Central Region Venturing Area 2 Newsletter - Winter 2015

Winter2015 2015 Winter

Area 2 Newsletter Everything new in Area Two! Area 2 is comprised of the lower peninsula of Michigan, also known as the Michigan Crossroads Council. It serves the four Field Service Councils: President Gerald R. Ford, Water and Woods, Great Lakes, and Southern Shores.

MCC Leadership Summit/ Venturing Conference Recap The Michigan Crossroads Council held a Leadership Summit in Okemos, Michigan on January 17. The purpose of this summit was to bring people from all over the area and region together, and for them to both learn and share with each other the things that can make Scouting stronger in Michigan. We were fortunate enough to be invited to participate in this summit by holding our own Venturing Conference right alongside the Leadership Summit!

The Venturing Conference included presentations on the new Venturing Awards, communications methods, and event planning. We also had the pleasure of hearing presentations from Emily Mausshardt, the Central Region president, and Brian Parro, the Central Region vice president of communications. Accompanying them was their advisor, Kris Zahrobsky.

In total there were 36 people in attendance for the Venturing Conference, and several hundred for the entire Summit. At the closing session of the Summit, an Area Venturing Leadership Award was awarded to Area 2 president, Joseph Jenkins for his service over the last two years on the Area 2 VOA. Overall, it was a very successful conference! Everyone came away with new friends and a greater knowledge of Venturing.

Central Region Venturing, Area 2 1

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Message From the Area 2 President

2

Scouting One-Liner

2

Gypsum Mine Adventure!

3

Area 2 Kickback Weekend

4

Venturing Officer Nominations

5

Duke of Edinburgh Award/Karuna Expedition

6

Message from the Area 2 Venturing Advisor

7

Note from the Editor

8

Winter 2015

A Message from the Area 2 President Hello Area 2!

Its been a crazy month for your Area 2 VOA! We just finished up the Venturing Leadership Conference, and are preparing for what looks to be another amazing fun event. The conference at the MCC Leadership Summit was a huge success. There was a great turnout, lots of great questions, and a few special guests. Thank you to Central Region president, Emily, CR VP of communications, Brian, and CR Advisor, Kris for traveling all that way to be with us for the day. Your support and involvement was greatly appreciated!

I would like to personally thank everyone in the area for their support these last two years. Your help and support resulted in the Area Venturing Leadership Award that I received at the Summit. It truly meant a lot to me to see everyone at the Summit clapping for me, but in reality, also clapping for everything that all of the youth do everyday to make things run smoothly.

I am excited to see where these last few months take us! I hope to see everyone at the Kickback Weekend, February 20-22. If anyone has questions or suggestions I am always just an email away.

Like Area 2’s Page on Facebook!

Area 2: Area 2: http://www.facebook.com/ http://www.facebook.com/groups/ groups/CRV.Area2/?fref=ts CRV.Area2/?fref=ts Water and Woods: http:// Water and Woods: www.facebook.com/ http://www.facebook.com/ groups/44602549603/?fref=ts groups/44602549603/?fref=ts President Ford: http:// President Ford: www.facebook.com/ http://www.facebook.com/ groups/58006254760/?fref=ts groups/58006254760/?fref=ts Southern Shores: http:// Southern Shores: www.facebook.com/ http://www.facebook.com/ groups/45491999635/?fref=ts groups/45491999635/?fref=ts Great Lakes: Great Lakes: https://www.facebook.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ groups/81835021000/ groups/81835021000/ Sea Scouting Sea Scouting: https://www.facebook.com/crss2 https://www.facebook.com/crss2

Yours In Venturing,

Also follow Area 2 on Pinterest!

Also follow Area 2 on Pinterest! http://www.pinterest.com/ http://www.pinterest.com/ venturingarea2/ venturingarea2/

Joseph Jenkins Central Region, Area 2 President joseph.jenkins3@wayne.edu

Have a Scouting comic or one-liner? Send it in to be in our next newsletter!

Have a Scouting comic or one-liner? Send it in to be in our next newsletter!

CRVenturingArea2@gmail.com CRVenturingArea2@gmail.com

Central Region Venturing, Area 2 2

Winter 2015

Venturing Crew 43 Alabastine Underground Gypsum Mine Adventure!

On January 18th of this year, our crew went on an exploration of the Alabastine Underground Gypsum Mine. The trip itself took up most of the day. The Alabastine Mine was originally used for mining gypsum, and the cave also contains selenite, which form long, orange colored crystals. In our walk through the mine, we were allowed collect and take out any rocks we found. We also found many coprolites (fossilized fish feces) in the layers of rock and clay. The coprolites were hard to find, and we had to work to get the crystals off in some places, but that made it worth it. Getting around the mine was a blast, as we had to crawl along the sides to avoid mud, and climb through some small spaces to get to other tunnels.

The mine was used for more than just gypsum; it was also designated a fallout shelter during the cold war. We were able to explore the storage rooms, where there were still boxes full of bandages, medicine, and other provisions that would have been used in case of nuclear fallout. It was fascinating getting to see such a preserved piece of history.

This was an amazingly interesting trip, and I personally would love to do it again. There was so much to see and do, and getting our hands dirty while doing it made it even better.

Emma Carlson, Dimondale Venturing Crew 43

Central Region Venturing, Area 2 3

Area 2 Kickback Weekend

Winter 2015

This year’s Kickback weekend is coming up fast! It is February 20-22 at Gerber Scout Reservation (1733 Owasippee Rd, Twin Lake, MI). Come and hang out with your crew and other crews from Area 2 while participating in fun activities. This year’s activities include: snowmobiling, shooting, cross country skiing, climbing tower, wilderness first aid, archery, and more! The cost this year is 45 dollars before February 15. After February 15 the cost is 55 dollars.

Don’t forget to register online as a crew! Crews can register at: http://www.michiganscouting.org/PresidentFord/Events/ I am very excited for Kickback this year! I hope to see you there!

Mary DeVree President Ford FSC VOA President

We Want Your Events!

We are interested in what your crew and field service council are doing! If your event is open to other crews, councils, or even areas, please add it to our Central Region Calendar via http://www.crventuring.org/ event_submission.php

This calendar is a great resource if your crew is looking for something fun to do. Check out all events on the calendar here: http:// crventuring.org/Activities/Events_Calendar/

Central Region Venturing, Area 2 4

Winter 2015

2015-2016 Venturing Officer Nominations Venturing Wants YOU! The Venturing motto is “Lead the Adventure.” What better way to lead the adventure than to help make your experiences with Venturing come to life for others? As a Venturing officer at any level, you would join a team of passionate youth leaders and advisors who are striving to expand the Venturing program and working to bring the best possible experiences to participants. If this is something that YOU would like to do, I encourage you to explore the 2015 Venturing officer application process. This is YOUR chance to make a difference in Venturing.

There are several different elected positions available at the area, regional and national level. At the area and regional levels, the positions of vice president of communications, vice president of program, vice president of administration and president form the area or region Venturing Officers Association (VOA), respectively. The presidents and vice presidents work together to serve as a resource for the Venturing community and to the build the Venturing program. These positions offer an extremely rewarding opportunity for youth to become more involved in the Venturing community while putting their leadership skills to work.

These positions are also, and perhaps most importantly, a great deal of fun and a wonderful experience!

To find out more information and to apply, please visit the Central Region Venturing website! The direct link to information regarding applications for any of these positions can be found here: http://www.crventuring.org/Home/Fulltext/ s=1&id=85. Apply and become a part of the future of Venturing!

Erin Dunne Central Region, Area 2 Vice President of Program

REMEMBER THESE DATES Please also keep these deadlines in mind and the application process requires several signatures!

All submissions are due by: February 15, 2015 for National Venturing President and Vice-President positions, February 28, 2015 for Region Venturing President and Vice-President positions, and March 15, 2015 for Area Venturing President and Vice-President positions.

Central Region Venturing, Area 2 5

Winter 2015

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award USA Many Scouts and Venturing youth may be looking for a new award challenge, after earning their Eagle Scout, Silver Award, Summit Award or Quartermaster. Coming soon to Area 2 and the Michigan Crossroads Council is The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award for any youth aged 14 to 25. This award was founded in 1956 and named for the United Kingdom’s His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since the award’s inception, it has become international and has spread to over 140 counties across the globe. Over 8 million young people have earned their own Duke of Edinburgh award.

In 2006 the award program was expanded to the United States, and recently the award has been highlighted in the new Venturing Awards and Requirement handbook under the section of International Scouting Awards. The award emphasizes four areas of development: community service, special skills, physical recreation, and adventurous journey. The Duke of Edinburgh award has three awards levels, Bronze, Silver and Gold, which differ mainly in length of time committed to the four areas of development. We are excited to have for the first time this coming spring the open opportunity for any Scout or Venturing youth to earn a Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award of their own. Find out more about the awards on www.dofeusa.org.

Karuna Expedition During the Area 2 Planning Conference, Malenito Karuna, the explorer bear of the Karuna Expedition came to visit and spread the news about international scouting and the Karuna Expedition.

Find out more about him here: www.Karunaexpedition.com 1 scout – 1 Vespa – 1 Charity – 6 countries – 7000 km – 1 Guinness World Record – 23rd WSJ

Central Region Venturing, Area 2 6

Winter 2015

A Message from the Area 2 Venturing Advisor Rolling out the New Venturing Program has been a great opportunity to visit with our friends from every corner of Michigan. The Area 2 youth officers and advisors will continue to make themselves available throughout the year to share information and ideas about the new program. We will also be looking for some new Area 2/Michigan Crossroads Council youth officers for 2015-16. The applications are available now, so give it some thought and get those applications sent in. Many thanks to the youth and leaders who organized and conducted the great activities throughout the area during the past several months. Everyone should check the calendar of upcoming events on our webpage http://www.crventuring.org/Area_Pages/Area_2/ to learn about upcoming events.

Congratulations to Joe Jenkins, our most recent recipient of the Area Venturing Leadership Award. It was presented at our Venturing Conference/Leadership Summit in January. During the conference we also welcomed Daniel Ruland to our youth team as the new VP of Communications. We're looking forward to a great finish to our year, so please contact us if we can be of any assistance to your council or district VOAs. Lets grow Venturing!

Jeff Geralds Area 2 Venturing Advisor Michigan Crossroads Council Venturing Chairman

Interested in having the time of your life and gaining invaluable leadership experience? Get involved in Area 2! E-mail us at crventuringarea2@gmail.com.

Events Looking Ahead 

February 20-22, Venturing Kickback Weekend at Gerber Scout Reservation



March 6-8, Caberfae Ski Weekend at Caberfae Ski Resort



April 18, Rock River Regatta at Loves Park, IL



August 21-23 and 28-30, 2015 Powder Horn at Gerber Scout Reservation



2015 World Jamboree in July/August at Yamaguchi, Japan



2017 National Jamboree at the Bechtel Summit Reserve, WV

Central Region Venturing, Area 2 7

Winter 2015

A Note from the Editor Hello Fellow Venturers!

My name is Daniel Ruland and I am the new Area 2 Vice President of Communications. As Lizzie Wisman (former VP of Communications) aged out in 2014, a replacement needed to be found. Jeff Geralds, Lizzie, and a few others presented me with the challenge of applying for the position. As you can probably tell by the fact that you are reading this message from me, I did accept this challenge. With the help of Lizzie, Mr. Geralds, and the entire Area 2 team, I hope to push through the rest of this term while keeping you all up to date with the latest and greatest things that are happening in Venturing!

For those of you who do not know me, I was born and raised in Lowell, Michigan and I am working on my Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice with a focus on Law Enforcement at Ferris State University. I joined Scouting at age 11 when I became a member of Troop 102 in Lowell. I immediately loved the program and have actively participated since then. At the age of 14 I also joined the Venturing Crew in Lowell, Crew 2102. Over the years I progressed through Scouting and became an Eagle Scout in 2010 while serving on the Mackinac Island Governor’s Honor Guard.

While I have never earned any of the Venturing Awards, I am still able to grow and have many life changing experiences through participation in the program. Through Venturing, I was fortunate enough to go on two different treks through the wilderness of Philmont Scout Ranch. I honestly do not believe I would be the same person today if it wasn’t for those two fun, yet challenging treks. I also had the great opportunity to serve as the President Ford Field Service Council VOA President from 2013-2014. Due to my service in this position I was honored with the Council Venturing Leadership Award in the Summer of 2014.

From 2012-2014 I was also able to serve on the Executive Committee of Nataepu Shohpe Lodge.

Over the two years, I held two positions. First, I was Publications Chairman. This meant that I was in charge of putting together four newsletters during my term (much like I am now). My second position was as Ceremonies Involvement Chairman. I continue to be as active as possible with the lodge.

Once again, I look forward to the experiences that I will have and the people that I will have the privilege of meeting during the rest of my term! If you ever have any questions or suggestions for me, please feel free to contact me.

Yours In Venturing, Daniel Ruland Central Region, Area 2 Vice President of Communications ruland2@gmail.com Central Region Venturing, Area 2 8