West is Best!
WESTERN REGION VENTURING
Volume 2, Number 5
President’s Message:
WRVYC
April 19-21, Seattle, WA
Happy February everyone! There are several deadlines approaching that are very important to both you and your council. The first is your application for Area, Region, or National President, the second is the Council Standards of Venturing Excellence Award, and the third is the Venturing Leadership Award (VLA) nominations for both Annaliese Parker Area and Region. Please look for Western Region President information in other parts of this 2012-2013 newsletter about these topics. The past 2 months, the Region cabinet has been working very hard on the Western Region Venturing Youth Conference and on putting together the selection committees for both the officer and VLA selections. In these next few months, we hope to start wrapping up our goals for the term and prepare the incoming officers for a successful year. As always, please let us know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. WEST IS BEST!
by Annaliese Parker
Western Region President, 2012-2013 president@wrventuring-bsa.org
Southwestern Rendezvous 2012
Originally posted at the Western Region Sea Scout website: https://wrseascouts.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/southwestern-rendezvous/
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ack in November, Sea Scouts across Southern California (and some from Northern California as well) gathered for a regional competition commonly known as the Southwestern Rendezvous. For some who may not know, the Southwestern Rendezvous is a regional event that has been held since 1935 and happens the weekend of Thanksgiving. The Rendezvous is set up to not only test your nautical skills, but to test your leadership abilities, both mentally and physically! (Continued on Page 4)
February, 2013
tinyurl.com/wrvyc13
Venturing Membership ongratulations to the Western Region for having positive
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growth in Venturing membership in 2012! Here are some suggestions for Crews to implement in 2013 in order to continue growing: -Man a Venturing info booth at major Scouting events in your District or Council. Patches, handbooks, and brochures with information on each of the Crews in the Council are great items to have available. These can also be held at community events outside of Scouting, or at Troop/Team/Lodge meetings. -Create a brochure or fliers for your Crew to help recruit new members. These can be one-sheeters, trifold brochures, and/or business cards with the Advisor's contact info, Crew website, and meeting date/location. Make sure to leave extra copies at Council offices, and to bring some to every event you go to. (Continued on Page 5)
Western Region Venturing Youth Conference egistration is online for the Western Region
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Venturing Youth Conference! If you go to www.wrventuring-bsa.org/wrvyc, you will see the link at the top. After you have registered, there is a Travel Information Form and a Session’s Idea Form that need to be filled out. There is an updated flier that you can print out to promote the event in your crew, Council, Area or Region. This is our 5th Annual Region Conference, so it’s going to be a blast! Currently we have at least 5 outdoor activities for people to participate in as well as the National Venturing President attending. Register today and join the fun! -Submitted by Annaliese Parker
Pres/VP Apps Due Feb 15: Region Mar 1: Area www.scouting.org/venturing
Pacific Northwest Prepping for 2013 WRVYC
Q Jeremy Felty
Area 1 VOA President - 2012-13
uite a few things have taken place in Area 1 recently. Chief Seattle Council is gearing up for their Annual Venturing Winter Challenge held at Ensign Ranch in Easton, WA. Anyone interested in attending a cold weather event can sign up on the Chief Seattle Website at http://www.seattlebsa.org/ Venturing.
The Area VOA is also helping prepare for the Western Region Venturing Youth Conference. The Area VLA committee has already chosen the VLA recipients, but if there is someone you think is deserving, please nominate them for next year. Also, Area
President and Vice President applications are due March 1st, so if you are interested in becoming a member of the 2013-2014 Area Cabinet, apply now! Applications AREA can be found at www.scouting. org/venturing.
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“Life is a blank canvas, and you need to throw all the paint on it you can.” ― Danny Kaye By Jeremy Felty
2012-2013 Area 1 Venturing President area1-president@wrventuring-bsa.org
President...................... Jeremy Felty Vice Presidents..............Ethan Stroh, Andre Giacalone, Shannan Stevens Advisor.................. Dr. Bruce Noonan
Area 2 Changes reaPresidents Area 3 is Excited for 2013! 2 has gone through
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n the last few weeks, Area Three has been a significant change extremely busy! The Area Three Leaderin our VOA over this last ship Summit will be held April 12-14 at month. Due to a change in Camp Masonite Navarro in conjunction with some of the policies of his Redwood Empire’s Venturing Rendezvous. church, Copper Quist, choWe decided that we want everybody to sen to be the Area 2 VOA have the opportunity to earn portions of VenPresident for the 2012-2013 turing awards, so all the trainings will pertain term, has stepped down to those. The trainings are set, so check out President...............Charles Holm from his office to pursue a our Area Facebook Page for more details. Vice Presidents......Julie Graham, mission for the LDS church. Tess Mitchell (WR Area 3 VOA, https://www.facebook. While we’ve been preBailey Peterson, Tyler Lofgran Area 3 VOA com/groups/146419299723/) paring for this change for President 2012-13 Advisor...................... John Harris Also, we have started doing our own Area several months now, it has Newsletters, which can be downloaded from ourFacebook page. ARTWORK APPROVAL still come as a shock to Charles Holm, the prior VP of AdSo where has your Area Three P. 480-967-7015 F. 480-921-9011 min, and Bailey Peterson, the VP’s Assistant of Networking. AREA President been? Recently I lead Charles took over Copper’s position as Name/Company Due Date an ILSC course at Golden Empire President, and Bailey stepped upDate to fill Boyscouts of America 1/16/13 Council’s University of Scoutin Charles’s now empty slot in Admin. Design Name Design Type ing, and was able to meet many While I would not describe the event Westrestarted is Best Sunglasses ASI more Venturers in my council. as having the Area 2 VOA, Placement Dimensions I’m looking forward to both our the VOA certainly seems to have lost a Side Print 2”W x .25”H Area Leadership Summit and the bit of its momentum. Hopefully these Region Conference in April! setbacks are purely temporary as every President............... Tess Mitchell gets adjusted to having a new President By Tess Mitchell, Due to the differences in color systems for computer monitors and printers, the colors illustrated on this form are for representation purposes only. Vice Presidents.... Amanda Clark, When viewed on a screen or printed on paper, these colors may not accurately reflect the actual thread, fabric or print colors of the final product. and Vice-President of Administration. 2012-2013 Area 3 Venturing President Forrest Yeh, Indy Nelson Any PMS color code noted on this form are provided as a closely matching reference only. Charles Holm area3-president@wrventuring-bsa.org By Charles Holm Advisor................. Larry Peterson Area 2 VOA
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ink President 2013 Area 2White Venturing area2-president@wrventuring-bsa.org
President - 2013
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West is Best Sunglasses -
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ey Western Region! Want to show everyone that West is Best while looking cool doing so? Well then you need the Western Region VOA West is Best Sunglasses!
These sunglasses are of course, Venturing green, so they match with your uniform and you can wear them at all of your Venturing events, including the Western Region Venturing Conference this April!
The price for a pair of these Aca-mazing West is Best sunglasses is just $6 (see website for shipping cost). Visit our website at www.wrventuring-bsa.org/sunglasses for information on how to order. Supplies are limited, so order now and show them off because, as we’ve said countless times in this newsletter: W est is B est ! -Submitted by Jillian Infusino
Area 6: Plans Their Conference!
Area 4
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appy New Year, Western Region! Area 4 is getting back into full Venturing swing, and our councils have lots of exciting plans for 2013. All of our council Jamboree crews are continuing to meet and fundraise for National Jamboree this summer, and we Jillian Infusino look forward to mingling with other council crews in the Venturing subcamp. Area 4 VOA President - 2012-13 The Area 4 officers and advisors taught at a University of Scouting in December, and will be teaching at another one in late January. Members of the Area 4 cabinet also attended an awards dinner for Long Beach Area Council in early January, and had an amazing time. We would also like to welAREA come the new Long Beach Area Council VOA Advisor and cabinet into the Area 4 family; we are excited to be working with all of you. We look forward to meeting everyone from the other Areas at the Aca-Awesome Region President.............. Jillian Infusino Conference in April!
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By Jillian Infusino
2012-2013 Area 4 Venturing President area4-president@wrventuring-bsa.org
Vice Presidents....Chris Moncrief Andrew Zimmerman Advisor................ Chuck Williams
VP-Comms Query of the Month: “If you were an Olympic athlete, what sport would you compete in?”
Here are the responses from each Area representative: Area 1: Nordic Skiing - I love to ski! Area 2: Fencing - I enjoy a good battle every now and again Area 3: Curling - so I can fully appreciate the team uniforms... Area 4: Swimming - so I can be friends with Conor Dwyer & Ryan Lochte! Area 6: Sailing - I love the amount of synchronicity in the teams! President: Bobsledding - “heeeey Jamaica, we have a bobsled team!” VP Admin: Fencing - who doesn’t love playing with sharp, pointy objects? VP Comms: Archery - I love Robin Hood :) VP Program: Shooting - who doesn’t love shooting guns? Advisor: Equestrian - the only class where men and women compete equally. Have a question you want to see answered in our next newsletter?? Send it to: vpcomms@wrventuring-bsa.org
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rea 6 has made exciting progress on our leadership conference being held March 8-10. The registration is officially online, so those of you who are in the Area should sign up ASAP! Malia Ashley The host, Grand Canyon council, has been Area 6 VOA immensely helpful throughout the planning President - 2012-13 process, and we are very excited to see how many councils we will have represented. This will be the first area-wide event, with many more to follow. The event will include rappelAREA ling, team-building, and archery activities amidst the Venturingrelated conference sessions. We hope to inspire more youth at the council level to be active in the area, and to recruit more representatives from Area 6 to attend the Western Region Venturing Youth President................ Malia Ashley Conference in April!
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By Malia Ashley
2012-2013 Area 6 Venturing President area6-president@wrventuring-bsa.org
Area 5
Venturing Officer’s Association continues to be a work-in-progress. Don Diaz, as area representative, continues to work with each of the councils in developing Council VOAs. Please email area5-president@wrventuringbsa.org if you are interested in helping out.
Vice President.......David Carden, Shannon Mulligan, Brandi Tena
Advisor............ Mackenzie Lardie
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VOA President................(vacant) Area 5 Advisor..............Don Diaz
NEW Ask the Cabinet Corner
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ey Western Region! Have you ever had a question that you’ve wanted to ask somebody in the Region cabinet regarding Venturing? Well here is your chance!
Your Region cabinet has put together an email address for you guys to ask us your Venturing questions. We will answer any and all questions regarding both the negative and positive issues you may encounter during your Venturing career, including high adventure trips, awards and recognitions, conflicts, program, and anything else you can think of that is Venturing related. Advisor isn’t responding to your emails? VP not doing their job? Can’t figure out where to go on your Crew’s superactivity? Let us know and we’ll give you advice! We are here to help and we await your questions. Simply email: askthecabinet@wrventuring-bsa.org, and we will pick a few to appear in the next Western Region Newsletter! -Submitted by Jillian Infusino
Southwest Rendezvous (Continued from Page 1)
All in all, there are over 25 events to complete within a span of two days. The events range from activities like Drill, Sailing, Scuttlebutt, and Knot Tying to events like Uniform Inspection, Mariner’s Quiz, Marlinespike, and Rules of the Road. After the events close Saturday, there is a dance to celebrate the weekend, followed by an awards ceremony Sunday morning. For pictures from past years, check out the event website at: http://www.rendezvous.org/ With this being the Centennial year of Sea Scouts, I knew that this Southwestern Rendezvous would be one I would never forget, and it turned out to be exactly that! Bright and early Friday morning was when all the fun began. After the Mariner’s Quiz, every ship was on their own to complete as many events as they could. That night was Uniform Inspection and Hell Drill, which required a lot of standing around (and for some of the girls, standing in heels!!!). After that, most of us were tired out to no end. But that didn’t stop any of us from waking up that next morning at 0630! Saturday seemed like a hectic, but fun day. With only hours to spare, it was crucial that no time be wasted so that ships could complete all of their events in time to earn the Endurance Award. When events closed at 1530, it was time for…Scuttle Off!!!!! Scuttle Off is when the three crews with the lowest time compete against each other to see who will win. This year during Dreadnought Silver’s run, the whole barrel flipped over, and all the water went everywhere!!! The Youtube video of this crazy event will be up soon. Later that night was Drill Off and the Centennial Dance. Drill Off was intense, and Morning Star took the win!!!! The Dance was a lot of fun, and everyone came dressed in their uniform or formal attire. It was truly a great ending to a very fun weekend. We finished off on Sunday morning with the awards ceremony. I am so proud of everyone who attended the weekend and hope that they all walked away with new friends and great memories. I would like to thank all of the adults and area judges for helping throughout the whole weekend, as well as Michael Trouillon, the chairman of the Southwestern Rendezvous, for making this competition and weekend possible. I could not have thought of a better way to end the Sea Scout Centennial!! Fair winds and good fortune, By Madison Edwards Shapiro
2012-2013 Area IV & Area VI Boatswain madshapiro@gmail.com
Region VP-Comms
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-actly why am I starting this article with the word “x-actly”? I simply thought that the big “X” looked interesting, and I’d never seen a paragraph start with it before, and probably neither had you! Anyways, what HAVEN’T I been doing over the last few months? As well as Teddy Heidmann continuing to serve as tech-support for the Region VP of entire Region, I have undertaken quite a few Comms - 2012-2013 other projects which I’ll briefly mention: First off, I decided to create an extensive how-to document for each of the incoming officers including screenshots of how to edit the website, add events to the calendar, and even a section on proper uniform and email etiquette. I hope that these will continue to be used in the coming years, and that they will serve to make a flawless transition between officers. Secondly, I started developing a mobile version of the Western Region Venturing Site. The current site has many small buttons and hard-to-read text, plus it takes a very long time to load on a mobile device. As such, I am trying to make the mobile version as simple as possible while still maintaining the same excellent articles and features as the desktop version. Thirdly, I had a little free time on my hands and started messing around with Photoshop, the result of which can be seen as the header for the Western Region Facebook page. (Thank you to all the people that thought it was a real photo, that made my day :D) Lastly, I decided it would be an awesome idea to have Western Region Venturing bling, so I designed a Venturing Version of the “West is Best Sunglasses” (Article on page 2) which are now for sale for $6 apiece, plus shipping. This has been a very exciting term so far, and I look forward to accomplishing much more in the coming few months! WEST IS BEST!!! By Teddy Heidmann
2012-2013 VP of Communication vpcomms@wrventuring-bsa.org
Long Beach Sea Scout Gala
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n January 12th, 2013, the Long Beach Area Council hosted their annual Sea Scout and Venturing Awards Dinner. LBAC handed out two Venturing Leadership Awards, one to Bryan Santiago and the other to Sebastian Guerra. A big congratulation and thank you goes to both of them for their hard work and dedication to LBAC! The council also gave Melisa Benedict an award of recognition and appreciation for her service as the LBAC VOA Advisor for the past two years. Melisa will continue to support Venturing at the council level in her new role as Council Venturing Chairman. The Area 4 VOA would like to thank Melisa for her work in LBAC, and we know that she will continue to help Venturing grow as Council Venturing Chairman! -Submitted by Jillian Infusino
Region VP-Admin
Region VP-Program
he last month or so, I have been working with each Area Vice President of Administration getting the CSVE Award filled out, and to help them with any questions about the award. I’m happy to say that we have had great feedback from everyone.
owdeeee Western Region members! I have just been appointed to fill the VP of Program position and let me tell you something: I am excited!
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I have also been helping them set up Area-level Venturing Leadership Award Shantell Sallee Region VP of (VLA) selection committees, and in getAdmin - 2012-13 ting the applications for the VLA filled out and turned in on time. Applications for Area and Regional VLAs are due no later than February 15th, 2013, so submit any nominations you have to vla@wrventuring-bsa.org and we will forward it on to the respective selection committee. As for Councils VLAs, it is up to each council to decide when your VLA applications are due. If you have questions about any level of VLA or any other award, please feel free to contact me at vpadmin@wrventuring-bsa.org. I have also been working on getting things in order for next year’s Western Region Venturing Vice President of Administrations, and making it as clear as possible for them when I age out in March. We are currently looking into replacements for that time, but until then I will continue to serve as your Region VP. It has been such a blast to serve on the Western Region VOA! Please send in your President/Vice President applications to serve in next year’s Area or Region VOA! There are a ton of open spots, and it is a blast to work with youth all over the Western Region. WEST IS BEST!!!! By Shantell Sallee
2012-2013 VP of Administration vpadmin@wrventuring-bsa.org
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Program is where it is at, as program recruits new scouts to your crew, and once they are recruited, program keeps them coming. The regional level is no different than the local level, and it is my commitment to each of you to strengthen Hampton Zobrist the Region through the implementation of Region VP of Program - 2012-13 a strong Venturing program. In my role as VP of Program, I am focusing on three main areas: 1. Creating and disseminating a master training calendar. Soon, I hope each of you will have a single resource to access training opportunities throughout the region. I will also be recruiting a venturing training contact in each council. If you are interested in being the contact for your council, please let me know. 2. Communicating with and the training of Area Vice Presidents of Program. I will be scheduling monthly conference calls with the Area VPs, during which I hope to create a cohesive, well-trained, and motivated group of VPs which can in turn strengthen their respective areas. 3. Identifying a location for the 2014 Regional Conference and the planning of a region-wide super activity. I look forward to serving each of you in this role. Program is exciting, and it is the lifeblood of venturing. Get involved and watch your crew and area grow! By Hampton Zobrist
2012-2013 VP of Program vpprgm@wrventuring-bsa.org
Venturing Membership (Continued from page 1)
Area 6 Venturing Youth Conference
-Establish a Crew website and/or Facebook page to post info on upcoming events. These need to be kept up-to-date with current contact information and events. -Get involved in your local community. This could be through events such as running a concession stand at community festivals, marching in parades, etc. Don't be hidden; get your image out Activities: there! -Archery -Submit articles for your local papers. When someone earns an -Rapelling important award or the Crew goes on an exciting outing, submit a -Networking with other youth in the Area short summary to the paper. Don't overlook the smaller community -Leadership Presentations papers, as those are where most of your membership will come Cost: $60 per person from. After Feb 22, 2013, goes up to $70 -Publicize the Venturing logo as much as possible. Some busiTo register, plese go to: http://www.grandcanyonbsa.org/event/area6venturing nesses have boards for local business cards, so consider putting one there for your Crew. youthconference For more information, please contact: -Submitted by Steven Smith Malia Ashley: area6-president@wrventuring-bsa.org Western Region Venturing Impact Committee