WR Area 4 Venturing Newsletter Vol. II Issue 6 Cover Image SOham Patel Contributors Andrei Niemczyk, Nicole Steele, Ryan Trinh, Natalie MacEwan Instagram @wra4ventuiring Facebook WR Area 4 Venturing Facebook.com/wra4venturing For Questions, Comments, or Concerns, email us at Soham Patel area4-vpcomms@wrventuring.org
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I suppose
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leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with
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people.
Mahatma Gandhi
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President's Minute Hello everyone one! I first want to thank everyone for coming out to our Area 4 Event. It was a successful event and I really hope that everyone had an amazing time. I also would like to thank the staff and the Los Padres Council for helping us and hosting us for this awesome event. Now that this has passed, I now want to invite everyone to come and join us for our next event which will be our Area 4 Banquet. It will be on May 13-14 and it will be at the Elks Lodge in Arcadia. We plan on recognizing all the hard work our Venturers have done in the past year and then celebrate the night away with games and activities all the way to Sunday morning. I hope to see you all there!
Advisor's Minute Hello Area 4 Venturers and Advisors, Spring is right around the corner and we are almost done with this year's term! I can't believe how much all of us have grown over the past 9 months. I'm not just talking about our officers, but all of our Advisors as well. I have had some time to reflect and look back at each one of our officers, both Council and Area officers, and we are all starting to form and come together as an Area. With everyone helps, we have accomplished so much: the Area Orientation, Passport to Venturing, Area Commissioner College, and even the council events. We come from different councils and crews, but yet some how at the end we become a family. Let all of us keep growing and working together to help build the program that we are all believe in even better. Make our bond stronger and make Western Region Area 4 the best Venturing Area in BSA. Talk to you soon, T. Itsarapakdetam Western Region Area 4 VOA Advisor
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An International Perspective Hanna Jo is a Rover Scout from South Korea that is currently visiting America and is experiencing the Venturing program in Orange County Council. Below, we were able to get an interview with her. What brings you to the United States? "I’m selected by the government program which provides an opportunity to learn English and have an internship in USA. My language school is located in Irvine, so I learn English here. In my free time, I try to be involved in scouting as much as possible! I like meeting scouters." What have you done so far in your Scouting career? "Since I was young, I have participated in many National Jamborees and Asia Pacific Jamborees as a scouter and also a staff member. When I started Rover Scouts (usually university student, between 18-26 before the adult leader), I did volunteer work in Mongolia with Mongolian scouts. I also have experience scouting in Germany. 2 years ago, I worked at Our Chalet (one of the girl scout world centre), in Switzerland. At that time, I worked with many scouters from all over the world includes USA, UK, Finland, Colombia, Ireland, Hongkong and parts of Africa. I learned how diverse scouting is and respecting each culture. And I also have had a chance to visit KISC (Kandersteg International Scout Centre). Last summer, I worked at the Summit, WV as a commissioner. I was in charge of the international night program. I met many scouters from all states, even Alaska and Puerto Rico! " What about Scouting in America is similar to Scouting in Korea? What is different? "The passion which scouts have is same. Everybody wants to explore and enjoys challenging. Moreover, all scouts have a big and warm heart. The US is also so big (Korea is much smaller than California), so there are various outdoor activities which have a big scale. In campfires here there are s’mores! I love them, but we don’t have them in Korea."
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What do you plan on gaining from your staying here in America? "First of all, I will learn English. That is the most important thing. I try to do scouting as much as possible. Actually, it helps me improve my English skills. I would like to share my experience, so I brought my patches and brochures from my countries! If you need any help, don’t hesitate to contact me!"
VenturingFest 2018 VenturingFest 2018, the second national gathering of Venturers at the Summit Bechtel Reserve – a Scouting experience unlike any other before – is coming your way again from July 1 to July 6! VenturingFest 2018 is a special Scouting event at SBR that’s open to registered Venturers, Scouts and adult leaders across the U.S. This six-day high-adventure festival invites participants to explore the best the SBR has to offer. We’re talking rock climbing, skateboarding, BMX biking, water sports, shooting sports, zip lines, challenge courses, and so much more!
Click her e for mo re informat ion
Programs in the James C Justice National Scout Camp Aquatics Paddleboarding Kayaking Water Obstacle Course COPE and Climbing Climbing Rappelling Bouldering Project COPE Outdoor Skills Scout Craft Wilderness Survival Primitive Range
Conservation and Sustainability Shooting Sports LaPorte The Barrels (Shooting Sports) The Rocks (Rock Climbing/Rappelling) The Ropes (Challenger Course) The Park (Skateboarding) The Trax (BMX Biking) The Canopy (Canopy Tour) White Water Rafting
COST: Youth: $500 Adult $400 Price goes up to $600 and $500 respectively after April 30, 2018
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Passport to Venturing
When people are usually asked about Camp Rancho Alegre, they’ll respond with confused looks or follow up questions. This small camp hidden in the Los Padres National Forest definitely isn’t as well known as the Summit Bechtel Reserve or Philmont. But from February 10-12th, this beautiful camp became the home for 70 Venturers from across California from the Bay Area to Orange County. Participants arrived early on Saturday morning to check in at the dining hall and receive their passports – their guide to the weekend that listed all 16 activities available to them. These passports were meant to encourage the participants to complete as many activities as possible. The twist here, however, was that participants were placed into mixed groups of adults and youth from different
crews. After the opening ceremony, these new groups full of undiscovered friendships headed over to Lassen Meadow, where the first half of the day’s activities would take place. Out on the wide expanse, a shotgun range was set up along with a STEM station, a drone obstacle course, and giant jenga and a mystery event for groups to stop by between stations. “Deciding what to bring was definitely that hardest part about getting ready,” our resident chemist Matt Lasater told us. “There were so many things I
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could show [the Venturers] but cutting it down to two or three experiments was hard.” In the end, we got to see the science of how dry ice, nitrous oxide, and cupric oxide reacted with everyday chemicals. Over on the other side of the field, drones struggled against the wind to complete an obstacle course. The course involved two hoops set up at opposite ends of the field where the pilots had to maneuver them through the loops following different patterns. Sadly, the water from the rains the night before did not bode well with the drones, causing them to have to land often and be dried off while groups were using them. The mystery event and giant jenga ended working out fine, however. The mystery event consisted of ten different items scattered in a tent where venturers had to enter blindfolded and try to identify as many items as possible before time was up. The whole team then got together and tried to make a complete list of the items, which usually ended up with some interesting interpretations. After lunch, range flags were raised and shooting sports began. Venturers now took over the east side of camp where they shot rifles and bows, and then got to climb to their heart’s content on the camp’s brand new climbing wall. On the rifle
range, youth and adults competed against each other, encouraging each other to shoot and aim better. At the archery range, some Venturers had their first try at shooting a bow an arrow. Sid Cordoba, a first time shooter, found the guidance on the range especially helpful. Our range masters for the weekend, Jessica Pazdernik and Michael Fineberg, made sure each of the shooters on the line improved with every round. “Not just me, but they helped out all the shooters.” Throwing knives and tomahawks made an appearance as well. At the same time, participants had their cameras out trying to complete the photo scavenger hunt that began earlier in the day. Suddenly, our groups were put to the test during our camp-wide COPE round robin. If we needed to show the four stages of team development in action, we would point here. Groups went from performing to storming within the first activity and bounced around throughout the hour. “That was interesting to watch,” Soham Patel noted. “You had these groups that were doing so great throughout the day and then suddenly a few obstacles in their way turned them upside down.” Finally, the rain decided to make a guest
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appearance in the evening preventing us from having a campfire outside. Thus, we had it in the lodge instead with our multicolored fire. Overall, the weekend was a huge success and we would like to give our thanks to all the participants that made it, from the Bay Area to San Diego. We hope they enjoyed themselves and will consider coming to our event next year the same weekend in February: February 9-11.
A big thank you to all of our participants that submitted their photos to us. We have about 700 photos from our event! Below are the best photos from the scavenger hunt that our participants competed in throughout the day.
The Western Region Area 4 Venturing Officer's Association would like to thank the following for their donation to make our event the success that it was. Orange County Sharpshooters – Shotgun Clays, Ammunition, and Instructors Magna Products – 9mm Ammunition Jerry Johnson – Shotgun Shells Dinh Tran – 22 Ammunition Matt Lasater – Chemistry Greater Los Angeles Area Council and Western Los Angeles County Council for sponsoring Venturers to attend our event. Los Padres Council for hosting our event at their camp
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May 13th, 2o17 4pm to 8pm
Arcadia Elks Lodge 27 W. Huntington Drive Arcadia, CA 91007
$20 per person