A new/old program from the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is Venturing. Our local Troop 210 has a Venturer Crew and has awarded their first Bronze Award to Joelle Johnston this month. “What?!?!” Did you say a female was awarded a Boy Scout Award? I know -- that is what I said as well. So I had to look into it!

The Venturing Program is co-ed and open to young people ages 14 to 20. Although the program is actually a combination of programs melded into one, the premise is built on a solid foundation of retention of older scouts who are interested in “living the adventure” with their Venturing Crew. This nationwide program is the fastest growing program in scouting and participants from the Valley area are very excited about all it has to offer..

One of the strengths of the Venturing program is its ability to meet the interests of all Venturers. Sometimes Venturers like to investigate new, different areas. Variety in a crew always seems to make it more fun to go to meetings and outings. The method to keeping many different experiences available is the Venturing awards program.

There are five different Venturing Bronze awards: Arts and Hobbies, Outdoor, Sea Scouts, Sports, and Religious Life. All five Bronze awards contain the common elements of experience, learning a skill, and sharing experiences and skills with others.

Earning at least one Venturing Bronze Award is required for the Venturing Gold Award. The Venturing Bronze Award is designed as the first tier in the advancement track for Venturers so they can acquire usable skills that will carry them along the trail to the Venturing Silver Award.

Joelle’s Bronze Award was awarded in the area of Sports. She chose this area because she was volunteering as manager for her cousin, Victoria Glaspy’s softball team. She investigated changes in the sport, sportsmanship on and off the field, and the adverse effect of substance abuse for the sport.

Of course a co-ed Venturing Crew requires both male and female Advisors. For eight crew members, one Advisor and two Associate Advisors must participate. Troop 210’s Crew Advisor is Mike Miller, and the two Associates are Margie Gilliland and Val Sisson. Acting as an Advisor is not for everyone and training is ongoing and extensive as it includes teaching leadership skills to Scouts as well as participation in high adventure activities. Mike’s training has far exceeded the minimum expectations for an Advisor and his teaching skills are continually utilized in his vocation as a Computer Science teacher at Fortis Institute in Erie.

If this program sounds like something you or someone in your family should check out, contact Venturing Crew 0210 at the Valley Methodist Church, Conneautville or call 814-868-5571.

Congratulations Joelle Johnston for being the first Bronze Award for your Crew!