Need info on New Venturing Crew

[BoxieLady]

I am just starting a new Venturing Crew and need some advice, comments, help.

I would call my DE but we do not have one at the moment and our FD is a busy man. I will try to reach him later for more in depth info that I can't get here.

Ok...a few questions.

1. What are the actual jobs of the Commitee Members and Com. Chair and Charter Rep? Do they need to attend meetings or what?

I am the Advisor and my Husband is another Com. Member so we will have both of us and also be able to be co-ed.(BTW, I have been in BSA for 5 years-Den Leader and Camp Director)

My sponsoring Institution...I have a local store willing to sponsor us.(Not a chain-just a mom and pop store..will that work or do I HAVE to have a church/business?)

3. I know we can focus on various things but like what? Is the Ranger Program a guideline or is that a program? I like the Outdoors, wildlife aspect.

4. For our outings, what adult leaders need to go? The advisor(me-female) and my husband (member-male) or more?

5. Who pays for any awards earned? The Sponsoring inst. or other?

6. How often is good for meetings and outings? A lot of teens have jobs and would not be able to meet weekly or whatnot.

 

Ok...I know I asked a lot but I like to know everything before I jump in.

I have to have all my paperwork turned in by next week (all app's and New Unit App.) so I need info!!!

Thanks!!!!

[purcelce]

Boxie,

 

PM me and I'll give the info that I have. I started a crew last year and I can tell you what works and doesn't work. Too much info to post here.

 

Crew is co-ed and has been around for one year and two months and we have over 30 youth on the books, and 8 adults.

 

Cary P

Advisor Crew 805

[emb021]

"I am just starting a new Venturing Crew and need some advice, comments, help. "

 

Ok, first off you need to get several literature items. You need to get the Venturing Fast Start training, either on-line, CD, or read thru the on-line PDF.

 

Get copies of the Venturer Handbook and Venturing Leader Manual and read thru the VLM.

 

Also, what is the PURPOSE of your Crew? There is no such thing as a generic "Venturing Crew". Every crew has a speciality. What is yours? Are you a high adventure crew? An art/hobby crew of some kind? Sports? Youth ministries? This is VERY important as this will determine what your PROGRAM is.

 

"I would call my DE but we do not have one at the moment and our FD is a busy man. I will try to reach him later for more in depth info that I can't get here. "

 

Do you have any sort of Venturing support structure in your council? A council Commissioner for Venturing or District Chair for Venturing? A council Youth cabinet or the like? These will be better sources of local help, really.

 

"1. What are the actual jobs of the Commitee Members and Com. Chair and Charter Rep? Do they need to attend meetings or what? "

 

Read the VLM. The committee members 'sit' above the crew and support it. they should met about monthly for a Crew Committee Meeting with the adult advisors and youth leaders and see how they can help. They CAN come by the Crew meetings, to get a feel for what's going on.

 

The Charter Rep represents the Charter Org with the BSA council. They have separate meetings, but would be good for them to drop by the Crew Committee Meeting.

 

"My sponsoring Institution...I have a local store willing to sponsor us.(Not a chain-just a mom and pop store..will that work or do I HAVE to have a church/business?) "

 

Nothing wrong with a store being a sponsor. Many do. This can have an effect on what kind of crew you are. A dive shop might sponsor a Scuba Diving Crew. Or an outdoor store might sponsor an outdoors crew.

 

"3. I know we can focus on various things but like what? Is the Ranger Program a guideline or is that a program? I like the Outdoors, wildlife aspect. "

 

IF your crew is an outdoors/high adventure crew, building your program around earning the Ranger Program is appropriate. BUT realized that it is the YOUTH who run the program, not us adults. What do THEY want to do. Also, realize that advancement is NOT a method of Venturing (ASIDE- you REALLY need to get Venturing training ASAP). Building a crew program around earning advance et al, like in a Cub Pack or Scout Troop, is NOT how we do things in Venturing.

 

"4. For our outings, what adult leaders need to go? The advisor(me-female) and my husband (member-male) or more? "

 

You need to take Venturing Leader YPT. As a co-ed crew, you need co-ed adults along. Minimum of one male and one female, better with more.

 

"5. Who pays for any awards earned? The Sponsoring inst. or other?"

 

Crews should be self supporting. The sponsoring inst is NOT expected to pay for stuff like this. The Crew should create a budget and collect dues. Awards should come out of this, unless the crew feels those earning them should pay for them.

 

"6. How often is good for meetings and outings? A lot of teens have jobs and would not be able to meet weekly or whatnot."

 

Most crews seem to go with biweekly meetings, using phone/email to keep in contact in between, and try to do monthly activities of some kind.

 

I also recommend that you join the "venturinglist" yahoo group. Great on-line resource that can help you out.

 

ALSO, GET TRAINED. We covered this in another recent thread. You guys need:

 

Venturing Fast Start (on-line, CD-ROM, or PDF)

New Leader Essential (you may already have this)

Venturing Leader Specific Training (5 hour course)

Venturing Leader YPT (video, on-line IF your council has provided it)

 

Once you have this, you are "Basic Trained" in Venturing. If you council/district has Venturing Roundtables, go to them and take your youth officers. Youth ARE allowed and encourage at Venturing RTs, unlike Cub & Scout RTs.

 

Hope this helps

 

 

[BoxieLady]

It was said here and in private message that I need training...I KNOW THIS! I have been in BSA long enough to know that I need training.

My crew is not up and running YET. I went by today and picked up the New Unit Application AND the Leaders Manual.

I intend on researching before I commit, which is why I wanted these questions answered BEFORE I turn in any paperwork.

 

I am not trying to jump into this head first, just wanting a lot of info before I make a final decision.

I am in a very rural area and our Troop/Pack covers about 100 miles. I will basically be the only one around for quite a ways.

How did I decide to do this? My son is moving on to Boy Scouts and I wanted to do Venturing. I have talked to our previous 2 DE's about this and yesterday the Field Director came out to talk to me about it and asked could I get this done by years end? So, here I am just trying to cram my head full of knowledge as fast as I can.

 

I am going to sit down with the Leaders Guide tonight and read it.

Y'all say get trained...well, I really would like to know if I am GOING to do this before training, not waste time and money on training and then decide against it.

I have lost too much Day Camp money that could have been spent on kids by adults going to become trained and then decide it's too much work.

 

Thanks for the info....going to do some reading.

[John-in-KC]

Ms Boxie Lady,

 

I'm on a Crew Committee; I'm also going to be a COR as of recharter for our units. So, I'm going to take a stab at your questions:

 

"I would call my DE but we do not have one at the moment and our FD is a busy man. I will try to reach him later for more in depth info that I can't get here."

 

As emb021 said, is there a Commissioner in your Council who is the "go-to" person for Venturing? Is there a Venturing Officers Association, with youth who are "leaders of leaders"? These folk will have more "street smarts" on the program than your DE or FD

 

 

"1. What are the actual jobs of the Commitee Members and Com. Chair and Charter Rep? Do they need to attend meetings or what?

I am the Advisor and my Husband is another Com. Member so we will have both of us and also be able to be co-ed.(BTW, I have been in BSA for 5 years-Den Leader and Camp Director)

 

Depends a bit on the caliber of the youth you have. If your youth are self-starting and have well-formed ideas of their responsibilities, you may find the Committeepeople are really "technical mentors" providing legal cover (as needed) and oversight to the youth. [AS AN EXAMPLE: There are some States where a minor cannot be legally liable for a checking account. An adult committee member may have to actually sign the checks.] Ditto the Crew Secretary handling membership and advancement; even to the point of maintaining the unit database.

 

My sponsoring Institution...I have a local store willing to sponsor us.(Not a chain-just a mom and pop store..will that work or do I HAVE to have a church/business?)

 

Nothing wrong with a business being a Chartered Partner. May I recommend the owner, if he/she is not a Scouter, finding an experienced Scouter to be your Chartered Organization Representative. The chartered partner does have obligations, especially in regard to leader selection and training! An experienced Scouter as COR can help you there.

 

3. I know we can focus on various things but like what? Is the Ranger Program a guideline or is that a program? I like the Outdoors, wildlife aspect.

 

As you ramp up your Crew to starting, let the youth decide their focus. I know of a Crew that is a high school band. Venturing allows them a ready structure for the band officers, as well as putting the responsibility of planning big trips on the youth. I know another Crew that converted over en masse from GSUSA; they wanted camping and outdoor operations in their program. Eamonn here is in the food chain for a Sea Scout Ship (which is now within the Venturing fold). Again, I recommend letting the youth make the program call

 

DO take Venturing Fast Start, either off tape or online, as soon as you can. DO take Venturing youth protection for Scouters (different from Venturing YP for youth, AND different for Cub/Boy Scout YP). DO take Venturing Leader Specific training as soon as humanly possible (even if it means bribing the Council trainer with dinners at the house)

 

4. For our outings, what adult leaders need to go? The advisor(me-female) and my husband (member-male) or more?

 

Back to training and G2SS. Two deep leadership is always a requirement for outings. In Ventruing, coed two deep leadership is required when the youth are coed. The Venturing YP training does an excellent job of spelling this out!

 

5. Who pays for any awards earned? The Sponsoring inst. or other?

 

emb021's comments are smack on. I cannot add more to the discussion.

 

"6. How often is good for meetings and outings? A lot of teens have jobs and would not be able to meet weekly or whatnot."

 

Depends on what the Crew is doing and when they're doing it. Sometimes, bi-weekly meetings are more than enough; youth may be able to make it happen on once every 3 weeks. OTOH, if they're going on an expedition at the Double H, they may be meeting for training hikes every weekend!

 

..I know I asked a lot but I like to know everything before I jump in.

I have to have all my paperwork turned in by next week (all app's and New Unit App.) so I need info!!!

Thanks!!!!

 

HTH!

 

YIS(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

[BoxieLady]

Thanks guys!!

My main concern is not actually the crew itself but the adult leaders.

I know myself and my husband will be all geared up and ready but the Charter Rep is not wanting anything to do with actual meetings(Unless necessary), outings, events, etc. She just wants to handle the go between only and I just needed to know if that was ok.(She is also going to hold Commitee Chair)

Also another Commitee Member is basically a concerned citizen who wants to help in any way possible but not physically able to go on any outings whatsoever.

Adding more adults to help as it progresses past the 5 we need to start-up won't be as big a problem as having the initial adults to start it up.

This is why I mainly asked about their "job descriptions". In other words, I wanted to know how "hands on" do they need to be since we will always have 2 deep leadership and ALWAYS have one male and one female adult.

 

The focus will not be anything like band, fire, military, etc. I do know that now because the young adults coming into this are mainly unmotivated, no hobby, no skills youth. This is why I wanted to start this. I know in the beginning as the Advisor that I am going to have to help them decide which direction to take. These are just "odds and ends" youth!LOL (2 being my own)

 

So....y'all answered a lot of my questions and I do appreciate it.

(I do like the fact that I will have the extra help at Day Camp this summer!!! :DD )

[Eamonn]

Hi BoxieLady

Welcome to the forums.

While I hate to be a kill joy.I really think the reason a lot of Crews are "One Year Wonders" is because they don't have a focus.

I'm sure at this time it seems like the old Chicken and the Egg question, but I really think you will find that in order to get this off the ground and working you need to have a selling point.

A Crew that is only there to help out at Day Camp is not going to make it.

If you start this without some sort of idea where you are going all you are going to get from the youth is that Deer in the headlights look.

I would also not worry about trying to get everything done by the end of the year. Yes the FD will love it and it will help him out. But that isn't why we do what we do!!

If I were you I would slow things down a bit, go out and read everything that you can find, talk to other people who are or have been involved in the program.

Getting a new unit off the ground is not easy. Filling out the paper work is!!

Please don't be bullied by the FD.

If this is worth doing it is worth doing well and the more prepared and the more you know the better it will be.

Just calling these under motivated youth Venturers is not going to provide any motivation. Until the unit finds it's own legs they are going to look to you.

If you don't know where you are going and have a plan of how to get there -Your lost!!

Eamonn.

[BoxieLady]

I did not say I wanted to start the crew to help me with camp.

I said it would give me extra help.

I think I am going to scrap the whole idea.

If I can't get moral support from Scouters on here, how can I ever expect support from my community, leaders, adults, teachers, or even youth.

 

I guess I should thank you all for opening my eyes to the true world of scouting. I was stuck in my own little bubble thinking you did everything for the youth, no matter how much it costed, hurt, or how much work on your own part was involved.

 

I completely setup my own day camp without a DE for 2 years. Not even having a program director until the day of camp. I setup all activities, supplies needed, bought everything, fought council for money, etc. I did 5 people's jobs...why? Because the kids are worth it. I am going this next spring to become licensed for 5 more years. Why? Because seeing one kid smile makes it worth while.

 

If going through crap to get a Venturing crew up and running, and even trying to get them focused only reached ONE single youth that would have headed down the wrong track, I would think it would be worth it.

 

Who knows.

[gwd-scouter]

Boxie Lady.

 

Don't give up because of things written on this Forum! Sometimes, the written word takes on a different meaning than it would if you were to speak to someone directly. I don't think anyone here is suggesting that you scrap the idea of starting up a Venture Crew.

 

It sounds like you're heart is in the right place and you are involved in Scouting for the boys. From reading through these Scouting Forums and from my own experience, it takes a couple of years to get a unit up and running smoothly, whether a brand new Venture Unit or an older Scout Troop that has lost it's direction (the situation I'm in).

 

You said: If going through crap to get a Venturing crew up and running, and even trying to get them focused only reached ONE single youth that would have headed down the wrong track, I would think it would be worth it."

 

That's why I'm a Scout Leader - for that one Scout - and for the most part I think that's why most adult leaders get and stay involved.

 

Grab a stiff cup of coffee (or beverage of choice) and then, read everything you can get your hands on, get your leaders together, get trained when you can, gather up your Scouts and get going.

 

Good luck!

[emb021]

A word on training.

 

A lot of the training you need in Venturing to begin with is FREE or very inexpensive.

 

* Venturing Fast Start. Do it on-line. FREE

* Venturing Adult YPT. Borrow the video from Council. FREE or view on-line. FREE

* Venturing Crew Fast Start Video. Borrow from Council. FREE

 

* Venturing Adult Leader Specific is a 5 hour course. Your council should NOT be charging a lot to put this on. One course I staffed it was free, another we charged about $10 to cover snacks and lunch.

 

[emb021]

"My main concern is not actually the crew itself but the adult leaders.

I know myself and my husband will be all geared up and ready but the Charter Rep is not wanting anything to do with actual meetings(Unless necessary), outings, events, etc. She just wants to handle the go between only and I just needed to know if that was ok.(She is also going to hold Commitee Chair)

Also another Commitee Member is basically a concerned citizen who wants to help in any way possible but not physically able to go on any outings whatsoever. "

 

Ok.

 

Remember that the adult Crew Committee is just like a Troop Committee or Pack Committee. They are a group of adults who sit 'above' the crew and help support it. They should have regular meetings, about once a month, usually with the Crew Advisor (maybe also Crew President) to see how they can help the crew. It would be great if the members attended Crew meetings on occasion to know first hand how things are going, same as crew events, but this is NOT required. they should go thru the same training as any of the Crew advisors. Sadly, there is no training specificly for Crew Committees like there is for Troop Committees.

 

The Charter Rep represents the Charter Org to the council. There is specific training for this position. Ideally, this person should drop by the Crew Committee Meeting on occasion, same as with the Crew Meetings, but not required. There are also some meetings at the council level (1-2 a year, I think) they should attend because the Charter Reps are the ones who get to VOTE in the BSA.

 

 

[John-in-KC]

Ms Boxie Lady,

 

OK, here is a problem:

 

 

You wrote:

 

'I know myself and my husband will be all geared up and ready but the Charter Rep is not wanting anything to do with actual meetings(Unless necessary), outings, events, etc. She just wants to handle the go between only and I just needed to know if that was ok.(She is also going to hold Commitee Chair)'

 

You will not be able to get the new unit app past your DE or Council Registrar. BSA standards are the COR and the CC be two different people. ScoutNet just will not let it happen.

 

That your prospective COR has the attitude he/she does (as you've written) deeply concerns me. This concern will be stronger ESPECIALLY if he/she also wants to be the CC. Committee Chair doesn't have to be hands on, but they have to have a CONSTANT ATTITUDE of "How can we support the program better?!" That means regular and ongoing cross-talk with the Advisor.

 

Emb021's last two posts are smack on and most helpful. BTW, I am currently on charter to my Crew as a Member of Committee. I took the Venturing Leader Specific Training. A Scouter who has taken training in the NLE era will easily extract the depth and breadth needed to be a MC from the package.

 

 

 

[BoxieLady]

My FD said that the Rep could hole eithe Com Chair or Com member status.

 

I don't know...that's just what he said. I have been reading a lot of the Manual and I just don't think I want to bother with this.

Too much work and I know I will end up doing it all....just the way it is around here.

 

Anyway....thanks

[CNYScouter]

If you read the back of the New Unit Application it says that a Chartered Organization Representative may also serve as the units Committee Chair or as a Unit Committee Member.

 

BoxieLady - Don't give up its not as bad as it seems.

It will be all worth it in the end.

 

[emb021]

There are rules about people doubling up in positions with the unit (IH, COR, CC, MC, etc). I do not know what they are. I would hope the professionals know the rules.

 

That said, I also agree with a previous poster. You said:

 

"Charter Rep is not wanting anything to do with actual meetings(Unless necessary), outings, events, etc. She just wants to handle the go between only and I just needed to know if that was ok.(She is also going to hold Commitee Chair) "

 

As noted, as a COR there ARE meetings she will need to attend. Ideally who ever is the COR should be coming to the Crew Committee Meetings, and whatever meetings (1-2 a year) PLUS COR Training with the Council.

 

If she is going to be the Committee Chair, well, she is going to have to CHAIR the monthly Crew Committee Meetings.

 

Being either a COR or CC is not just 'a name on paper' and not go to actual meetings. Just doesn't work that way.