this helps. Check out http://www.hornadayaward.com/hornaday.htm for more information on the Hornaday Awards.

Dale

Thanks everyone for your input on this. I talked to my troop's UC about my concerns with adult support and respect and I decided to turn down the offer for UC for now. I'll continue working as an ASM and Crew Associate Advisor and start taking/staffing more adult training classes at the District/Council level. Since I'm a second year medical student, I offered to help teach the first aid portion with our High Adventure Team (HAT), so hopefully that will allow me to gain more experience working with adults. Again, thanks everyone.

Dale

Troop & Crew 703

Eagle Scout '99

Young American Award '99

Venturing Silver '02

Ranger '02

Silver Hornaday Award '02

I'm a college student and I just recently turned 21. I am very interested in becoming a unit commissioner for my unit. Our unit commissioner is retiring from his position and offered me his position. I am very active in scouting and earned almost every award scouting/venturing has to offer for youth members. I've been an ASM for three years now and I still find it hard to earn the respect from some of the other older adult leaders in the troop. Some treat me as a kid and feel that I'm not mature enough to handle the position. I've got spikey hair and listen to the same loud music as the scouts do, but I feel it's easier for the scouts to relate to an adult leader who understands their style and what they are going through currently. I also grew up through this troop and I know what it's like being on the scout's side and how they feel about some Scouting issues. I have the hardest time gaining the respect of new adult leaders in the troop based on my age. How can I gain more respect from these adults by not changing my style to please the "older masses?" I want to be able to set an example to these scouts by not setting a double standard for them, like wearing full uniform to every meeting and outing and helping them feel that scouting is cool, even in uniform. What should I do to gain respect from these stubborn adults that I can make a positive influence on these scouts and that I am an adult, regardless of my hair style or whatever color I make it out to be. I'm not trying to be rebellious (if I was, I wouldn't be in Scouting still), but I want to be unique and make a differnce. I'd be honored to have the position as a unit commissioner, but how can I gain the adult approval and support?

Based on the size of your current troop and the amount of older boys, I would recommend a Venture Patrol over the Venturing Crew. Since there is a problem of commuting for the older boys, starting a Venture Patrol would allow the boys to meet in one central location at the same time as the troop meetings. Venture Patrols are formed up of Scouts, and thus, meet with the troop and are chartered within the Troop. Venturing Crews (youth being called Venturers), are a completely stand-alone co-ed units with Advisors instead of ASMs (ages 14-21). By allowing the boys to form a Venture Patrol, they are still active in the troop to provide leadership and role modeling and they also can do more High-Adventure based activites. Since it is a patrol however, it is comprised of a PL and a APL. Venturing Crew leadership is formed of a President, Vice-President of Administration, and Vice-President of Programs. Crews have their own uniform and separate programs. Venture Patrols have a Venture strip that goes over the right breast pocket and is elgiable to earn the the Varsity "V." Keep in mind that Venture Patrols are not Venturing Crews and are not co-ed.

Personally, I hate those new Boy Scout shorts and pants. They are tight and most scouts prefer the baggy look. I'm not saying that it's ok to have the pants sagging so low that you can see their butts, but have the pants and shorts be more looser and wider. Also, having the convertable pants that change into shorts would be nice to have. For one, it would save money by allowing scouts to purchase one pair of pants instead of two. Also, the cargo pockets need to be larger, Those small pathetic pockets aren't good for anything. I like that comment made from Double Eagle about putting a button on the merit badge slash. It would hold up much better than it just resting on the shoulders. And one more thing, I wish BSA made a venturing bolo just like the venturing belt buckle.

I haven't heard anything like that, but, personally, as a Venturing Silver earner, I prefer the ribbons. They make a very distinct difference between the Gold, Silver, Ranger, and Quartermaster Awards (all happen to be medals). Also, since there are five categories to the Bronze Award, a Venturer can wear all five ribbons and wear medals at the same time. For instance, I have earned the Outdoors, Youth Ministries, and the Sports Bronze Awards. I can wear all three of them and also wear my Silver Award, Eagle Scout, Ranger Award, and Silver Hornaday Award, Religous Award, and the council Venturing Leadership Award. According the the 1999 - 2001 BSA Insignia Guide, only five medals can be worn in a single row. So, if the Bronze Awards were to become medals, Venturers who have earned multiple Bronze Awards couldn't wear all of them for display if they have earned five or more medals. Too many medals given out makes the uniform look very cluttered, and even then, medals are only worn during ceremonies. The Bronze Awards ribbons can be worn all the time (however I recommend not to do so, such as outings or campouts since they tend to fall apart). Personally, BSA should just leave the Bronze Awards as ribbons and leave the higher awards as medals so that Venturers can wear everything, especially multiple Bronze Awards. And on another note, BSA should give the Ranger Award a square knot instead of the Ranger Bar to represent the medal. I know that BSA has done it in the past and I feel they should bring the knot back.