The FORUM , Sea and Exploring Newsletter since 2003 July 2020 Issue

FORUM Articles What is the FORUM How to submit an Article FORUM articles for download

Central Region SSS Soaring Eagle 7007 - Overland Park, Kansas—Virtual Nova Program

Northeast Region High Adventure Outing for Venturing Crew 152

National National Venturing Report Venturing Newsletter—Fall National Venturing Report—2017-18 National Commodore’s Corner 2020 National Flagship and Fleey 2020 National Sea Leadership Awards Manual 2019 Edition Medical Forms

Western Region Regional Commodore’s Corner

WHAT IS THE FORUM!

The FORUM is a National cluster concept and a friendly way to help Scouting Leaders ex- change ideas and programs among our Troops, Crews, Ships, Posts, Councils, Areas, Regions and National. The FORUM is shared by Volunteers and Professionals across the country. The FORUM has been published monthly since 2003 and is not an official publication of any Council, Area, Region or National. It is a Volunteers and Professionals newsletter to promote our senior program. Help support our teenage program by sending the FORUM your stories, Newslet- ters. Council articles, By-Laws, Questions and Best Practices to share with others. As always, articles, questions and comments are welcome. Promote Venturing, Sea Scouting and Exploring by promoting your Unit and Council etc. stories. We are seeking support from any- one interested in working on the newsletter. Thanks for all you do!

Bob the BEAR Monto, Editor in Chief

How to submit an article

The FORUM would like any articles and event promotions you have on Exploring, Sea Scouting and Venturing programs from your units, council etc. Articles with photos are best. Articles with youth (under 18) must use BSA Youth Protection guidelines. Attach your article as a Word document (preferable method) with identified photos (With descriptions of photo), clipart, etc. and send to [email protected]. Please email Bob “The BEAR” Monto by the 25th of the month with your articles. Since the FORUM is published monthly, if you miss one month it will get in the next month. Your article should also include contact information and name of the individual sub- mitting the article. Use subject line FORUM to highlight this is a FORUM email. Please edit your article. All photos should have permission of all the participants in the photos. Indicate in the email that permission has been granted. Scouting Youth Protection Guidelines apply. Submit a brief bio of the author(s) of the article.

Thanks for all you do for Youth Bob "the BEAR" Monto FORUM Newsletter Editor

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Sea Scout News Central Region Sea Scouts

SSS Soaring Eagle 7007 - Overland Park, Kansas Virtual Nova Program

Over the last several months, approximately 30 or so Venturing and Sea Scouts have taken an online deep dive into the “Numbers Don’t Lie” and “Execute” Nova program. Tuesday afternoon from 2:00 to 3:00 (central time) has been the time slot, and we have gathered in virtual meetings to work on math and com- puter-related STEM projects. Scouts explored computer programming, process management, and practical business applications like product design. We learned about forecasting, mapping, and even how to get started in the world of offsite programming. We interviewed several professionals in the industry and were able to ask all kinds of ques- tions—ranging from safety to training. The program has been a success and we look to continue in the future!

Paul D. McDonald Skipper, SSS Soaring Eagle 7007 Area Commodore, Central Region Area 5 [email protected] Phone/text: (816) 265-1927

High Adventure Outing for Venturing Crew 152

Canyoneering trip to Utah, Zion National Park, the Narrows slot canyon, author is on right side.

Venturing Crew 152 in Blacksburg, VA (Blue Ridge Mountains Council) was started by my daugh- ter, wife, and myself in 2004. Now in year 16 the crew remains active in high adventure outings such as backpacking, climbing, caving, canoeing, and high ropes/ziplining with 31 members. Girls have generally outnumbered boys 3 to 1 in this crew and membership is restricted to high school age youth. The crew has very few meetings, typically reserved to plan out-of-state spring break and summer trips, for recruitment, or to elect the crew leadership. To compensate for that we have developed an extensive set of guidance docu- ments to aid trip participants in preparing for outings.

High Adventure Outing for Venturing Crew 152

Guidance documents: Our full set of documents can be found at this link – you are welcome to download and use them, modifying as needed. The two core docu- ments are about Gear and Clothing and Backpacking Food, providing both general and specific guidance and focused on ultralite backpacking. There are more specialized files on First Aid, Useful Knots, Water Purification, and Coordi- nates and Datums (related to the use of GPS). I now find it necessary to teach navigation with basic map and compass, GPS units, and a variety of phone apps – today’s youth need to master all of these and know about their respective ad- vantages and disadvantages. There are also some activity- specific guidance documents: Canoe Gear and Safety, Cav- ing, Rock Climbing, and Winter Camping. Finally, there is some safety guidance related to stream crossings, backpack- ing near , and the use of bear canisters. guidance appears in several of the documents and a campsite selection file and LNT for groups brochure are al- so included.

Backpacking in Banff National Park, Canada, 2019.

Communications are done primarily through e-mail with guidance file attachments; Doodle polls are used to select trips and dates. Youth are expected to read and follow the guid- ance in these documents in preparing for trips and to show up with the right clothing, gear, and basic knowledge. Backpacks are weighed with a portable scale at the drop-off location and youth quickly learn to consider the weight and bulk of the items they brought (most weekend packs weigh <30 lbs). The more experienced adults and youth teach experientially during the outings. For example, selecting a safe low impact campsite is taught when looking for a place to camp, while Leave No Trace practices for cleaning dishes, hanging a bear bag, or dig- ging a cathole are taught through “teachable moments” at ap- propriate times. We try to include more advanced instruction on a topic like first aid, water purification options, or GPS nav- igation on each weekend trip. Sometimes this teaching is as- signed in advance to youth, such as after a few of them have Canyoneering in Grand Staircase- completed the Wilderness First Aid course Escalante National Monument, Utah, 2012.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0ByQ0Dtg-7IJPV291YVF0MFE5Qmc? usp=sharing

High Adventure Outing for Venturing Crew 152

Weekend trips are generally planned for each month and commonly include backpacking on the Appalachian Trail or canoeing on the New River. We camp away from shelters or popular areas and other groups, sometimes doing dispersed pristine site camping where we select a durable grassy mead- ow or forested site with little ground vegetation, camp one night, and erase traces of our visit before departing. Our crew and “sister” troop 152 have lightweight tents, backpacks, and stoves to lend out, along with the necessary canoeing, climb- ing, and caving gear to run our own trips. Occasionally we vis- it a private business to do high ropes and zipline courses or to run a river with a whitewater rafting company. We also do an annual indoor climbing wall sleepover trip in the winter each year, always well-attended and an easy recruitment outing where we show slides of crew outings while eating pizza at midnight. Another popular outing has been via ferrata climb- ing in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, where we also rappel off a 150 ft cliff. Via ferrata climbing uses fixed cables and double lanyards attached to climb- ing harnesses. Youth shift the lanyards one at a time past cable attachment sites as they climb. The climbing pro- gresses from easy to quite challeng- ing…

Also popular are out-of-state spring break and summer trips. Common spring break trips have includ- ed sea kayaking to Shackleford Island in the Outer Banks where we camp behind the sand dunes with free- roaming wild ponies, canoe trips to Congaree National Park (SC) and Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (GA), both swamps, the latter with numerous alligators, and Florida to canoe crystal clear spring-fed streams and rivers (some with manatees). Annual western sum- mer trips began with a trip to Philmont Scout where my son was our . Since then we have planned our own high adventure trips that have includ- ed backpacking on different sections of the Pacific Crest Trail (CA, OR, and WA) or in various Wilderness areas (CO, WY), and canyoneering (UT). These trips are reserved for more experienced youth, whom we in- volve in the planning and decision-making. Our sum- mer trips have been offered at a cost of around $800/ person, half the Philmont cost and allowing greater Backpacking through Coyote Gulch in Glen learning by youth in trip planning, purchasing, and re- Canyon National Recreation Area (UT). Two packaging their food, hiking logistics, and activities youth were caught in quicksand on our last trip down this remote canyon!

High Adventure Outing for Venturing Crew 152

Some lessons learned: Recruit both youth and selected parents. A core requirement for the latter is that they are able to “keep up” with the youth and learn/practice wilderness camping skills like cat-holing their waste. Last year the youth voted to do a 17-mile day on our summer backpacking trip! Some parents bring special- ized knowledge and experience in climbing, caving, or whitewater boating. Girls can do any high adventure activity that boys can, and they always do them with better judgement and safety. You learn to watch certain boys like a hawk, those who believe they can “wing it” when engaged in high adventure activities (I was that boy in my youth…). Our youth are taught to practice good judgement and pay close attention and speak up when they see risky behaviors; the girls are quite adept at reigning in the boys when they outnumber the boys (less so otherwise). We have had an active co-ed crew for 16 years with a several couples, gay members of both sexes, dif- fering ethnicities, and not one related problem or youth protection incident. See our Crew’s Code of Conduct guidance at this link.

Jeff Marion is a federal scientist who studies visitor impacts to national parks and wilderness. He is sta- tioned at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, VA. He has been a Scoutmaster and Crew Advisor and is active with the BSA National Council in promoting Leave No Trace ethics and practices in scout- ing. He can be contacted at [email protected].

National Venturing Report

Venturing Newsletter - Fall 2019 Edition

View Online Download PDF

The second edition of the Venturing Newsletter is here! Learn more about what has happened the last three months and what is upcoming in the Venturing world by visiting the link below. Happy New Year and happy reading!

National Venturing Report

As the 2017-2018 Venturing Officer term draws to a close, we would like to share with you all of the amazing happenings in the Venturing world. The Annual Report includes a final letter from this year’s NVOA, updates on some of the progress Venturing has made over this past term, as well as the national opportunities for Venturers coming up in the future. Thank you again for an awesome year!

https://spark.adobe.com/page/

National Commodore’s Corner

2020 Flagship and Fleet

By now you have probably seen the announcement that Ship 198 from Lewes, Delaware in Del-Mar-Va Council has been named 2020 National Flagship, and that three more ships have been designated members of the National Flagship Fleet. Several of you have asked “What does it take to get to be the National Flagship?” You can review the criteria (and see the list of past flagships) here, but at a high level, the scoring is based on: Youth Perspective and Preparation of all aspects of the Application: (15 points) Scouting’s Journey to Excellence performance evaluation: (10 points) Sea Scout Advancement and Recognitions: (15 points) On-Water Activities: (20 points) Sea Scout Collaborative and Mentoring Activity: (10 points) Community Service: (10 points) Recruiting Activities: (15 points) Sea Development: (5 points) The heart of the application is a presentation or video which tells the story of the ship from the perspective of the youth in the ship. That both summarizes the accomplishments of the ship (on-the-water activities, community service, etc.) and provides the all important youth perspective. I have been able to obtain permission from the new National Flagship and the three National Flagship fleet ships to share their presentations with you. Each of these ships chose a different style of presentation (video, slide presentation with embedded vid- eo, etc.) and has a fairly different program, but they share some important characteristics too. First and most important, the youth in their ship are heavily involved in leading all aspects of the ship’s operations. Second, they do a lot – each of them has an in- credibly busy schedule of outings, service projects, and training. And third, they’re having fun! The presentations you see here aren’t the entirety of their applications, but they’ll give you a pretty good idea what life in these ships is like, and hopefully, along the way, you’ll get some ideas that you can bring home to your own ship. Let’s start with our new National Flagship. Ship 198 is chartered by the Broadkiln Marina in Milton, Delaware and is led by Ship’s Boatswain Cheyenne S. and Skipper Ron Krajewski. Under Cheyenne’s leadership, the Quarterdeck embarked on an ag- gressive recruiting campaign as well as a well-rounded program involving active participation in outdoor district and council events, on-the-water activities, community service and active participation in the Del-Mar-Va Council’s Nentego Lodge . As a result of their hard work and determination, Ship 198 grew from 10 members to 28 active members. Here is their story: Ship 198 National Flagship Presentation Next, we turn to Ship 911, SSS Response, from Capitol Area Council in Texas. This is Response’s sixth consecutive year in the National Flagship Fleet. This is a Google slides presentation with embedded video – to view, click the photo below and select ‘Present’.

SHIP 198

https://youtu.be/_MrCNF98vi0

National Commodore’s Corner

2020 Flagship and Fleet

Ship 911 – SSS Response From there, we visit Ship 1701, SSS Enterprise, from Sam Houston Area Council in Texas. Ship 1701 – SSS Enterprise And finally, Ship 450, SSS Heatwave, from Las Vegas Area Council. Click on the photo to view the mp4 video.

Ship 1701

https://youtu.be/64Nhk8m7hFk

National Commodore’s Corner

Ship 450 – SSS Heatwave I hope you will join us for a National Bridge of Honor to recognize these ships, to recognize the National Sea Scout Leadership Award recipients, and to conduct the Change of Watch for the . That will be con- ducted online and will be live streamed on May 27th at 2000 Central. Please save the date and watch for an an-

Sea Scout Manual – 2019 Edition Since the beginning, the Sea Scout manual has been an evolving document that changed with the times. The 2016 edition incorporated some significant changes – perhaps the biggest of those was the addition of paddlecraft advancement re- quirements, making true paddlecraft ships a reality. National supply still has a big inventory of those 2016 editions in stock so it’ll be a while before another printed edition comes out – but several things have changed since then. Since 2016, we’ve been making available ‘errata’ files in the manual resource center on seascout.org – if you print those and replace the appropriate pages in your 2016 manual, you can bring it up to current. The ability to update like this was the plan and is why the manual was produced as loose-leaf rather than bound. If like me, you prefer to refer to a downloaded PDF of the manual, you’re in luck – the PDF version available for download has been updated to 2019 so all you need to do is to download a fresh copy. Check the fine print on the title page to make sure you have the correct one – it should say “Updated to October 2019”. Either way, please do make sure your manual is up to date so that you’re looking at current requirements and standards!

Medical Forms

For the first time in several years, BSA has made some changes to the standard medical forms for 2020. There’s no need to panic, they’ve given us a year to transition – but do remind your people that if they’re going in for their annual physical, be sure to use the new form. Read more about this in Bryan on Scouting along with some good advice as to when you need parts A, B or C but if you don’t need that, you can go straight to the form here. National Commodore’s Corner

2020 National Sea Scout Leadership Awards

The Sea Scout Leadership Award is presented by councils, areas, regions, and the BSA National Council to Sea Scouts and Sea Scouters who have made exceptional contributions to Sea Scouting and who exemplify the Scout Oath and . I am pleased to announce this year’s recipients of the National Sea Scout Leadership Award. They will be formally recognized at an online National Bridge of Honor on May 27th at 8 pm central time – during the same event, we will also recognize the new Na- tional Flagship and will conduct a change of watch for the National Boatswain. The event will be streamed live via our Facebook page so please plan to join us!

Hannah Carter Martha Fields Jordyn Alexis

Bruce Johnson Rob Freas Cassie Johnson

National Commodore’s Corner

2020 National Sea Scout Leadership Awards

Hannah Carter has served as National Boatswain for the 2019 to 2020 term. She started with a clear and ambitious plan and has accomplished a great deal of it. She built and led an effective National Quarterdeck and has effectively used social media to develop better com- munication with youth in ships across the country. Hannah plans to stay engaged with Quarterdeck projects as she enters college this fall.

Martha Fields served on the National Quarterdeck and was a key contributor to most of the Quarterdeck’s projects this past year. In addition she has served on the National Marketing team as a webinar host and postcast co-host. During the same time she has served as Sam Houston Area Council’s boatswain. This year Martha moves up to serve as National Boatswain’s Mate. ,

Jordyn Alexis as Western Region Boatswain has served on the National Quarterdeck and has been a key part of national marketing campaigns, training development, and event planning. Jordyn will be continuing her national support of Sea Scouts by joining the National Program and Training team, initially to assist with a modernization of ILSS.

Bruce Johnson has served Sea Scouts at the Regional and National levels for decades but his leadership over the past couple of years in helping develop the Sea Scout / Coast Guard Auxiliary relationship has been extraordinary and has laid the groundwork for a partnership that is strategic to the growth of Sea Scouts over the next few years.

Rob Freas serves as Skipper and Council Commodore but is being recognized with the National SSLA for his work in revamping and ex- panding the SEAL program resulting in SEAL 2.0. As a result of his work the number of SEAL courses offered doubled this year and SEAL has entered into a new era.

Cassie Johnson has led our Sea Scout program and training team for a number of years, including overseeing the Sea Scout Manual as well as and other training. She led development of the new IOWL and AOWLS courses now rolling out nationwide, and she has been a principal author of the SEAL 2.0 curriculum.

Past Recipients of the National Sea Scout Leadership Award 2016: Rachel West, Peter Schmidt, Nathasha Leahey-Sayles, Joshua Gilliland 2017: Charles Wurster, Mercedes Matlock, T.W. Cook 2018: Hugh Riley, Jack Otto, Janice Downey 2019: Dan Wilson, Larry King

National Venturing The FORUM is a National cluster concept http://www.scouting.org/venturing.aspx and a friendly way to help Scouting Leaders National Sea Scout exchange ideas and programs among our http://www.seascout.org/ Troops, Crews, Ships, Posts, Councils, Central Region Venturing http://www.crventuring.org Areas, Regions and National.. Northeast Region Venturing The FORUM is shared by Volunteers and http://nerventuring-bsa.org/ Professionals across the country. Southern Region Sea Scout “The FORUM” has been published http://srventuring-bsa.org/wordpress/ monthly since 2003 and is not an official National Exploring http://www.exploring.org/ publication of any Council, Area, Region or National. It is the Leaders and Professionals newsletter. Help support our teenage program by sending the FORUM your Yahoo Groups stories, Newsletters. Council articles, Central Region By-Laws, Questions and Best Practices to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crventuring/ Northeast Region share with others. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nerventuring/ As always, articles, questions and Southern Region comments are welcome. Promote Venturing, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/srventuring/ Sea Scouting and Exploring by promoting Western Region your Unit and Council. We are seeking http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wrventuring/ National support from anyone interested in working http://groups.yahoo.com/group/venturinglist/ on the newsletter . Thanks for all you do!

Bob the BEAR Monto—Editor in Chief Bernie Suess - Webmaster

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