WESTERN REGION In This Issue: 1 President’s Corner NOVEMBER 2014

2 Region Updates

3 Area 1 Updates

4 Area 4 Updates

4 A4 Venturing Challenge

4 Featured Advisor

5 Beach Blowout

6 Island Adventure

7 Project C.O.P.E

7 VWC 2015

8 Safety at Sea Event

wrventuring-bsa.org Fall News!

Western Region Venturing Region Highlights: 2015 San Diego Beach Blowout pg. 5

Area 3 Safety at Sea Event pg. 8 http://wrventuring-bsa.org • http://wrventuring-bsa.org • http://wrventuring-bsa.org President’s Corner

HAPPY NOVEMBER!

The past two months have been super busy with traveling for Venturing! It start- ed out with representing all of YOU at the Western Region Board Meetings in Riverside, California. Many exciting things happened at the board meeting which included attending our region’s first ever Venturing Committee Meeting, report- ing the status of our VOA to various committees, and most importantly, talking to people about the cool stuff that Venturers in the Western Region have been doing. A week later I attended the largest Venturing event in the United States, the Fall Fun Rally in St. Louis, Missouri where I was able to meet and become friends with many of our fellow Venturers in the Central Region. Finally to top it all off, I attended the San Diego Imperial Council’s Venturing Island Adventure where I was able to kayak, sail, swim, and hangout with Venturers from Areas 4 Edward Abraham and 6! What type of cool activities does your council or crew do in the Fall? We Western Region President always encourage you to share articles and photos with us at vpcomms@wrven- turing-bsa.org

Have you been keeping up with the Western Region VOA updates these past two months? First of all we finally have registration up for the 2015 San Diego Beach Cover: Blowout. If you haven’t heard, this awesome event by the beach will be taking A Sea participates in place from April 17-19, 2015 at Camp Fiesta Island in San Diego, CA. The Price Fire Extinguisher Training is now $65, but it will rise by $15 a month before. We only have 200 spots, and during the 21st annual they’re already filling up, so register today! In addition, our lovely Vice President Safety at Sea Event in San of Communication, Pratik Vaidya, has created our Region’s Instagram account. Be Francisco, CA. See page sure to follow us at @wrventuring for all of the latest and greatest news about 8 for more information all things Venturing related around the Region. Remember to hash-tag all of your about the event! crew’s super cool activities with #WRVenturing!

As our warm sunny days of summer have come to an end and the days become cooler, it can only mean one thing, it’s Fall. What exactly does that mean to all of us in Venturing? Well Fall time is recruiting time! What different methods does If you have photos you would your crew have in order to recruit more members? Does your crew do an open like to submit for use in our house? How about a crew activity where you bring a friend to a crew biking, hik- promotions, please email: ing, or even kayaking event? Try something new this year to recruit your friends [email protected] into Venturing! That’s right, invite a friend to discover the adventure in Venturing.

Have an awesome November, Western Region!

Edward Abraham VP Program Western Region Venturing President Shannon Mulligan

1 Region Updates VP Communications Happy November! I hope Hello Western Region!

you all are enjoying the last I hope you’ve enjoyed your Pratik Vaidya couple of months before year so far. I’ve been having the New Year. This past two a blast with all the Venturing months I have been making events going on! Last month, sure the Western Region I attended Chief Venturing contact list is up- Council’s Program and Train- Rachel Younger Rachel Younger

VP Administration to-date. I’d like to thank the ing conference where I was Area presidents and their able to give a presentation on advisors for all their help in the new Venturing awards, getting the contact list updat- all the new opportunities ed. I’m so happy that so many of the Areas have a full for crews, and all the great events coming up in the cabinet now, too! Stay tuned for more information on next few months. will be hosting the Council Standards of Venturing Excellence Award the Venturing Winter Challenge on Jan 30-Feb 1 in requirements. Washington State, Area 1 is hosting the RAVE (Really Awesome Venturing Experience) on March 20-22 in On October 18, Edward Abraham and I had the Oregon, and the Western Region will be hosting The honor of being trainers at Area 3’s REACH, the first San Diego Beach Blowout on April 17-19 in Califor- training-only event in the Area. Venturers and advi- nia! sors from all over the Area came over to San Bruno to learn more about the Venturing program. There We now have our very own Instagram account! Be was a great turn-out and great food. Youth learned sure to follow us @WRVenturing and use #WRVen- about the different VOA positions, the new program turing whenever you post your awesome Venturing and awards, tips and tricks on working with VOA pictures on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. We’ve officers and advisors, and recruitment and retention. already seen some amazing crew activities and can’t But what was awesome was that Edward was the wait to see the rest! Please send any pictures or arti- first person to teach the new Goal Setting and Time cles about your crew to vpcomms@wrventuring-bsa. Management training for the Venturing Discovery org. Award in the Area and Western Region. Everyone had a wonderful time and I hope this becomes a tradition I hope you enjoy the rest of the year and stay safe as in Area 3! we enter the holiday season!

I know you all can not wait for The San Diego Beach Blowout event, but it is coming up soon! It will be taking place over the weekend of April 17-19, 2015. There will be lots of opportunities filled with fun for every Venturer on the hunt for a water adven- ture! With Night Kayaking, Giant Slip-N-Slides, Canoeing, Wind Surfing, Sailboating, and a weekend completely full of aquatics, we will be on the beach version of Fiesta Island. VP Program

Shannon Mulligan You will be able to meet people from all over the Western Region - all the way from Japan to Colorado and everywhere in between! Friends, contacts and other adventur- ous Scouts will be here, so there is no way to miss out on this event. I challenge you all to come and see just how exciting and adventurous the Western Region can be.

To register, visit the Western Region Venturing website and scroll to the bottom: http://wrventuring-bsa.org

2 LEFT: In honor of #SummerOfVenturing, we now have our own Instagram account! Be sure to follow us @WRVenturing

RIGHT: Registration is now open for the San Diego Beach Blowout! This is an event you definitely won’t want to miss. We’ll see you there!

Updates from Area 1 - Submitted by James Guzek, Area 1 President Venturing here in Area 1 is going great. I am James Guzek and I will be serving the remainder of term of office as the Area 1 Venturing President. I got to spend the day on October 18th at Chief Seattle Council’s Training event. I got to sit down and talk to eager youth and adults who wanted to know more about what Venturing is, how they could get involved, and what resources were available for them. It was an amazing day of training and a lot of eager adults and youth ready to take points of leadership.

The Area is having its Area retreat and will spend the weekend full of train- ing, games, and planning for the Area annual event. We are so excited to have Jillian Infusino, the current National Venturing Vice President and last year’s Western Region President, attending as well.

This past August, Cascade Pacific Council hosted its annual Trek. Venturers spent the week out on the river in central Oregon learning skills and testing their abilities while canoeing and do- ing other high adventure activities. On the weekend of October 30, they will be having their annual training event and it is so exciting that Edward Abraham the Western Region Venturing President will be attending.

This is just a glimpse of what has been and is to come on amaz- ing events here in Area 1. The best place to find out more info is to check out our Facebook page.

3 These past few months have been busy. had its kickoff this last month, and it is looking forward to an awesome year of Venturing!

I was honored to attended a District Commissioner’s College this past week and spoke on the revamped Venturing Program with an emphasis on the awards. I had so many sincere questions about how to implement the new program and inspire the youth to work towards the . I was blown away! I was so impressed with the ded- Sariah Bunker

Area 2W President Area ication of advisors, and how much they love the youth they work with! We are truly a lucky area and region.

Area 4 Venturing Challenge - Submitted by Gavin Vlietstra, Area 4 President Over the Labor Day Weekend, 87 youth and advisors gathered at Schoepe Scout Reservation at Lost Valley for an action-packed and fun event hosted by . 12 competition teams were challenged in various activities to see who could out do the others. Day One was an opportunity for everyone to practice the activities and do all the other exciting things to do at Lost Valley. This included Shotgun Shooting, the “Big Zip”, and a special Horse Trail Ride. For most youth, this was their very first time on a horse. We saw the big- gest smiles anyone could give. The Saturday Night Show was a non-stop cavalcade of skits, songs, and fun. Day Two was the timed portion skills relay which included the bike race, rifle shooting, archery shooting, and the High C.O.P.E. / Big Zip. Then there was a series of team events consisting of many ILSC, NYLT, and games. Afterward, it was time for fun in the pool. The Sunday Night Show featured a slide show of the fun activities and awards to the teams and staff. It was an awesome event!

A special thanks to our Event Chairman - Dinh Tran (Area 4 Associate Advisor for Program) and his staff for an excellent event. Plans are under way for the next Venturing Challenge in 2015.

FEATURING AREA 3 ADVISOR, MARY MACH Mary has been associated with since 2001 when her son joined as a Tiger. In 2004, when her son became a Scout, she started her volunteer career in earnest. She first became an Advancement Chair for Troop 942 and then became the Committee Chair. In 2005 she heard about Venturing while attending Wood Badge and she was hooked ever since! She became the Advisor of Crew 937 and rebuilt it from three to 22 youth by inviting Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts from different Troops to experience high adventure with the Crew. She was the adult advisor on multiple outings such as a 30- mile Kodiak Course, multiple Snow Camping trips, a Sea Base Trek, and the ultimate 100-mile Philmont trek to name only a few. She maintained the co-ed unit until 2009 when she was asked to be Advisor of Crew 973, which she helped until her daughter moved off to college.

During this time, she was the Secretary for the Venturing Steering Committee at the San Francisco Bay Area Council, which helped launch the current VOA program in the council. In addition, she was a Troop Guide at Powderhorn and two Wood Badge courses. She has held many positions including First Aider and Camp Continued on Page Six. 4 5 Director to multiple Day Camps, Venturing Rendezvous, and Girl Scout . One of her favor- ite volunteer positions was when she coordinated High Adventure Activities and volunteers for the 100-year celebration at the Northern California . She held the position of Cresta Blanca Girl Scout Area Coor- dinator, Western Region Area 3 Associate Advisor of Program and is in her final year as Western Region Area 3 Advisor.

Through the years Mary’s primary focus has been to allow the youth to lead their units according to their own visions. Being an Advisor to so many youth has inspired Mary to hope for the future. The youth teach her daily that given an opportunity to work through the fear of failure breeds success. Without these experiences youth fail, programs fail and ultimately our future will fail.

In Mary’s words, “Venturing is the heart of leadership and through this program youth have the power to make changes among their peers which in turn inspire adults to support them. Allow their visions to become reality and everyone benefits. Most importantly, have FUN in the process!” Island Adventure - Submitted by Veronica Ninteman, Area 6 President There are many exciting events going on in Area 6, but would you expect a beach event in October? That’s right, in the sunny San Diego Imperial Council at the Youth Aquatic Center there was an Island Adventure.

Island Adventure is where crews from San Diego, plus some crews from outside San Diego, come together to enjoy the lovely beach- es of San Diego. There the crews participated in both land-based activities and waterfront activities. The land-based activities were themed around the traits in the , while the water bases activities was most of the day, including a night kayak. This event was planned and run by San Diego-Imperial Council’s VOA, as they have been doing for several years.

Being part of SDIC I know that the Island is always an event that all crews look forward to going to every year. I would like to thank the SDIC VOA for running a great event.

6 Project C.O.P.E - Submitted by Greg Robinson, Area 2E President

Have you ever heard of Project C.O.P.E.? This is my favorite program to staff in the Fall. This is a Scouting program based on building the princi- ples of teamwork, communication, trust, leadership, decision making, and self-esteem through a series of challenges. These challenges start small and eventually escalate to push people out of their comfort zone and into the growth zone. First off are the initiative games, like traffic jam, chicken pineapple, the Grand Duke of York, criss-cross, etc. These are puzzles for the whole group to try and solve, most of them require no exceptional physical talent (except for balance) and are a fun way to get to know everyone on staff and in your group.

The next step is the low R.O.P.E.S. course. The challenges here are a little more demanding and require some effort. Some of my favorites include the Spider Web, Poison Asparagus, and the Whale Watch. At the Spider Web, the group has to get everyone through the web with- out touching it, or else they wake up the spider and get eaten! The Poison Asparagus requires the group to get across a set of platforms by choosing the correctly sized beams to fit in between the platforms, without falling off the two-foot diameter platforms!

The last step is more focused on individual growth. By now, your group works well together, and is very good at encouraging each other, which is vital on the high R.O.P.E.S. The group gets harnessed up in climbing gear, and goes through a series of elements about 30 feet off the ground. These elements are the most fun because each person has to figure out how to get through the element while maintaining their balance! The Flying Squirrel gives a person the best view of the surrounding area, as the team pulls a member up to 60 feet in the air! The Giant’s Ladder is a co-op element, as it takes two people to climb this overly large ladder!

This is how I spend my Fall. If this sounds exciting or interesting to you at all, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]! I have contacts for those of you who aren’t in Colorado, too!

Venturing Winter Challenge 2015 - Submitted by Trent Allison, Area 1 Venturing Winter Challenge is one of the coolest events hosted by Chief Seattle Council, and it’s just for Venturing. It’ll take place at Ensign Ranch in Cle Elum, WA. There are so many things you can do at the VWC including snowmo- biling, sledding, cooking, shooting sports, and many more fun activities. Come hang out with Venturers from across Area 1 from January 31 to February 2, 2015. It’s going to be a blast! Register today!

7 Safety at Sea Event - Submitted by Edward Abraham, WR Venturing President On the weekend of the 25th of October, Ships from all over the San Francisco Bay Area sailed, cruised, and drove to Yerba Buena Island for the 21st annual San Fran- cisco Safety at Sea. Safety at Sea is a hands-on maritime safety instruc- tion that is held in partnership with the United States Coast Guard. Sea Scouts learn about vital maritime safety and survival skills in order to know how to guard against water accidents and to be prepared to render aid to those in need. Safety at Sea is such a popular Sea Scout event that it has spread to places as San Diego and Baltimore, and to such states as Hawaii and, to name a few.

Many ships cruised and drove to the Island that sits in between the two spans of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Friday night, with the last ship docking at 11pm. When Saturday morning came, the Sea Scouts of Area 3 were in for a long day of spectacular events. Sea Scouts participated in a variety of events including pipe patching, swimming in gumbo suits, fire hose tug-of-war, plus training in damage control and fire extinguishing, as well as flares, man-overboard and survival suit training. Adults also had the opportu- nity to be trained in marketing, risk assessment, and navigation/VTS.

The night ended with the bi-annual Area 3 Sea Scout Committee meet- ing and Area 3 Boatswain meeting where youth and adult Sea Scout leaders discussed upcoming events, membership, and different ways to strengthen the Sea Scout program. As the 2014 San Francisco Safety at Sea was an extremely successful training event, Sea Scouts were able to cruise home on Sunday with not only a greater knowledge about maritime and vessel safety, but with amazing experiences that they will always remember!

Photos by Josh Gilliland 8