What's the relationship?

[bsabrit]

Can anyone advise me regarding what the relationship between a Venture Crew and a Troop is supposed to be? We have just set up a new Crew and are having "relationship" issues with the Troop Scoutmaster. Is there a hierarchy that exists when a Troop and Crew are sponsored by the same Chartering Org.? Does the Scoutmaster have the final say when it comes to the Crew? One problem we have...I know that several of the boys who are in the Crew want to carry on and earn their Eagle Rank, however the Scoutmaster has indicated that he may have a problem with regards to attendance at Troop meetings and has indicated a reluctance to "sign-off" on the paperwork. Can the Crew Advisor "sign-off" for the Rank Advancement?

[FScouter]

There is no relationship at all between a Troop and a Venturing Crew. They are completely separate units.

[JimmyD]

As lnog as the scout has his 1st class rank he can carry on advancing with the crew. To be honest i do't know that stuff goes you'll have too do a search on google or something. No he longer needs the scout master to sign off the paper as long as the boy is registered in the crew.

[OldGreyEagle]

First, as long as the scout is first class when he joins the crew, or attains first class as a crew member, then he can earn Star, Life and Eagle in the crew. As far as the Scoutmaster goes, I didnt know he was in the position to decide how much scouting fun a kid could have. Now, I must also add, that if a scout becomes a Crew member and wants to stay in the troop and advance in the troop, then he has to be diligent in his position of responsibility. If he becomes SPL, then he dedicates himself to the troop for 6 months or what ever the term of office in the troop is and fulfill it to the best of his ability while not using a Crew activity as an excuse for blowing off the troop.

 

Now, a simple solution is to recruit non-boy scouts, perhaps even girls, ::gasp:: (see other threads) boys who didnt like scouts for one reason or another, perhaps an overbearing scoutmaster, moved into the area and missed the first few years of scouting. Your target recruiting should be any eligble youth.

 

Now, as far as the relationship? Its the same as between the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, generally in the same business, but two different programs each run different ways.

[KA6BSA]

I am reading directly from the Venturing Leader Manual on page 325 "Any male Venturer who has achieved the 1st Class rank as a Boy Scout in a troop may continue working toward the Star, Life and Eagle awards while a Venturer up to his 18th birthday. He must meet the requirements as prescribed in the Boy Scout Handbook and the current Boy Scout Requirements. Leadership requirements may be met by the Venturer serving as president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer in his crew. The Scoutmaster conference will be conducted by the Advisor of the crew. As the Venturer meets the requirements for the Star and Life ranks, a board of review is conducted by the crew committee. The Eagle board of review follows the procedure established by the local council." I can add that usually the boy will wear the full uniform of the crew (or whaterver they decided to use as a uniform) at his Eagle board of review. What all this means is that he can earn his Eagle and not even register with the troop or attend any of the troop meetings. Or if he wants to still register (no additional fee) with the troop to participate in outings he can ignore the Scoutmaster for advancement and do it all in his crew. That would be an unusual situation but it illustrates that the two units are not dependent on each other for leadership, advancement, or anything else.

 

- KA6BSA (Venturing Roundtable Commissioner, Desert Pacific Council, San Diego, CA)(This message has been edited by KA6BSA)

[buffalo2]

BSABRIT - welcome aboard!

Not to be tiresome but answers to these and lots of other questions are in the Venture Leaders Manual. As your Crew goes along you're going to need to have the answers at your fingertips and helps to have a reference thats based in reality. Excuse one other tiresome thought but find a VLST training and get your adults on the same page and up to speed. Find a trainer to do one just for your local Crews; they're out there and willing to help!

This Crew to Troop thing seems to go all over the place; in the beginning I think that its best to remain separate as much as possible and let the boys sort their schedules out as best they can while encouraging them to maintain a multiple presence... As a courtesy you probably should avoid direct conflicts with the Troop schedule.

Go to the trouble to find other local Crews; they're struggling just as you are and you need to develop your own unique resources.

There is a lot to be gained on both sides of this but 'twill take a while for your SM to see and understand this. Take the high road and ride it out, when he eventually discovers that the threat is more perceived than real things will get easier - but don't be surprised if it takes a while. Good luck!

[buffalo2]

echo - sorry(This message has been edited by buffalo2)

[Bob White]

Welcome bsabrit,

 

The relationship is like brother and sister. They share the same parent but are individuals who hopefully have each others best interst at heart and would not do anything to hurt the other.

 

Program wise they are independent but related. The Venturing members have mussc they can share with their younger friends in the troop. The troop has potential future members to help the crew continue to grow.

 

What's needed in your situation is some parental intervention to remind the siblings to get along.

 

The information you have been given regarding Boy Scout advancement in Venturing is correct. A copy of that section on Boy Scouts advancing in Venturing should be shared with the SM. Once he is aware that he cannot hold advancement opportunities over the boys heads to keep them active in the troop he will be forced to rely on other strategies like...program enhancements.

 

Bob White

[bsabrit]

Thanks to each of you that have contributed. I will heed your advice as much as possible. I also look forward to reading more words of wisdom both here, and in other posts. This is a great resource. Thanks.

[KA6BSA]

Our Crew does have activities in conjunction with Boy Scouts but not directly with our troop (which has the same Chartered Organization). It was clear that the younger boys did not want the girls from the crew going on their troop campouts. So the activities I am talking about are things like having the crew take staff positions to help run the district Camporee events. In fact this activity could not be put on without all the crews helping do it. Another one is having the crews on staff (along with adult scouters) at the annual Webelos Woods event, which is an introduction for Cubs to Boy Scouting at the local summer camp location... a whole day of activities like building monkey bridges, signaling with flags, cooking with dutch ovens, and other fun things to interest them in going on to become Tenderfeet. The crew members get to take responsibility but still have fun too in a Scouting activity, camping out the night before until the day after. This kind of activity avoids any friction directly with out troop, because they are there with many others at the event, and the crews can be a vital resource in putting on the programs.