The Central Point Newsletter of Central Region Venturing | BSA March Newsletter 2014
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Area 4 Whitewater Rafting Fun Event Everyone has seen the thrilling images of bright blue boats blasting through foaming river rapids or the gravity defying zip line canopy tours. On May 9-11th, Area 4 wants you to experience those high adventures. We are giving Venturers from across the region a chance to get in the boat on the New River or hook on to a zip line over the gorge. Venturers who have gone white water rafting or zip lining before can confirm that it is an awesome and unique experience. There is nothing quite like the adrenaline rush from hurtling a rapid or zipping over the tops of trees. The Area 4 Venturing Officers Association wants people to come and experience the New River Gorge so much that we have made the price a steal. If you choose to go white water rafting it is only going to cost you $110! If you choose to go zip lining it is only $95! To sweeten the deal, the Area officers decided to appeal to crew advisors and presidents. We will do all the work! If you or your crew wants to come all you need to do is get there and we’ll handle the rest! 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?” Online registration begins soon so check out our event page to get all the details! If you have experience in leadership and want to volunteer as staff, the Area 4 Officers need some help that weekend. You would not miss out on any of the program and you will get a staff t-shirt as well as gratitude from all of the Area 4 Officers. I don’t want any of you to miss out on this great event! I am so excited to see all of you this May! ~ Henry Gunther
In This Issue: Area 4 Fun Event
1
International Scouting Opportunities
2
See Our Venturing Social Networks
2
Area 6 Fun Event
2
How To: Get Youth Involved with Leadership Opportunities
3
ArrowPower2014
3
Area 7 Venturing Conference Recap
4
Central Region Powder Horn
4
Sea Scout Update
5
Area Pages
6
President’s Corner
7
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.
International Scouting Opportunities Have you ever wanted to travel outside the country? How about going to camp outside the country? We I have a deal for you, there are many opportunities available for you to staff camps in other countries for a good price. You would be able to spend 8-11 weeks abroad on staff for a camp, receive free food and lodging, you will be able to teach scouts about scouting in America, and you will be able to learn about different cultures during you stay. Sounds fun right? Well there are a few requirements such as you must be approved by your Scouting association, be a member of a National Scouting association, be between the ages of 18 and 30, Be able to speak English well enough to instruct others in skills, be available for at least 6 weeks beginning in June, and finally you must agree to live by the culture and laws of the United States and by the BSA code of conduct. If you’re not interested in staffing at camp there is another opportunity. In 2015 the 23rd World Jamboree will be held in Kirara-hama held in the Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan. You will spend about 2 weeks there learning about Japanese culture, Global issues, explore the environment, and participate in community service. More information is to come out so keep on the look out! ~ Kim Legg
Taste of Venturing Taste of Venturing, Area 6’s Fun Event, will be happening April 11th-13th in Bloomington, Indiana. This event is designed to give crews the opportunity to try several activities that Venturers are allowed to do. At the event, food themed activities will include mountain biking, pistol shooting, a GPS scavenger hunt, and much more! For more information and to register, check out the event on the Central Region website. Registration ends in less than a month, so be sure to register now!
See Our Venturing—Social Networks What is your favorite social media site? Personally, I find Facebook to be an incredibly helpful tool to stay in touch with old friends! Did you know that Venturing in the Central Region is on Facebook?! We’re also on Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Yahoo Groups! To find out more information on how you can get involved with these social media sites, check out the Social Networks page on the Central Region Website! You can also find your council’s Facebook page, website, and contact information on the Central Region website. Just go to your area’s page and click on your council’s link! All area social network pages can also be found on each respective area page on the website. What are you waiting for?! Stay in touch with your Venturing friends by utilizing our social networks pages! Promote your crew, district, council, or area events to make even more Venturing friends! ~ Emily Mausshardt
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Caption Contest Last Month’s Picture:
“The Venturing Advisor in it's natural habitat......and what's this? The three of them seem to be making some sort of hand message and odd face contortions.” ~ Caption Submitted By: Michael Ross
This 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
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.
Make A Splash! Area 7 Venturing Conference Recap On Saturday, March 1st, Venturers from all over Area 7 and beyond traveled through blustery winter weather to Key Lime Cove Resort & Waterpark in Gurnee, Illinois, to attend the 2014 Central Region Area 7 Venturing Conference. Even with the weather outside, it was a warm, tropical atmosphere inside. With a total of 129 Venturers, advisors, and special guests in attendance, energy and excitement consumed the room. Not only did this make this the largest Area Venturing Conference in the Central Region, but this was also the first time all 11 Councils of Area 7 were represented! The day kicked off with networking and a photo booth complete with props. After the unveiling of the youth-produced Area 7 Venturing opening video, Michael Carpanzano, President & CEO of the Bolingbrook Area Chamber of Commerce, delivered the keynote speech. He explicitly directed his thoughtful words to the youth in the room, which he referred to as the “future leaders of their communities and the nation.� His remarks inspired the youth and cheery disposition helped set our day off in a great direction! Christina Vogt, the 2013-2014 Central Region Venturing President, presented the new changes to the Venturing program. While many had heard news of the name changes, Christina expanded on the vision, mission, and specific elements of the program. Presentations on various summer program opportunities followed, including Sarah Mittrucker, the 2012-2013 National Venturing Vice President, presenting on the Messengers of Peace program, an international scouting opportunity open to all registered Scouters. She also helped present to the adults that were present on the new changes to the Venturing program. In the afternoon there were presentations on proper backpacking, high adventure bases, Sea Scouting, and the new NOVA awards for Venturers. The day wrapped up with a Court of Honor where the Area Venturing Leadership Award was presented to four youth for their exceptional work done over the past year: Brian Parro, Vice President of Administration; Elise Sawa, Vice President of Program; Kaia Ball, Vice President of Communication; and Andrew Swibes, Area 7 Committee member. During the court of honor, our very own Area 7 Advisor, Kris Zahrobsky, was also recognized for being selected to receive the Central Region Silver Antelope Award. He will officially receive the award at the Boy Scouts of America National Meeting in May in Nashville, Tennessee. At the end of the day it was time to head to the waterpark and celebrate after a great day of learning and networking. We are thankful to all those who could make it, and hope that we can have an even more join us next year! ~Kaia Ball
Register for Your 2014 Powder Horn Course Now! The premier BSA training courses, such as Powder Horn, Wood Badge, NYLT, and Sea Badge are required to have a minimum number of participants registered two months before the course begins or they must be canceled. It is important that you register for your Powder Horn course in the Central Region as soon as possible! April/May Missouri April/May Illinois August Ohio
September Wisconsin May Michigan August/ September Ohio
Be sure to visit our website for more information!
Powder Horn is a high adventure resource management course designed to motivate and prepare Venturing leaders to support the Ranger Award. Boy Scout leaders are also welcome to participate in Powder Horn. This course will give all participants an opportunity to experience the Ranger Award program themselves as if they were the Venturing youth. Powder Horn is designed to expose the Venturing leader to activities and resources necessary to operate a successful Venturing Ranger Award program. ~ Jeff Geralds
How To: Get Youth to Take on Leadership Roles Sometimes one of the hardest things to do in a crew is promote youth leadership. You’ve got a great group of youth together, but nobody’s stepping up. How do you combat it? Here are a few suggestions: Awareness: Do the Venturers in your crew know what leadership positions are available and what they entail? Make sure that they do! One easy way to educate them is by… Leadership Training! ILSC and Kodiak Challenge are available to help the leaders in your crew realize their potential. Check out your council website for training opportunities near you! Gentle Encouragement: Make sure that the potential leaders in your crew know that there will be other officers, advisors, and Crew members available to support them in their role. Sometimes youth hear the word “leadership” and think “work”. Use these helpful tips to show the Venturers in your crew that leadership can mean “fun” as well!
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:
~ Dagny Gargas
ArrowPower 2014 Do you like to do service? How would you like to spend a week of high adventure service in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway and the Ice Age Trail?! During the week, you will help with campsite renovations, reopening storm damaged hiking trails, boundary marking and more! In addition, you will have one full day of pure recreational activities! For more information, check our the event page! You can also check out the official site here! Register now because this event is one you won’t want to miss!
Did You Know…
85% of FBI Agents were Scouts 71% of high school football captains were Scouts In 1920, the BSA sent 301 Scouts to the inaugural World Scout Jamboree in England. The BSA sells almost 1 million neckerchiefs each year. If laid out flat, they would cover 120 footballs fields (124 acres)!
Camp Berry Findlay, Ohio Program Offerings: Fishing, Swimming, C.O.P.E., Canoeing, Rock Climbing, Kayaking
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 What are you doing this summer? There are a lot of awesome events taking place this summer in the Central Region and you should be a part of it! Central Region Rendezvous-May 16-18, 2014 The Central Region Rendezvous will be held at Camp Illinek Scout Reservation on Lake Springfield in Springfield, Illinois. There is an option for you to come down just for Saturday also. This weekend will be full of unique events for every scout out there as long as they are 14 years or older. Some of these events will include cardboard canoe races, sailing triathlons, swamped/paddleless canoe races and much more. For the cardboard canoe races, you and your team will work together to construct you most floatable, reliable cardboard boat and race it in the water before it sinks! But don't worry if you don't know how to sail, there will be people there that can teach you how to and then prepare you to compete in the triathlons. For more information about this exciting event, you can find us on Facebook, and check out the YouTube video! There is a website for the Rendezvous or click it on over to the event page on the Central Region website. You can also shoot us an email: Katie Bruton or Bill Hamilton. National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience 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 13-19, 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 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! For more information and to register: Go here! Lake Huron High Adventure Sailing Cruise (LHHASC) If you like the water, wind, sun, and don't mind rocking back-and-forth, then this is the trip for you! The LHHASC is for any 14 years or older scout, a little sailing experience is recommended, who wants to have a great time sailing a racing yacht down Lake Huron. This is roughly a 5 day trip (July 16-20, 2014), but can be tailored to what you and the sailing crew want to do! You will be able to help in the planning process and decide what place you want to visit. This is the trip that really got me involved in Scouting and I had an amazing experience sailing! This trip tops the chart is on of the most fun things I have done in Scouting and I totally recommend this trip if you like sailing! You will have a great time! For more information about this trip, you can contact Wayne Hastings. Now go out there and have some fun, Central Region! Bring your friends!! ~ 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!
Area 1
Area 2
Upcoming events:
Upcoming Events:
August 17-23rd, 2014, ArrowPower2014, Trego, WI
March 22nd, 2014, Venturing and Sea Scouting Basic Leader Training, Midland, MI April 25th-27th, 2014, Venturing BOSS, Gregory, MI July 27th-August 2nd, 2014, Can-Am Venturing Week, Metamora, MI May 17th-18th, 2014, 5-th Anniversary Day Hike, Gregory, MI
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 Advisor: Bob Vogt
May 9th-11th, 2014, Area 4 Whitewater Weekend in the New River Gorge, Fayetteville, WV August 1st-3rd, 2014, Powder Horn-HoOC, Wakeman, OH August 30th-31st, 2014, Powderhorn-BC, Kensignton, OH September 12-14th, 2014, Wood Badge, Camp Stigwandish, OH President: Henry Gunther 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
April 11th-13th, 2014, Taste of Venturing, Bloomington, IN April 25th-27th, 2014, Spring Icebreaker, Howe, IN
President: Mandi Forsythe President: Mallory Ware Advisor: Julie Dalton
Advisor: Carla Gargas
Area 7 Upcoming Events: April 11th-13th, 2014, Powder Horn, Oregon, IL April 12th, 2014, Rock River Regatta, Loves Park, IL June 13th-15th, 2014, Tour de Blackhawk, Monticello, WI June 29th-July 5th, 2014, Ranger Week, Pearson, WI July 13, 2014, Youth Certified Angling Instructor Course, Pearson, WI
President: Katlin Adams Advisor: Kris Zahrobsky
President’s Corner Hey Central Region! This past month, I’ve been really thinking about what the Venturing program means to me and how much it’s impacted my life. Venturing has taught me so much about myself and others by giving me opportunities to grow. If it wasn’t for Venturing, I would not have met some of my best friends and been able to experience such a great adventure that will be remembered forever. The biggest aspect that I’ve realized about Venturing is how much it prepares you for the future and all the leadership opportunities that the program provides. The Changes to Venturing are going to offer even more leadership opportunities and adventure than before. This past month the new Venturing Award names were announced by the National Venturing President, Annaliese Parker and the National President of the BSA, Wayne Perry. The four awards will go in this order: Venturing Award, Discovery Award, Pathfinder Award, and the Summit Award. More information on these names can be found on the Venturing website and the video can be found on Youtube. With these changes questions will come as the official information comes out in May 2014. If you have any questions about what to expect please don’t hesitate to contact me or program.content@scouting.org. I want to thank you all so much for how supportive you all have been with the announcement of these names. This next year is going to be a big one and it is up to us in the Central Region to create a smooth transition over the next year for our region! Have a great month of adventure Central Region! ~ 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.