Venturing

When you hear the words Venture Crew, what do you think of? A Scoutmaster may think of an extension of the Boy Scout Program but with a co-ed twist. A Boy Scout may think of it as a program simply designed for high adventure without any realistic room for advancement or training. A Unit Commissioner may think of a specific Venturing Crew that started and folded. A District Chairman may think of a program designed for ROTC groups to use. Whatever your thought or experience, Venturing is a valid and useful program which the Council Venturing Committee is determined to see grow and bloom into an invaluable part of Scouting in the upstate.

Venturing is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women who are 14 (and have completed the eighth grade) through 20 years of age. Venturing's purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults.

Blue Ridge Council Venturing Committee

It is the goal of the Venturing Committee to provide proper training, exciting activities, and helpful information to all Districts and existing Venture Crews. There will be a Venturing article to keep all of our volunteer leaders and parents up to date, as well as, special e-mail blasts sharing specifically important information throughout the year.

It is the desire of the Venturing Committee that at least one adult and one youth representative from each Venture Crew would attend the monthly committee meeting which are scheduled for 7:00pm on the fourth Monday of each month at the Council Service Center in Greenville. If you would like to be on the Venturing Committee's email list please email Dwayne Skinner at dskinner@bsamail.org

To learn more on Venturing, visit: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Venturing.aspx .

Council Venturing 2010-2011 Calendar

Venturing Questions:

For additional information on our Venturing program, please contact Dwayne Skinner at 864-233-8363 or via email at dskinner@bsamail.org .

Click here for 2011 Kodiak Course Announcement. Click here for 2011 Kodiak Course Syllabus.

Dear Upstate SC Venture Leader,

There's a volunteer position waiting for you on the Blue Ridge Council Kodiak 2011 course. It's an opportunity to help make a life-changing difference for a young person. It could well be a life-changing experience for you. It's, at the very least, an incredible six day trek in one of the most beautiful places in the world (the Jocassee Gorges area around Lake Jocassee). The trek is June 4 - 10 in 2011.

Currently, the team putting the course together is very small (only four people at this time). We're looking for quite a few volunteers for several different positions.

We need volunteers for the following positions.

- Assistant Trek Director-Logistics

- Quartermaster

- Trek Specialists - We need at least six trek specialists.

- Safety Officer

- Instructor(s) - We need at least twelve instructors who will go on the trek with the Venturers. We will need female instructors and/or trek specialists for at least some of the crews. This is a co-ed trek. Instructors work in teams of at least two.

- Assistant Trek Director for Staff Development

- Canoe Crew for the Trek (deliver and retrieve canoe's)

- Course Administrator

- Assistant Trek Directors for Many Other Things

I've attached the complete Kodiak syllabus so that you can read the position descriptions. The position descriptions start on page nine.

We have volunteers for these positions.

- Trek Director: Keith Rutledge

- Assistant Trek Director for Instruction: Kay Borkowski

- Professional Staff Advisor: Dwayne Skinner

Depending on the position, there is some training required. We'll do that training during the months preceding the course.

If you are interested in filling a position in this Kodiak course, please contact me directly. My contact information is below. Please pass this along to folks you think may be interested in volunteering.

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