Western Region Venturing Traditionally carried as a walking stick, the Scout stave has become much more than that throughout history. While essential to pioneering, staves are being used above to create a July 2015 ceremonial walkway; demonstrating both their cultural signifi- cance and representation of working together. IN THIS ISSUE 2 ADVISOR AND PRESIDENT HELLO 3 MEET OUR OFFICERS 5 LOGO DESIGN CONTEST 6 THINK YOU KNOW SCOUTS? 7 THEN AND NOW 2 Advisor and President Hello Well, here we go! Western Region We are about embark on a new adventure. We have a new Western Region (WR) Advisor Venturing Cabinet. As of right now, it is the week before the WR Venturing Lead- ership Conference. I know our new WR President, Pratik Vaidya, has been working RICK KAGAWA hard on preparing the conferences and schedule for next weekend. I would like to welcome the rest of his cabinet. Nate Blackwell-Mitchell is our new Vice President (VP) of Administration. He hails from Area 1, Cascade Pacific Area Council. Our new VP of Program is Hannah Olson. She is from Area 6, San Diego Imperial Council. The VP of Communications is Katie Schneider. Her home council is Great Southwest Area Council also in Area 6. Look forward to the WR Venturing activity coming your way. In the next month we should have a location and possibly a date. I am sure that Pratik and Hannah will plan a fabulous event. If you are reading this newsletter, you are into Venturing. If your home council has a Venturing Officer’s Association (VOA), congratulations is in order. If you do not, please reach out to any of our Region or Area Officers. We know from experience that councils that have VOAs have healthier Crews. They plan and carry out events that would be difficult for an individual Crew to do. If your Venturing program in your Council is small, maybe your council can join another active Council’s VOA and have joint activities until your Council Venturing program gains some traction. As the new WR VOA Adviser, I am excited for the opportunity to expand Ventur- ing and the memories it creates. Through those experiences, we allow our youth to become capable leaders while having fun. Pratik Vaidya is from the Chief Seattle Council and will be studying at the Univer- Western Region sity of Michigan this fall. Pratik was introduced to the Venturing program through President the people he met at National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) and has contin- PRATIK VAIDYA ued to be involved with NYLT since 2011. Pratik is an Eagle Scout, has earned his Venturing Silver award, and has earned the Venturing Leadership Award on the Council and Region levels. Pratik has also served as the Western Region VP of Communications, Council VOA President, Crew President, Crew Vice President, and Crew Guide. He has attended and staffed NYLT, ILSC, and VLSC. Pratik has taught a variety of Ven- turing courses at Chief Seattle Council’s Program and Training Conference and will be helping to teach the All About Venturing course at the Philmont Training Center this summer. He will also be staffing the ILT (Interamerican Leadership Training) in Guatemala this year. During the next year, Pratik hopes to build on the past successes of the Western Region cabinet by continuing to build council VOAs, supporting each of the Areas both through resources and representation at their events, and by hosting a success- ful region event . He has been inspired by the Scouting program through the years he’s been involved and has seen a tremendous impact on his social skills, outdoor interests, and general life skills. 3 Meet Our Officers Introducing the 2015-2016 Western Region Venturing Cabinet Western Region Vice President of Program HANNAH OLSON Hannah Olson is from San Diego, California, where she is part of a Venturing Crew and Sea Scout Ship, and is active in her Council’s VOA and training programs such as NYLT, KODIAK, and ILSC. For her term as Western Region Vice President of Program, she hopes to encourage events in all Areas and to support programs in training and high adventure from the Council level and up. She looks forward to helping host a Region event this spring, and would like to set an example of effective program for the Region. Western Region Vice President of Administration NATE BLACKWELL-MITCHELL Nate Blackwell-Mitchell is from McMinnville, Oregon. He has just finished his sopho- more year at McMinnville High school. He plans to attend Chemeketah Community College through an early college program his junior and senior years. An Active Priest in the local stake of the LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) church, Nate takes time out of each week to complete his church responsibili- ties and fellowship with the members of his ward. His goals for this term have been designed to help keep the region running smoothly and to enable each of the individual Areas to grow in their success and potential. His goals focus on promoting VOA growth in the Councils through the Areas and success in the Region. Western Region Vice President of Communications KATIE SCHNEIDER Katie Schneider is from the Great Southwest Council in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and will begin her freshman year at Colorado School of Mines this fall. Katie has attended National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT), National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience (NAYLE), completed a trek at Philmont, and has par- ticipated in many other scout camps and leadership trainings. She has also served as Crew Vice President, Crew President, and Area 6 VOA Vice President of Communi- cations, and has earned her Venturing Silver Award as well as a Venturing Leadership Award at the Area level. Over the course of the next year, Katie hopes to continue gaining experience in leadership and Scouting by working with Councils and Areas. Specifically through communications, Katie hopes to reach out to the Areas and work closely with them in building the Region as a whole. 4 Emma Urbach is from the Denver Area Council in Colo- rado. She will be attending Fort Lewis College in Duran- go, CO this fall to study Adventure Education. Emma has attended and staffed NYLT, the Denver Area Council Venturing X Games, and Project C.O.P.E. She has earned various awards including Silver, and is cur- rently working on achieving Summit. Emma is also the recipient of The Venturing Leadership Award from the Denver Area Council, and is completing a two-year term as the Denver Area Council VOA President. Western Region Emma’s life has been greatly influenced by Scouting and Area 1 President she wants to give back to the program that she loves. JEREMY LINCH During the next year, Emma plans to increase the visibil- ity of Venturing in the hope of reaching as many youth Jeremy Linch is the Area 1 VOA President from Cascade as possible. Emma is tickled pink to have the honor of Pacific Council. He is a graduating senior of Gresham serving in the Western Region VOA and can’t wait to see High School and will be attending Portland State Uni- where the year leads! versity in the fall with a major in Business Administration Western Region and a second major in Spanish. Jeremy started Scouting Area 2E President at the age of six as a Tiger in Pack 740 and in October of 2014, Jeremy founded Crew 740, which has a focus EMMA URBACH on community service. Previously, Jeremy was the Ad- ministrative Vice President and President for the Cascade Pacific Council VOA. In 2014, Jeremy earned his Sports Bronze, Gold, and Silver Awards. For the 2015-2016 term, Jeremy wants to make sure that there is stronger communication within the Area. He is going to make sure that all of the Area VPs are providing assistance their respective Council VPs, and will work on setting up better ways for Councils to communicate and share their experiences with the others in the Area. Western Region Area 3 President JOSH DEWITT Josh DeWitt is from San Mateo, California, and he is the new Area 3 VOA Presi- dent. He hails from the Pacific Skyline Council. This year, he hopes to branch out the Area’s training to the community at large. Later in the year, he hopes to host a fun-centric event. Josh wants to give Councils the tools they need to support their crews and grow the Venturing program inside their local Councils and commu- nities. On the side, Josh plays water polo and participates in his school’s robotics team. He looks forward to a great year for the Region! 5 Tyler Deacy is an Eagle Scout and a member of the California Inland Empire Council. He has served on the Venturing Officers’ Association for three years be- fore this: twice for the Council as VP of Program and once for the Area as VP of Administration. He attends the University of La Verne in the Business Program, and is studying to work for the Boy Scouts of America. Western Region Area 4 President TYLER DEACY Western Region Area 6 President BRIAN BABBE Brian is from the San Diego Imperial Coun- cil and is a sophomore in high school. He looks forward to expanding communication between councils throughout the Area and promoting the new Venturing program. He is very excited to be a part of the Area and cannot wait to get started! www.wrventuring-bsa.net 6 Think You Know Scouts? How much do you know about the Boy Scouts of America, Venturing, and the Western Region? Take this quiz to find out! 1.