The Venturing Leadership Award is presented by council to Venturers/Sea Scouts who have made exceptional contributions to the Venturing/Sea Scouting program and who exemplify the Venturing Code. The Venturing Leadership Award may be presented at the council, area, regional or national level and is the highest award for service within the Venturing program. Individual Venturers/Sea Scouts should be considered based on their service to the Venturing program above and beyond what would be reasonably expected at their level. Service in and out of Scouting should also be considered when nominating an individual for the Venturing Leadership Award.

Requirements: Venturing Leadership Award candidates must be registered and involved in Venturing/Sea Scouts as a Venturer/Sea Scout for at least one year. They must hold a leadership position or office at the unit, district, or council level. The candidate must also show exceptional dedication and give outstanding leadership and service to Venturing/Sea Scouting and to Venturers/Sea Scouts in their unit, district, or council.
Procedures: Venturing/Sea Scout youth may be recommended by completing the Venturing Leadership Award candidate information form. An additional sheet with 200 words or less explaining why the candidate should receive the award and letters of recommendation from school, church, clubs, etc., must be provided with the nomination.

The nomination form may be downloaded from the BSA National Council Venturing website, Click here.

Return nomination by close of business on November 30, 2012 to Sue Hogan, Marriott Scout Service Center, 9190 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814.  For additional information contact Sue Hogan.

A Message From the Chief Scout Executive

To: All Scouts and Scouters,
By Wayne Brock, BSA Chief Scout Executive

As you can imagine, a number of our councils in the Northeast are still struggling mightily to recover from the devastation left behind by Hurricane Sandy. And a Nor’easter is bringing even more weather damage to the region this week with snowfall and other hazardous conditions.

Reports are still coming in concerning any injuries to our people and damage to BSA facilities, and the National Office stands ready to assist in any way we can. We ask you to join us in keeping the councils in this stricken area in your thoughts and prayers. They have a long road ahead of them to restore their homes and property as well as their programs to support our Scouts.

Many of you have asked how you can help. For any neighboring councils that have the people and resources to lend a hand with transportation, supplies, or other immediate needs, we ask that you work through Jim Hans, associate regional director/support for the Northeast Region, to coordinate your relief assistance. For councils in other parts of the country, we believe monetary assistance would be the most valuable resource you could provide at this time.

The worst damage seems to be in several council camps where many trees are down and some have destroyed buildings. Some council offices have had water damage and several staff members have experienced damage to their personal property. Many Scouts and units have probably lost camping gear, uniforms, trailers and other supplies. If you would like to make a donation to aid councils recovering from Hurricane Sandy, please go to the BSA Disaster Relief Fund page for instructions.

Meanwhile, we have already seen tremendous examples of how our commitment to serve others is rising to this occasion. Here are just two examples of many Scout troops that are responding with service. Boy Scout Troop 683 in Pamlico County, North Carolina is establishing drop-off locations for the public to donate non-perishable food, water, and clothing to Sandy victims. And in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Scouts from Troops 109 and 1910 – many who experienced problems of their own from Sandy’s wrath – have assisted the National Guard with people who have lost power and are out of their homes.

I am very proud of how these Scouts and others have volunteered to assist so many people in need. Let’s all muster whatever support we can to assist our people through this difficult time.

Boy Scouts of America Disaster Relief Fund

American Red Cross

Salvation Army
Salvation Army Disaster Services Center, P.O. BOX 1959, Atlanta, GA 30301. Please designate "2012 Hurricane Season" on all checks.
Or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

NY Scouts are asking for gently used items to help rebuild their units. As they say, there are much more immediate concerns to address, so help the main disaster relief efforts first.  But after that, let them know if you have items to share.

“The community where my Pack and Troop meet currently is destroyed.  There are boats that were thrown into the roofs of houses... the people lost everything they have and their house.

At some point, they will rebuild in Broad Channel, Queens, NY (and all the other areas like Rockaway, Breezy Point, Brooklyn coast areas, Staten Island, the Jersey Shore).  If you have any uniforms that your Scouts outgrew, families you know that are no longer in the program but still have handbooks/uniforms, etc please collect them.

Scouting related items can be send to a generous Eagle Scout:

NYS Assemblyman Mike Miller
Attn: Scouting
83-91 Woodhaven Blvd.
Woodhaven, NY 11421

This is not an immediate concern. They are still cold, hungry and in shock from losing everything... but at some point when we meet again as a Scouting family to do Scouting stuff, I want to Be Prepared.
Even though the Pack and Troop lost all its camping gear, meeting activities, pinewood derby track, fundraising magnets, etc. we will rebuild. A Scout is BRAVE.”

(From:  NCAC Face book.)

NCAC bilingual volunteers and staff are committed to ensuring that every youth has the opportunity to join Scouting no matter what language they speak at home. They are on-call to welcome new families and help current members better understand the Scouting program.

New Venturing recruiting materials are available on the National website. All crews, districts and organizations interested in starting new crews, can download the pdfs or request print copies using this order form. The flyers can be customized with information about your crew, upcoming meetings or events and are available FREE OF CHARGE!

Inside the toolbox are six pieces intended to be used by local crews, districts and organizations in peer-to-peer recruiting.  Research has shown that the best way to recruit youth of Venturing age is through this method, and now we have been provided with the tools to do that job even better.

• The RecruitMEnt Booklet is meant for the crews, themselves, to use in the peer-to-peer recruiting process.  It provides suggestions and further “how to” information that may be useful to Venturers.
• Also provided, are three ready-made fliers.  Each flier can be customized with your Crew’s information and meeting time so that you can advertise your presence without needing a degree in graphic design.
• The ‘Fast Facts’ sheet that the toolbox offers is another tool for Venturers, Advisors and prospective members to learn about the program and its many benefits.  Venturers can also use that information in specializing their recruiting campaign.
• Once possible new members have been identified, the ‘Have You Ever’ pamphlet is a great source of information for youth as well as their parents, as it explains the ins and outs of the Venturing program in a very real and enticing way.

NCAC also has Venturing yard signs available to help advertise crew meetings. For more information contact your District Executive.

Check out the NEW: Venturing FAST FACTS

Unit Performance Guide Revised

The informative go-to guide for volunteers and professionals for best methods of creating and sustaining high-performing units has been updated with new information. This book provides extensive new-unit resources covering the following topics: Know Your Market, Build Your Team, Make the Call, and High-Performing Units. It is now available online, and a Spanish language edition is being developed. You can find the guide on the National BSA Membership Impact Department website: www.scouting.org/filestore/membership/pdf/522-025_WB.pdf.

More Venturing and Sea Scouting recruiting materials

There are still many STAFF positions available for the 2013 National Scout Jamboree!

High adventure like you've never seen. Whitewater, climbing, zip lines, mountain biking, and much, much more. (Not to mention all of the things you've grown to love about the jamboree: patch trading, SCUBA, stadium shows, Technology Quest ... who could ask for more?)History created by you. This will be the first jamboree at its new permanent home - The Summit, in beautiful West Virginia - and you'll be there for the grand opening…July 15 - July 24, 2013. It's going to be big. It's going to be wild.

Did you know that during the National Jamboree the Summit will become the second largest city in West Virginia? There's still time to be part of the excitement! Currently NCAC is sending 9 troops and 1 crew.

To sign up for your spot please go to https://summit.scouting.org/en/Jamboree2013/Pages/Staff.aspx

Come join us for the NCAC 2013 Powder Horn Training course!  Our four-day course is designed to help the troop, team, or crew by exposing older Scouts, Venturers, and adult leaders to safely conducted outdoor/high-adventure activities of a fun and challenging nature. The course provides an introduction to the resources needed to successfully lead youth through a program of outdoor adventure and is based upon giving participants an exposure to some outdoor/high-adventure activities. The course presenters are expert consultants in each outdoor high adventure activity. It is not a certification event. It is for any youth or adult interested in experiencing a unit-level, high-adventure program.

The date for the 2013 course is August 22-25, 2013  to be held at Camp Snyder in Haymarket, Virginia. Details for registration and cost will be forthcoming.

If you have any questions please contact: Steve Wolf .

eKnowledge is offering SAT and ACT test prep programs valued at $200, free to Boy Scout families. The eKnowledge Sponsorship Alliance is made up of educationally focused foundations, as well as a group of professional athletes from the National Football League and Major League Baseball that includes Warrick Dunn and Chipper Jones. The eKnowledge Sponsorship Alliance has provided more than 120,000 SAT/ACT prep programs to families all over the United States.

On Oct. 17, the BSA’s Executive Board approved a resolution to use the Scout Oath and Scout Law in the Cub Scout and Venturing programs. Specifically, the changes approved are as follows:

Cub Scouts:

• Adopt the Scout Oath and Scout Law for use in the Cub Scout program, retiring the Cub Scout Promise.
• Revise the Core Values of Cub Scouts to align exactly with the 12 points of the Scout Law.
• Retire the Law of the Pack, while maintaining the concept of “Akela” as leader.
• Maintain the current Cub Scout motto, sign, salute, and handshake.

Venturing:

• Retire the Venturing Oath, Code, sign, and salute.
• Adopt the Scout Oath, Scout Law, Scout sign, and Scout salute.
• Engage the task force and National Youth Cabinet to determine whether Venturing should have a differentiating motto/slogan or adopt “Be Prepared.”

These changes will become effective with the release of youth handbooks and leader aids supporting this and other changes related to Strategic Plan Goal 411, approximately Jan. 1, 2014, for Venturing-related changes and May 15, 2015, for Cub Scout- and Boy Scout-related changes. Changes to publications, websites, and other materials should NOT be initiated based on this article. Those will be handled based on the previously stated timing and will be initiated by the task forces working on the respective programs.

Shown below are copies of the board resolution and a document addressing common questions and answers. Additional questions or requests for more information may be directed to 411@scouting.org.

Resources:

• One Oath and Law Board Resolution
• One Oath and Law FAQ