Central Region Venturing Newsletter - the Central Point - April 2014

The Central Point Newsletter of Central Region Venturing | BSA April Newsletter 2014

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Area 1 Goes Medieval In This Issue:

Do you have a closet full of medieval clothes that you are dying to wear? Are you a history enthusiast who would love to play medieval type or themed games? Are you a Venturer that wants to have a fantastic weekend? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, then the Fourth Annual Area 1 Fun Event is for you!

The Central Region Area 1 Venturing Officers’ Association has a weekend full of fun activities planned for you! Activities include:  Building a Castle  Noodle Jousting  Search the Realm for Treasure  Coronation and Ball  Catapult Competitions  Climb the Tower to Save the Damsel  Rappel the Tower to Save Yourself  Other Medieval Games and Events Opportunities to complete several Bronze Award and Silver Award requirements will also be available.

This event will take place April 25th –27th at Gardner Dam Scout Camp in White Lake, Wisconsin. The event will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and will conclude at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. That is 40 hours of Medieval—themed Venturing fun to partake in! The cost is $50 per person, which includes a T-shirt! Don’t delay on your registration— register today! Registration can be found here. For more information, go to the Area 1 page on the Central Region website.

Area 1 Goes Medieval

1

Powder Horn in the Central Region

2

See Our Venturing Unconventional Crews

2

CSVE Recap

2

Pilot NAYLE Course at Sea Base

3

Area 4 Fun Event

4

Sea Scout Update

5

Area Event/Conference Photo Collage

6

Area Pages

7

President’s Corner

8

Venturing Oath: As a Venturer, I promise to do my duty to God and to help strengthen America. To help others, and to seek truth, fairness, and adventure in our world.

Powder Horn in the Central Region Are you looking for a place where you can sample many high adventure courses? Well you’re in luck for I have a specific course just for you. Powder Horn is a course in which participants are able to get a sample of different High Adventure courses, such as scuba diving, boating, fishing, backpacking, and many more. Not only does it give you a taste of what your High Adventure trip could look like, it also gives Venturer’s a taste of what the Ranger award is based off of. It helps the youth know what to prepare for and the different options that they could use in order to complete the award.

Both adult and youth Venturers are welcome to attend, as well as Boy Scout leaders. If you have any questions you can contact your Area or Council Powder Horn Coordinator or visit www.crventuring.org. Please click on the council name below for full details on the specific course.

Upcoming Courses:  April 25th-27th: Greater St. Louis Area Council—St. Louis, MO  August 1st-3rd: Heart of Ohio—Wakeman, OH  August 30th-31st: Buckeye Council—Kensington, OH  September 5th-7th: Samoset/Chippewa Valley Councils, Haugen, WI  October 10th-12th: Quivira Council, Sedan, KS ~ Kim Legg

CSVE Recap CSVE stands for Council Standards of Venturing Excellence, and it is an award given to councils that have demonstrated exemplary Venturing Programs. National Venturing also uses the form as a diagnostic tool, to get a good grasp on Venturing activity within councils. Because of this, one of Central Region Venturing’s main goals has been to get these forms sent out to councils and returned.

This year, the Central Region administration team did an incredible job gathering responses for the CSVE form. Our Region gathered 43 responses from all of our seven areas, a feat accomplished by only our region.

Thank you to everyone who submitted a form for their council and great job, administration team! ~Dagny Gargas

See Our Venturing—Unconventional Crews What does your crew specialize in? While many crews have an outdoor focus or a religious focus, there are also crews with unique topics in which they specialize. Crew 47 from Massachusetts specializes in Ham Radio—most of the Crew Members are licensed amateur radio operators! A crew from Fayetteville, North Carolina has made their own fingers in a prosthetics lab! Their crew specializes in medicine, visiting different departments in a local hospital during the month. Crew 17 from Champaign, Illinois has a passion for food! Crew meetings are held in a kitchen where members learn about different foods before trying new recipes using these foods. For more information on unconventional crews, check out the Membership page of the Central Region Website!

What makes your crew unique?

Share it by emailing us or posting in the Central Region Facebook group! ~ Emily Mausshardt

“We must become the change we want to see.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Caption Contest

Last Month’s Picture:

“Got that last adjustment JUST RIGHT. Now, can someone help me get my gear off? I’ve got to pee!!” ~ Caption Submitted By: Bob FIsh

This Month’s Picture:

“Zip line!!!!!!! You want to zip line too????

Join Venturing. “ ~ Caption Submitted By: Elizabeth Jackson

We know you can do better than this caption! Send in your caption, name, and council you are from to vp-communications@crventuring.org. If you win, your caption will be featured in next month’s newsletter and on our Facebook page. Check back next month to see who wins.

Pilot NAYLE Course at Sea Base—NAYLE-D it!

After years of planning and months of preparation the National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience (NAYLE) course has officially branched out to the other BSA High Adventure Bases. NAYLE at Florida Sea Base is currently in the middle of its Pilot program; in March the first course concluded with the second taking off here in April.

The Sea Base NAYLE program was adapted from the Philmont version, where scouts learn the same leadership concepts and techniques under slightly different circumstances. Instead of spending the majority of the week at a camp in the mountains with one outpost, the crew experiences a week of sailing, snorkeling, and visits to various Florida Keys.

For both the March and April courses two crews were created with six participants each, all geographically diverse from across the nation. Each crew was assigned to a boat—either the Chanticleer or the Misty Shoals—with its respective Captain, along with a Crew Guide and an Assistant Course Director.

The Crew Guide for each crew is responsible for overseeing the crew’s progression through the four stages of team development, delivering the modules and challenges, along with facilitating the Beyond NYLT sessions.

Modules include Challenge Events, Navigation, Marine First Aid, Radio Communications, Search and Rescue, Outdoor Ethics on the Water, Sea Base History, History and Legacy, a conservation project, and a Luau at Sea Base at the end of the week. Sailing, snorkeling and fishing make their way into the daily schedule as well. The Beyond NYLT sessions are the same from Philmont, where different skills learned at NYLT are expanded upon and applied to the crew’s development. Each module was specifically designed to give participants the skills needed to complete the different activities, tying in different leadership skills to enhance their performance as the week progressed.

An integral part of the NAYLE program that was carried over from Philmont to Sea Base is the commitment to servant leadership. As the week progresses the participants are urged to think about how they will use the skills they have learned back home, and are asked to write a commitment with SMART goals to improve their unit, council, school, and/or community. Upon completion of their commitment they can earn a gold-bordered NAYLE patch.

Scouts are allowed to attend more than one NAYLE course, given that each location offers different challenges.

Pilot NAYLE Sea Base Staff: John Glockner Course Director, NAYLE Development Linda McKnight NAYLE Development Cynthia Polman NAYLE Development Hampton Zobrist NAYLE Development Dale Lewis Assistant Course Director (March, April), NAYLE Development Donna Copeland Assistant Course Director (March) Michelle O’Connor Assistant Course Director (April) Chris Peurifoy Assistant Course Director (April) Alex Moushey Crew Guide (March) Rachel Eddowes Crew Guide (March) Gerry Souser Crew Guide (April) Katie Bruton Crew Guide (April) ~Rachel Eddowes

New River Experience: Area 4 Fun Event Venturing is a very unique program. It provides it’s members with once in a life time opportunities that will create incredible memories.

Sometimes, with all the different trips and adventures that are talked about so often, Venturers take this for granted. It is not everyday that a high school student gets an email asking him if he will write an article for a newsletter that will be distributed throughout 16 states and it is definitely not everyday that YOU get invited to a whitewater rafting adventure for only $110! I know it sounds too good to be true but it is! The Area 4 Venturing Officers Association is holding a Whitewater rafting and zip-lining event in less than one month (May 9-11) and we want you to go!

The thrill and beauty of the New River Gorge attracts people from all across the country. The river itself provides adrenaline pumping class V rapids, while the zip-line and canopy tours gives Venturers a unique view of West Virginia’s scenery at speeds of up to 55 miles an hour! The New River Experience is not something you want to pass up!

White water rafting and zip lining is not all this fun filled weekend has to offer. If you choose to attend you will get easy registration, a nice and comfortable tent camp ground, a great opportunity to meet new Venturers from across the Area and maybe even Region, a chance to be a part of the largest capture the flag game in Area 4 history, down time to play games or socialize, great evening program, a cool Area 4 event t-shirt and one awesome answer to the question: “what are you doing this weekend?”

Registration for this fantastic trip is available now! You can find the link by going to the Area 4 page on the Central Region Website. The registration for this event is done by the individual so even if your whole crew wants to go, each person needs to register independently. I highly encourage you to register! This will be an event that you don’t want to miss!

Get a group of friends together and come to West Virginia to make some amazing memories!

If you have leadership experience and are interested in staffing this event we need your help! You will not miss any of the program and activities and you will get a cool staff shirt out of it! Just mark that you want to work staff on the registration form and we will contact you.

I hope you are as excited as I am for this event and I hope to see all of you this May! Don’t take Venturing’s opportunities for granted! ~Henry Gunther

Did You Know… 

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The BSA is the second largest Scouting organization in the world. The largest is in Indonesia.

The 20 millionth Scout was registered with the BSA in 1952. By 2000, that number reached 100 million.

In 1979, the National Office of the Boy Scouts of America was moved to Irving, Texas.

Name That Camp!!

Each edition of the Central Point will feature a photo from a Boy Scout camp in the Central Region. Can you name that camp?

This Month:

Last Month:

Camp Warren Levis Godfrey, Illinois Program Offerings: Camping, Cycling, Hiking, River Canoeing, Shooting Sports, Swimming

For more information regarding camps throughout the Central Region, go to Where to Go Venturing: click here

If you would like your photo to be a “Name that Camp?” clue, please email it to Emily Mausshardt at vp-communications@crventuring.org.

Sea Scouting Update Happy Spring, Central Region! In the past month, there has been a lot of buzz about the newly elected officers to serve in the 2014-2015 VOA's. If you ran but weren't selected, there are still opportunities out there for you to hold a position! There are openings in the Sea Scout Central Region and Area Flotillas. The duties and responsibilities are very similar to those in Venturing. The "Boatswain," has similar duties and responsibilities as the Venturing President, and Boatswain's Mates are similar to the Vice Presidents. If you are looking to apply, please email me and I can send you more information about the positions and the application!

Central Region Rendezvous Registration for the Central Region Rendezvous is now open! You can access it here! Sign up soon because your early bird discount ends April 30! After that, registration increases by $5. The Rendezvous is May 1618, 2014 and is for every Scout of the Sea Scout and Venturing age who wants to enjoy the fun! One of the many events that will be at the Rendezvous is kayak jousting. There will also be swamped and paddle-less canoe races, cardboard canoe races, Catalina sailing, Sunfish sailing, and lots more. Sing up now!

There's only 4 1/2 weeks left until the Rendezvous! More information can be found here. Find us on Facebook! See you there!

National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience (NAYLE) at Northern Tier How would you like to say that you were the first person to experience NAYLE (National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience) at Northern Tier? Well you can! That's because NAYLE will be held at Northern Tier this summer on July 6-12, 2014 and July 1319, 2014. You can say you were the first because this is the first time that NAYLE is being taught at Northern Tier! The only prerequisite for going to NAYLE is that you have to have attended NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training). During NAYLE, you will be able to expand upon the team building and ethical decision making skills learned in NYLT while canoeing and camping in the wilderness of Northern Tier.

NAYLE emphasizes leadership, teamwork, and selfless service using the core elements of NYLT to make these skills intuitive. Sign up now to be a part of this Pilot Course, one of the first people to attend NAYLE at Northern Tier! More information, as well as registration can be found here. ~Katie Bruton

Tell Us About Your Crew!

What makes your crew the best crew out there? What have you done recently that was fun and exciting? Submit your story to and it will appear in the next edition of the Central Point!

Has your crew ever played a live version of Where’s Waldo? How about dressed up like superheroes to go bowling?

Submit a short story or even a longer one about your crew’s activities! If you have pictures, please include those, too!

Submit your Venturing event on the Central Region Website!

Go to http://crventuring.org and click on the “submit a calendar event” button on the lower left side of the page. Fill out the form, and now you will be able reach thousands of Venturers to come to your event!

2013-2014 Area Conferences and Fun Events

Area 5 Conference Area 1 Conference

Area 5 Fun Event

Area 2 Fun Event

Area 4 Conference

Area 7 Fun Event

Area 3 Fun Event

Area 2 Conference

Area 3 Conference

Area 7 Conference

Area 6 Conference

Area 1

Area 2

Upcoming events:

Upcoming Events:

April 25th-27th, 2014, Area 1 Goes Medieval, White Lake, WI

April 25th-27th, 2014, Venturing BOSS, Gregory, MI May 17th-18th, 2014, 5-th Anniversary Day Hike, Gregory, MI June 14th-17th, 2014, Area 2 Whitewater Rafting Trip, Fayetteville, WV July 27th-August 2nd, 2014, Can-Am Venturing Week, Metamora, MI

August 17-23rd, 2014, ArrowPower2014, Trego, WI September 5th-7th, 2014, Powderhorn, Haugen and Rhinelander, WI President: Mikaela Boston Advisor: Chris Sandberg

President: Jasmine Dittel Advisor: Jeff Geralds

Area 3

Area 4

Upcoming events:

Upcoming Events:

April 25th-27th, 2014, Powder Horn, St. Louis, MO July 20th-26th, 2014, Venturing NYLT, Farmington, MO July 27th-August 2nd, 2014, NYLT-LCC, Grafton, IL Also, check out Area 3’s YouTube page! http://www.youtube.com/user/CRVenturingArea3 President: Elizabeth Schneider

April 25th-27th, 2014, Wood Badge, Rock Creek, OH May 9th-11th, 2014, Area 4 Whitewater Weekend in the New River Gorge, Fayetteville, WV June 7th, 2014, 2014 Rendezvous Day, Wakeman, OH July 25th-27th, 2014, Wood Badge, Ellamore, WV July 17th-August 2nd, 2014, Sail Camp 2014Hillsboro, OH President: Henry Gunther

Advisor: Bob Vogt

Advisor: Duane Zobrist

Area 5

Area 6

Upcoming Events:

Upcoming Events:

May 26th-31st, 2014, NYLT-QC, Sedan, KS June 29th-July 3rd, 2014, Venturing/Exploring Camp, Lake of the Ozarks Scout Reservation, MO July 6th-12th, 2014, Venturing Summer Camp, Sedan, KS July 27th-August 1st, 2014, Venture Quest, Saint Joseph, MO October 10th-12th, 2014, Powden Horn, Sedan, KS President: Mallory Ware Advisor: Julie Dalton

April 25th-27th, 2014, Spring Icebreaker, Howe, IN August 1st-3rd, 2014, Makahiki—2014, Warsaw, IN

President: Mandi Forsythe Advisor: Carla Gargas

Area 7 Upcoming Events: June 13th-15th, 2014, Tour de Blackhawk, Monticello, WI June 15th-21st, 2014. NYLT—Three Fires Council, Rochelle, IL June 21st, 2014, Blackhawk Area Regatta, Loves Park, IL June 22nd-27th, 2014, NYLT—NWSC, Trevor, WI June 29th-July 3rd, 2014, Choose Your Adventure, Laona, WI

President: Katlin Adams Advisor: Kris Zahrobsky

President’s Corner Hey Central Region!

Who’s excited for spring camping? I know I sure am! I forgot how nice it is to be able to drive through the local Boy Scout camp and see all of the Venturers camping with their crews. If your crew does not have a spring camping trip planned, I highly encourage your crew to plan one in the next couple of months! If your crew already has a trip planned, take your weekend to the next level by making it a themed weekend such as a Sports weekend or the Olympic challenge. Incorporating a theme will get the youth excited and make them want to invite friends to attend the campout. Don’t forget to post in the Central Region Facebook group with a picture of your awesome campout!

My other exciting news is about Emily Mausshardt being selected as the 2014-2015 Central Region Venturing President. Emily is currently the Central Region Vice President of Communications and has been a leading force in enhancing the communications within the Central Region. Emily coordinates with the region every month so that we can have a monthly interactive newsletter. She has been very involved with updating our website so that all the information is up to date. Besides being very active at the regional level, Emily will be part of the staff at her local Venturing camp this summer to help strengthen the Venturing program in her council. I know without a doubt that the Central Region will be in good hands next year with Emily leading the Central Region VOA! ~ Christina Vogt

Central Region Venturing President: Christina Vogt president@crventuring.org Central Region Venturing Advisor: Keith Gehlhausen venturing-chair@crventuring.org Central Region Venturing Vice President of Communications: Emily Mausshardt vpcommunications@crventuring.org Central Region Venturing Associate Advisor for Communications: Deb Keyes communicationscoordinator@crventuring.org

About Our Organization...

Venturing is a Scouting program for male and female youth ages 13-21 that lets youth experience new activities, build leadership skills, earn awards, make new friends, and of course have fun.

The Central Region is one of four regions of the Boy Scouts of America. This region includes the states of: Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and West Virginia.