New venture crew....several questions

[lee1989_2007]

Hello everyone,

several months ago i posted a thing on here saying that in my area we were setting up a venture crew....well im glad to say we had our first meeting last night. but i do have quite a few questions. Im a OA member and im actually the lodge secretary and webmaster and will be working close with the vigil chief as well...so i guess i need to know how i can do ventureing and also do OA activities....also can my crew go to OA events...well of course i mean just the guys but is that possible? the second question i have is what is Powderhorn....i dont know anything about it. and my last is what should i work more on....my rangers award or silver...right now im 18 and in march ill be 19 so which one would be better for me to work on...seeing that i may not have time for both? thank you.

Lee Shelton

[lee1989_2007]

One more question.

is there a District Venturing rep. i saw something for the councel but is there like a venturing district president?

[mdutch]

Congrats on setting up the Crew.

Let me start with your last question first. There may or may not be a district venturing president. It would depend on how many Venturers there are in your district, and whether or not anybody bothered to set up a Venturer Leaders Council at the District level. I'd try and get in touch with your District Exec to find out.

As far as Ranger vs Silver, I'd say go for whichever one you are most interested in. You may want to start with the Outdoor Bronze award, as that is required for the Ranger, and you need to have at least one Bronze to get the Silver award.

Lastly, as to the OA. I wont get into whether or not you are technically able to combine the two, but will recommend that you do not. Obviously, you can continue to be active in your crew and in the OA at the same time |(kindof like being active in the troop and the OA at the same time). As far as I know, units do not go to OA events, individuals go to OA events. If you are asking if members of your crew who are also members of the OA are allowed to attend OA events, then the answer is yes.

Hope this Helps!

[Owl62]

Lee,

 

 

Hi. Based on the information you wrote, as I understand it:

 

If I may, a correction. It is Venturing Crew, not Venture Crew.

 

OA really has no associate with Venturing other than it is also a Scouting program but is associated with Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts. Unless I am mistaken, as a Venturer (a youth member as you are under 21), you can be a member of OA as long as you are also registered in a Boy Scout troop (as an adult as you are over 18). So in Venturing you are a youth member and in Boy Scouting you would be an adult member (I believe Assistant Scoutmaster is the only adult position you can be registered in).

 

If you are a member of an OA lodge, you can participate in the OA and if you wish wear your OA lodge flap on the spruce green Venturing shirt.

 

Some Venturing units have created their own honor societies. The most common name I have seen is "Corps of Discovery" You can do a search on the internet and probably find some information. As far as I know, those societies are not official BSA Venturing organizations.

 

Powder Horn (two words) is a high-adventure resource training designed to introduce and expose Venturing and Boy Scout adult unit leaders to the activities and resources necessary to operate a successful outdoor/high-adventure unit-level program. The program is for adults, so I believe you could attend as an Assistant Scoutmaster, but not as a Venturer. Power Horn is a great course. I recommend it.

 

The Venturing Silver award is the highest award in Venturing. Roughly equivalent to Eagle in Boy Scouts. You must earn at least one Bronze Award and the Gold award, among other requirements to earn the Silver Award. The Ranger award is a separate award intended to give Venturers the opportunity to achieve proficiency in outdoor skills. Among other requirements, you must have earned the Venturing Outdoor Bronze Award to earn the Ranger award.

 

Some councils have a Teen Council or Venturing Officers Association that may have a President. Perhaps some districts have formed such an organization too.

 

You may want to check out the following website for more information:

 

http://www.scouting.org/venturing/

 

Also, you should have a Venturer/Ranger handbook and you might also want to look at the Venturing Leaders Manual.

 

Welcome to Venturing. BTW - the 10th anniversay of Venturing is Feb. 9th 2008.

 

 

[Gold Winger]

I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that Venturers do not have to be registered with a troop to remain in OA. Troop/Team membership is only required for election. Continued membership only requires BSA memebership.

[Beavah]

Lee1989, congrats on joinin' a crew! You're goin' to find that a crew is as different from Boy Scouting as Boy Scouting was from Cub Scouting. Be willin' to let go of Advancement and Honor Societies and all that. Get to know your crew mates. Develop friendships. Have fun. Do stuff. Take your leadership skills to a new level. Get out into the deep woods. Plan international trips. Go huntin' together. Keep growin' up.

 

As for Venturing recognitions, pursue whichever seems to fit with what you and your friends in the crew are interested in. If yeh all want. Or pursue other things like LNT Master, Wilderness First Responder, and other "adult" certifications. Your Venturing program should be about fun and friendship and adventure and learning. Don't try to make it ABS/wg (Advanced Boy Scouts/with girls).

 

Formally speakin', Order of the Arrow is a Boy Scouting program. Ain't open to Venturers. Practically speaking, it's up to your crew and your lodge, at least for things like work days and such. Who turns down extra willing hands? There are some efforts at formin' Venturing Honor Societies like Corps of Discovery. IMO, they're mostly tryin' to do ABS/wg again, rather than really learnin' the Venturing program. They haven't gotten much traction yet, but yeh should feel free to look into 'em.

 

Nuthin' wrong with you keepin' up with the OA, though. I'd encourage yeh to stay involved with your lodge. GW's got the right of it; yeh just need to be a registered member of the BSA to stay active in OA. Venturing is OK for that. At least if my old noggin' is rememberin' right.

 

That havin' been said, I wouldn't encourage wearin' lodge flaps from a Boy Scouting program like OA on a crew uniform in a coed crew. Uniforms are supposed to bring people together, not separate 'em. When in your crew, do (and wear) Venturing. When workin' with your lodge, wear tan.

 

Two uniforms, two leadership opportunities, two different programs. Double the fun, eh?

 

Beavah

 

[Gold Winger]

" When workin' with your lodge, wear tan."

 

If he's only registered as a Venturer, that's not appropriate, proper or correct.

[dzierzak]

We just had a major discussion concerning Venturing and OA in our Council. According to our Lodge Advisor, OA members MUST be registered with a Troop or District/Council position. Membership in Venturing only or Cub Scouts only is not an option.

 

ed

 

[emb021]

"According to our Lodge Advisor, OA members MUST be registered with a Troop or District/Council position. Membership in Venturing only or Cub Scouts only is not an option."

 

Your Lodge Advisor is incorrect.

 

ANY BSA registration will allow you to keep your membership in the OA. That includes Cub Scouting (for adult cub scouter who are also OA members) and Venturing (for both youth and adults who are also OA members).

 

Your advisor is confusing where can elections be held (in troops and teams and for scouters at the district/council level) with where you need to hold your membership to retain OA membership.

 

 

 

[emb021]

"If he's only registered as a Venturer, that's not appropriate, proper or correct. "

 

Quite true.

 

It is incorrect for Venturers to wear tan.

 

There is no problem with Venturers wearing their OA flap on their uniform. If they choose not to, that is their choice. No adult and no crew should either harrase them about wearing it, or tell them they shouldn't.

 

 

[emb021]

Overall Owl62 covering most points, but a few further points and corrections.

 

Its "Venturing" not "Venture". Venture is another program. So its Venturing Crews and Venturers.

 

Venturers do NOT need to keep membership in a Boy Scout troop to stay in the OA. I know of several Venturing Crews that are tightly associated with OA Lodges such that ALL the members are OA members, and some are members in the Crew just to keep their OA membership.

 

The Corps of Discovery is NOT as wide spread as some would like people to think. It may only exist in an embryonic form in a handful of councils.

 

Ideally, councils should have a council Venturing Officer Association. Many don't. A few might have district VOAs, either along with council VOA or instead of. Its really inconsistant, which is something that many of the Regional Venturing Presidents are trying to address, but it can be an uphill battle with council who are resistant to it.

 

The Venturing Leaders Manual is for both the adult leaders and the crew youth officers.

 

[Beavah]

No adult and no crew should either harrase them about wearing it, or tell them they shouldn't.

 

Certainly nobody should harass a youth, eh? But a crew does set its uniform.

 

Remember the purpose of a uniform. To show you are all members of a team. To eliminate differences between people. To show your achievements so as to encourage others in the crew to achieve them, etc., etc.

 

Puttin' stuff on a "uniform" that other members of your team are ineligible for/excluded from is just poor uniforming.

 

Now, pick up your copy of the Insignia Guide. Go to Boy Scout Insignia. Note the lodge flap displayed as part of Boy Scout uniforming on the right pocket flap. Note the text specifying that and wearing an OA sash with your tans. Turn now to Venturing Insignia. Note the absence of a lodge flap on the right pocket flap. Note also that there are no Order of the Arrow uniform components listed for wear with the Venturing uniform.

 

Ain't no Uniform Police. Nobody should harass anybody. But if yeh care about the method and the message, yeh might consider doin' it one way instead of another. Just a thought, worth only the paper it is printed on

 

Beavah

 

[emb021]

"But a crew does set its uniform."

 

To a degree.

 

The use of the tan Boy Scout uniform is NOT available to Venturers.

 

If you use the green Venturing uniform, you should wear it with charcoal gray pants/shorts (source is unimportant).

 

If you use the green Venturing uniform, you WILL follow the insignia placement rules. If the rules says something goes in a certain place, you need to follow that. The crew does NOT get to decide to wear things in a different place, nor bar people from wearing what they are entitled to. There is NOTHING wrong with wearing an OA flap on the green uniform, nor wearing Boy Scout rank patches, nor wearing Cub Scouter or Boy Scouter knots.

 

The National Venturing Cabinet has a page about Venturing uniform here: http://www.nationalventuringcabinet.org/uniform.shtml with links to resources as well as some nice color charts of insignia wear.

 

This page was created under the prior National Venturing President, who, btw, is female. It shows the wearing of the OA flap on the uniform, wearing the Eagle badge, and Boy Scout knots. So please don't say you can't wear them...

 

If a Venturer choices to NOT wear something they are entitled to, that's fine. But the CREW has NO business telling a Venturer they can't wear something they can.