Kalae

It varies. I have experience with sound equipment, so I'm a tech monkey for flag ceremonies, skit nights, and such, and I've served a term or two in the trading post. I do cook crew (the neverending curse of a Culinary student...I will NO LONGER put it on an application.). I don't get to do actual merit badge-esque stuff till this summer. -laughs-

oh, definitely the Venturing Gold award. I've never been a girl scout. Our crew doesn't necessarily have a specialty, per se. We originally started out with an arts/religious emphasis, but we slowly evolved into a service/outdoor emphasis. I staff at the camps within my own council, Sam Houston Area Council (SHAC). We have two or three camps within or immediately close to the council, and one further west.

I'd be happy to give input on anything that I can.

I'm in an all-female crew. We simply wrote it into our charter. Frankly, I could use a male presence now and then, but we have one or two girls who DEFINITELY couldn't handle it. "Oh, there's a GUY here. Make him do all the work and heavy lifting." Our chartered organization rep wanted it all female. So, it was written straight into our bylaws, and probably won't change until we recharter under someone else when his daughter ages out. Fine by me.

Thanks, Scoutnut. That seems to be a prevailing issue in Venturing nowadays. It's YOUTH-led. We have one or two 'crew moms' who really like to play an active role. And frankly, I look at the adults' role as keeping us from killing each other. (remember...a pack of teenage girls.) Now, I'm not necessarily saying that you should let them go do whatever. I recall being fourteen and having a baby crew and the adults DID take a large role in running the crew. But as we all grew older and more independent, they have come to take a backseat.

I served my first camp position not too long ago. SHAC winter camp had a final attendance of 947 boys. I was the ONLY female youth on staff. During the days, I worked out of the trading post. In the early mornings, evenings, and nights, I helped run flag raising, flag retirement, and evening program. Being a chick in a boy scout event was...a tad interesting at times. But honestly? I had a blast. Not because I milked the 'I'm female, treat me as such' thing. I definitely have the ability to be 'one of the guys'. Because of my visibility (ALL SCOUTS attended the flag ceremonies), by the end of the second day, EVERYONE knew my name. I had several older scouts, many of whom had staffed at summer camps, approach me and ask me how the heck I found being on staff gainful at all. I wasn't paid for winter camp. I didn't HAVE to be there. But being part of Scouting, to me, at least, means that I am shaping not only myself, but other people in Scouting, into people who will lead this world. Sure. I may have that 'birth defect' of being female. But I'm a Scout too.

Hey! I happen to be crew president of an all-female crew. We've been going strong for two years. As far as high adventure goes, I believe the poster above pretty much hit it dead on. One of my best memories of a crew adventure was a week in west Texas, hanging out on the Frio river and taking VLSC, taught by our crew advisers. My crew does a lot of stuff outside of camping trips and high adventure. This is by absolute no means how the program needs to be run, but Venturing as a program is so loose anyway, you can get away with pretty much anything. If the girls want to do something, then encourage them to find a way to do it. The program, in essence, is youth-led, to help these girls learn how to lead, make decisions, plan, etc. As a suggestion, keep a roster. And don't underestimate the power of Facebook. An all-female crew. About a dozen plus some teenage girls. What's the one thing (besides their cellphones) that they check more than once a day? If you can start a crew Facebook group, you can send out mass bulletins very quickly and easily. We meet the first Sunday of every month at one of the crew member's houses to have a planning meeting. We eat dinner, sometimes play a board game, watch old 80's movies, you know. Later on in the month, we have something to do. Be it an overnight campout, a Cub-o-ree to staff (a female presence at boy scout camps is ALWAYS welcome.), or something a little more unorthodox. Many of our girls are artists, so one night, as a crew, we went to see a travelling French Impressionists exhibit. It is great that there are more all-female crews out there. Share the love. I wish you the best of luck.

-waves- I am not an adult Scouter, but in fact, a very active Venturer. (Out of the five members of my family, all members are active, registered BSA members.) I head an all-female crew, I volunteer and staff many camps, and I'm trying to get my Gold award by my seventeenth birthday. So I have no life outside of Scouting. ha ha.