First ever National Venturing Event announcement

[emb021]

All-

 

The following has been posted on Facebook, and wanted to make sure people here are aware of it. The National Venturing Youth Cabinet have been using FB as their prefered method of communication amoung Venturers, and encourage the use of the National, Regional, area, and council Facebook groups.

 

 

======forwarded message======

Thats right. The National Office of the Boy Scouts of America has granted approval for a large council to host the first ever National Venturing Event in conjunction with the 100th Anniversary year. It will happen in 2010! The official announcement of the event will be made on the internet and this group is one of just a few groups that has been selected for the announcement. The date of the announcement will be January 15, 2010 at 6:00pm CST. We need to get this information to as many people as possible.

 

This is where we need your help. We need to grow this group as large as possible in just a few days. Some people dont believe that we can pull this off, but we can with your help. We need you to invite all your Facebook friends (both youth and adults) to join this group. They do not have to be a Venturer to become a member of this group. The purpose of this group is to promote Venturing to everyone.

 

Here is what we need each member of this group to do:

1. Go to the Venturing, BSA Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?id=2207630622&ref=

 

2. Click on the Invite People to Join link on the upper left hand column under the group photo

 

3. Invite every single friend you have on Facebook to join this group. We mean every single person whether they are involved in Scouting or not.

 

4. Paste the following message into the personal message spot when you are inviting them:

January 15th at 6:00pm CST, on this Facebook Group will be announced the information on the first ever National Venturing Event. Please join our group and invite all your friends to join so that they will be the first to know.

 

5. Click the send invitations button, and sit back and watch the number of group members grow.

 

6. Check back with this group on January 15th, 2010 at 6:00pm CST for information on the National Venturing Event.

 

The countdown to the announcement: http://www.nationalventuringevent.org

 

Please be part of making this upcoming announcement an exciting event in and of itself. And then come join us as we continue to work towards the success of the Venturing program.

 

Yours in Venturing,

Amanda Vogt

2008-2009 National Venturing President

 

Matthew McGroarty

2009-2010 National Venturing President

 

[BadenP]

emb021

 

Thanks for the heads up I will pass this information on to my venturing crew members at our meeting later this week. Sounds like a great way to give the venturing program a real boost for the centinnel year.

[CNYScouter]

Any speculation on where this is going to be?

 

East coast? West Coast?

 

I know the Council around Washington DC is large and has an active Venturing program so maybe Goshen Scout Reservation?

 

Blue Ridge Scout Reservation?

 

The camp in WV that is the new site for Jambo?

 

What other camps might be able to hold this?

 

[emb021]

We'll know Friday.

 

 

I was speaking with another scouter about this recently. He thinks, and I agree, that most likely a large council with an already large Venturing event has been 'tapped' to make their event THE National event. Thus they already have the space and experience running such an event (IMO, the best idea. I tried to have an 'official area venturing event' in my area done the same way: 'bless' what was already the largest annual venturing event in the area as the official area event. But the PTB wouldn't go for it).

 

He put forth a good candidate (its a central location). But rather not say to avoid any rumors or speculation.

[Eagle92]

Emb,

 

 

AAAAAAWWWWWWWW GOTTA SHARE! LOL

 

We'll find out tomorrow.

[emb021]

Here is the announcement.

 

FWIW, this is the event that my fellow scouter thought would be the selected event.

 

=========forward message======

Announcing the First National Venturing Event

 

The Venturing Officer Association of the Greater St. Louis Area Council is proud to announce that the Fall Fun Rally has been designated as the first National Venturing Event. The council is proud to sponsor this event and to open it up to Venturers from across th...e countr...y to attend. The Fall Fun Rally is the largest Venturing event held each year in the country. The Fall Fun Rally is in its 37th year. We have the facilities, the staff, and the experience to host several thousand Venturers for this 3-day event. In 2008 it was the Central Regions 10th Anniversary event for Venturing. Venturers from throughout the Central Region attended. This event is centrally located in the USA.

 

The Fall Fun Rally is a youth lead event. The Councils V.O.A., the 9 District V.O.As, and hundreds of other Venturers staff the event each year. Venturing is many things, but of uppermost importance is youth leadership development. Planning for the 2010 event started at last years event. This is the first time that a National Venturing event is being done and it is the youth of the Venturing program that are doing it. We are honored to take on this endeavor. We thank our council and the National Office for the trust they have placed in us to accomplish this unique opportunity. We hope that this will be the start of more and bigger future National Venturing Events, but todays good news is that the first one is on the way. So lets get excited about it!

 

Date: September 24-26, 2010

Location: Beaumont Scout Reservation, High Ridge, MO (Just 45 minutes SW of downtown St. Louis)

Who can attend: Venturers, Explorers, & Sea Scouts along with their adult leadership

 

Events from the Fall Fun Rally: Volleyball Tournament, Tug-of-War Competitions, Rifle Range, Shotgun Range, Archery, Climbing Tower, Slacklining, Wild Caving, Mountain Men Village, Blacksmithing, , Helicopters, , Kickball, Crab Soccer, Wiffleball, Dodgeball, Hillbilly Golf & Washers, National Venturing Fencing Competition, Pool Noodle Jousting, Police & Military Demonstrations, Table Top Competitions, Dutch-oven Cooking Competitions, Skit/Talent Competition, Fear Factor Event, Horseback Riding, Adult Venturing Training, Venturing Officer Association Elections, Game/Trivia Night, Movie Night, Twister for 50, Karaoke Night, Award Show, Dance, Model Rockets, Backyard Games, Obstacle Course, Frisbee Golf, Sea Scouting Activities, Drunk Driving Simulator, All Star Sports Challenge, Crazy Building Competitions, Dunking Booth, and much more.

 

 

 

Check out our websites down the road as more events are announced. Websites: http://www.nationalventuringevent.org http://www.fallfunrally.org

 

 

Join our National Venturing Event Facebook Group to keep yourself informed: Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=207652002378&ref=ts

 

 

Mark your Crews calendar now to attend the first National Venturing Event. Registration and leaders information will be posted and updated through the website.

Cost is just $15 for the weekend and will include an event t-shirt. We look forward to welcoming you to St. Louis and the Fall Fun Rally.

 

 

Andrea Lane, Greater St. Louis Area Council V.O.A.Vice-President of Program and Youth Chairperson for the Fall Fun Rally

 

Amanda Vogt, Greater St. Louis Area Council V.O.A. President 2008-2009 National Venturing President

 

Matthew McGroarty, 2009-2010 National Venturing President

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

A National event, 3-4 weeks after most College students are back to school and High Schools are well unerway and I am going to take the youth I serve to St Louis?

 

It will be a National event because BSA says its a National event, and I am happy the concept stuck, but unless you live within driving distance to St Louis, I am not sure how many people this will attact.

 

SIlly me, I thought the event would be held in the summer where more youthcould attend. At least they got the location tright, centrally located in the country.

 

 

[John-in-KC]

You have to love the Greater Saint Louis Area Council. They cannot even coordinate an event which for a program which has youth members into UNIVERSITY such that University level Venturers in driving distance can attend, if they are members of ROTC, band, or spirit squads:

 

From MUTigers.com:

Sept. 25 Miami (Ohio) (home game)

 

From KUathletics.com

09/25/10 vs. New Mexico State (home game)

 

From Iowa State, cyclones.com

Sat, Sep 25 Northern Iowa (home game)

 

From arkansasrazorbacks.com

Sat, Sep 25 Alabama * (home game)

 

From Iowa, hawkeyesports.com

09/25/10 vs. Ball State (home game)

 

From huskers.com

Sat, Sep 25 South Dakota State (home game)

 

Of BCS subdivision universities in driving range of Saint Louis, only Illinois Champaign/Urbana and Vanderbilt have away games or bye weeks on 25 Sep 2010.

[belayer_StLouis]

John, the active Venture members are in high school, not college. Some of the leadership kids might be in college but I would bet they will show for this event. This Fall Fun Rally has been the same weekend for lots of years, college football kind of ain't important to the high school kids. I also suspect that there will be many more national Venturing events in 2010 scattered around the country and by calling them national events they really are trying to gin up publicity. Don't think National could pull off a national jamboree type event for Ventures. I am impressed that kids are behind this.

[John-in-KC]

Funny, when I look at the crews I see over here, there's a good spread of HS and university kids.

 

Just because "it's always been that way" doesn't mean you don't revisit matters before you decide to take it to National.

 

Look at OGE's comment above!!! He can't bring kids in from PA for this, not during the school year, and he's talking about HS Venturers.

 

Of course, GSLAC is never wrong.

[moxieman]

I, too, am disappointed. I don't see any point in even advertising this event up here in Maine. I can't see our Venture Crews even considering a trip that far during the school year. If it had been during the summer, that would be different. Then I could see them planning for a road trip and where they'd visit on the way out and back.

 

But during the school year? No way, not going to happen.

[belayer_StLouis]

I don't think Nat. had any great national Venturing type event planned and again I think it was pretty neat that kids drove this event to happen. I would bet other councils could sponsor "national venturing" events for the Centennial since local type events are being pushed to help celebrate, not just events by the Nat. office.

[BadenP]

I agree with the others, it is a great idea but the timing is lousy and school is in full bore.

 

I think St. Louis Council really dropped the ball here and my crew was looking forward to going to the event. Oh well.

[belayer_StLouis]

I don't know how the kids in St. Louis dropped the ball. They've had this Fall Fun Rally since the 70's, didn't see any national type event on the horizon and they got Nat. office to designate as a Nat. Venturing event. Again, sponsor an event for your area. I don't think anyone really expects kids to come from across the county for a weekend but I don't see anyone else stepping up to kick off or promote a national event. Go for it if the Ventures in your area can pull it off.

[Eagle92]

I would not blame the Venturers for this, as someone else mentioned they stepped up to the challenge. rather look higher up the food chain. Someone at national should have come up with something well before this. After all Venturing, save Sea Scouts (going back to 1912), will be 12 y.o. this year, and has it roots in Exploring, which goes back further.

 

Hopefully this will be a learning event for the PTB.