How to Contact National Venturing Bigwigs?

[OldGreyEagle]

When I took my Powder Horn Course, we had a representative of the National Committee come in and talk to the participants. One of the things that impressed me was the guy said that Venturing is run nationally by three guys who love to hear about how things are doing in the "field", when I asked how to contact the Naitonal Venturing people, I was told, its all over the website, so the quesiton is, where? I went over the website, I didnt see any email addresses specific to Venturing, does anybody know where they are? DO you know the email addresses of the Big Three at National ?

[OutdoorThinker]

OGE, as soon as you find out, will you pass the information along. I'd love to have a word or two with the big three.

[Bob White]

OGE,

Your local scout office can give you the phone number for the national scout office. If you call them they will connect you to the Venturing directors.

 

BW

[dsteele]

The National Venturing Cabinet -- the elected youth officers have a site: www.nationalventuringcabinet.org

 

The President gets mail at president@nationalventuring.org

 

I had some trouble getting the page to load. At first it looked blank, but words jumped out when I highlighted the entire screen.

 

DS

[buffalo2]

OT - Just out of curiousity, what might you bring to the attention of our National Venturing professionals? Again not to put you on the spot, but is there something that you could share for the general edification of the group? I'm pretty sure that you'd be able to summarize your thoughts well and ask general questions rather than dwell on specifics... And I've learned that many of us have similar issues.

Thanks

[Adrianvs]

Just curious, I know that the Chief Scout Executive and the National Council are the "head" of the BSA organization, which includes Venturing, Cub Scouting, Sea Scouts, etc. I was wondering if there is a body analogous to the Venturing directors who run Boy Scouting specific programs. What I mean is, does the CSE and National Council oversee the Boy Scouting details directly, and the other "branches" indirectly (with specific directors) or is there another body? I know it is confusing because the organization as a whole is the BSA and the "default" uniform is the tan one used by troops. So one sometimes has to use "Boy Scouts" to refer to the whole organization and sometimes to refer to the branch that has troops, etc. For instance, what is the relationship between local councils and the national Venture office? Does Cub Scouting have a program-specific national office as well or is it handled in parallel with "regular" scouting? The closest analogy I can think of is the Marine Corps and the Navy, but I don't know enough details about either to effectively compare.

 

Adrianvs

[Bob White]

DSteele can answer this best as a professional. I can give you my understanding as a volunteer and DS can correct where I mess up.

 

First you need to correct some terms. The National Council is the parent non-profit organization of all the individual councils. It is also a conglomeration of divisions, each with their own specific areas of responsibility some of which are program and some of which are administrative. The cub scout program is a division of the national office.

The governing body of all traditional BSA programs is the National Executive Board of the BSA which is made of volunteers both youth and adult, as well as professionals.

 

the top professional in the country is the Chief Scout Executive, the top volunteer is the BSA National President.

 

Decisions such as uniforming, advancement, health and safety, events, program, etc., etc., are made by national committees formed by adult and youth volunteers from across the country, and experts in fields related to the responsibilities of the committee. Each committee has a professional advisor who works to implement and distrubute the decisions and information formed by the committees. The results of the committee are reviewed and enacted or rejected by the National Executive Board.

 

The scouting program (despite popular belief)is not determined by the professionals at national. They are determined by volunteer committees made of members of our community and are then supported and disseminated by the efforts of the professional staff in Irving, TX.

 

How did I do DS?

 

Bob White(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[dsteele]

You did very well, Bob.

 

From the professional end, there is no national Boy Scout office, Cub Scout office, or Venturing office. They are all part of the program division of the Boy Scouts of America.

 

There is a National Director of Cub Scouts, National Director of Boy Scouts and a National Director of Venturing. Bob is exactly right that they work closely with the volunteer committees that decide the details of the programs.

 

Venturing is actually headed by a youth Venturing Cabinet (who's web site I alluded to in a previous post in this thread.) Those are the guys and gals you want to contact, not Charlie Holmes (National Director of Venturing.) The Venturing Cabinet is made up of a National President and the Presidents of the four regions and a staff advisor.

 

To answer the question "What is the relationship between the local council and the national Venture office?"

 

The National office is there to support the local council. As others have pointed out, there is a difference between the National Council (the executive board, volunteer committees, etc.) and the National Office. The office is just that -- an office much like your Scout office (bigger) that is there to support local councils.

 

The local council office exists to support local units and the national office is there to support local councils. In other words, if there's a question I as a professional can't find the answer to, or I need some specific support item, I pick up the phone and call the Venturng Division and ask for it. One of my pet peeves is when someone doesn't like the answer I give them to a local issue, and decides their going to "call national." That's not the way it works. "National" will tell them to call me.

 

I hope this clarifies rather tha cloudies.

 

DS

[OldGreyEagle]

See, the issue I have, and i am about as steamed as I can be about this whole thing, is when I have asked at the Council level about how a Youth becomes a Regional Youth president and how the national Youth president for Venturing is elected and when they meet and where for both regions and national I get a blank deer in the headlights look of I dont know, I dont think its been set up yet, (one reply) another was Gee, we our council isnt up to that level yet (how could a person who is not invovlved in a Crew possibly have a handle on what a Crew Member is capable of)

 

Decisions on the program are being made, I want the councils youth to have a voice in the program and I get a brick wall. The guy who is the Venturing Rep to the Council's Executive COmmitee just appeared one day and said, Hey, I do Venturing on the Council Level. Well Whoop dee freaking doo, no one asked the leaders who have invested over 3 years if any of them wanted to do it or if they thought they knew anyone who could do a good job. Just boom, here is the guy and the kids just dont respond to him. It gets very disheartening when your opprtunity to make a difference get lost in the bureacracy.

 

I know I could "phone national" right after I post this, or actually instead of posting this, but the last thing I want to do is call Naitional in the state of mind I am in and lose my temper (it happens, much to my regret) to a national level person who probably wants to hear (I hope) what I have to say, but I also understand local level level volunteers cant just be calling National to give them a piece of their mind or nothing with ever get done. I want to work through the system, to be seen as a change agent, but also one who plays by the rules and follows procedure but I tell you its getting pretty hard to keep up the good fight. Look at the website, you have to "highlight" it to make it work? The BSA website sure looks good, I have always heard Venturing described as the BSA illigetimate child that they created before they had a clear idea of what the wanted and love to hype it as a great program when there is no concept of where its going. Or perhaps I should say they dont communicate where its going. I have been going to Council Level Rountable for over 2 years, I am on the Council Activities Committee (just 2 adults, no youths, does that seem odd?) and I keep asking about the youth Area and region and national postions and recieve no answer. I would like a few email addresses to ask a few questions and pass along a few ideas. I havent gotten the email address on the NE region Venture website to work yet, but I will. At times I feel like I am still off on that oft recounted (well by me at least) snipe hunt, I feel like I've been put out in the venturing program and "they" are waiting to see how long I'll last before I realize the grand plan is all just a hoax

[dsteele]

OGE --

 

I have to admit that if you had seen my face when I read your post, you would have caught me with the same "I don't know" look on my face.

 

Perhaps the difference is that I'm researching the answer to your question right now. I think I know how the system should work, but I'm trying to verify before I post. Yes, it's true, even us pros can learn from our mistakes . . . on occasion.

 

I'll be back.

 

Dave

 

PS -- thanks for not calling national to vent. Also, the nationalventuringcabinet web site isn't run by the BSA -- it's run by the national venturing cabinet who are youth.

[dsteele]

OGE -

 

www.venturing.info is the official BSA web site for the Venturing Division. I learned something new today!

 

From that site I clipped this and now I remember the packet -- I tried to download the form with the qualifications, but it didn't work. I called National to have them send me one. Actually, I called the National Director of Venturing because I'm looking for his cousin and don't have a phone number, but when he calls me back on Monday I'll ask him the questions I'm going to allude to below the quote below:

 

" Each council having a Venturer who meets the qualifications listed on the form may nominate him or her to its region with one nomination per council. Each region will select one candidate to run for national Venturing president. Each region will also select one alternate who will serve as the regional Venturing president if their candidate is selected as national Venturing president. The national Venturing president will serve from June 1, 2002, through May 31, 2003. Each council wishing to nominate a Venturer should approve and forward the nomination form to their regional office by March 1, 2002."

 

The nomination forms came to my Scout Executive and he passed them along to me. In this council, we have no council organization of our 9 Crews and there really is no process in place, nor are there any stand-out candidates for the council to nominate. We really didn't have anyone to nominate, so the packet they sent us got tossed and forgotten. Oh -- the quote came from the National Venturing Division web site.

 

How the council selects its nominee is probably up to each council, but it's a question I'll ask when I talk to my friend. How each region selects its nominee is something else I'll ask about. There are four regions, so there may be 4 ways. I'll also ask about Area Venturing structure. I know in our Area, there is an Area Venturing President who is trying to organize reps from each council in the area -- but that's new this year and my suspicion is that it varies greatly by Area.

 

Please remember that this program is only 5 years old. It takes a long time for stuff to catch on in the BSA and as long as there are volunteers as caring and passionate as OGE this program will catch on. Persistance and time are the key.

 

DS

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

Thank you Dave, more info in 3 hours than in 3 years, Thanks again

 

 

PS: Just back from the site www.venturing.info and I was able to locate the head Venturing Exective's E-mail and I sent him a very spirited yet cordial e-mail. I cant wait to see his response as I was told all emails get a reponse. I dont delude myself "he" will read it, but just as long as its read and I get a response its great.

 

Now, to work on the NE Region and the home council...

 

Oh, and Man of Steele, you are the greatest!!!(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

[Eamonn]

OGE,

Yes sir you are right we are lucky to have our man of Steele here to help us out.

Not being a local I'm not really sure what part of the world and what council you come from.

I thought it was Greater Pitt. But I now know that yet again I was wrong.

You might want to find out who your Area President is and have a word in his or her ear.

Eamonn

[dsteele]

Gentlemen:

 

Thank you for the accolades, they are appreciated. Whether they're earned or not is subject to debate

 

I took another look at venturing.info and found this clip -- so OGE knows when to look for the new nominations:

 

" 2003-2004 Regional Venturing nomination forms and guidelines will be mailed to councils in early November. When they are in the mail to councils, I will send the info to you guys. There is a change. Starting in 2003-2004 the national Venturing president will be selected from the existing Regional Presidents. This will give us a president will a years experience and will give regional presidents something to work toward."

 

Check with your Scout Executive in November for the nomination form and your council's procedures. If the council doesn't have procedures, ask for the form and nominate someone. The council folks will figure out the best way to approve or disapprove it.

 

I think the email address OGE found is for Bill Evans. Bill is an Associate Director -- kind of like my position as Assistant Scout Executive. Odds are very good that he will indeed read your email and respond to it.

 

I'll be speaking to Charles Holmes, National Director of Venturing -- Whom I've known since 1990 and who's cousin (when he was still in the profession) stood up for me at my wedding. Both Charlie and Bill are great guys and so is the other professional Associate Director DE (pronounced Day.)

 

Glad to be of assistance however I can.

 

Dave

 

 

[OutdoorThinker]

OGE:

 

I didnt get to respond earlier, because I was without a computer the last few days. Anyway, I wanted to let you know, that we as a council youth board,too have had the same problem trying to get information from the regional and national youth boards.

 

Last spring I was thrown an application to apply to be Northeast Regions Youth Round Table (I am not sure what the official name is anymore) Preident. During a stressful week and a crazy whirlwind of essays and such, I finished the application, only to find out I had missed the due date anyway and the regional convention meet while I was to be training at National Camp School.

 

The application was the only information that I had ever gotten from the regional level, and I would love to seebigger things go on with Venturing at regional and national level. A regional Venturing jamboree or a national venturing jamboree (of course, the term jamboree should be altered for crews).

 

OGE, let me tell you, had I become the regions youth leader (slim chance, but we're talk 'what ifs' now) I would have made an effort to begin contacted the councils within my region and keep the Venturing roundtables informed as to what goes on at the regional level. Quite honestly, I dont know what decisions are made about Venturing there. Does anyone know?

 

 

Wow, sorry, didnt mean to be as verbous as I was. I just came back from my youth roundtable meeting, I suppose I am a little fired up on this topic.