Voyageur Council Venturer Advisors’ Forum

Meeting Minutes for January 4, 2011

Scout Headquarters - National Boardroom

Name	Group	Name	Group
Alan Griffin	112^th Nepean	Doug MacKinnon	112^th Nepean
Alex Gazaleh	1^st Greenwood / Opemikon	Elizabeth Docker	GC Carleton Place
Allan Yates	1^st Merrickville	Eric Schmitt	Odawa Rover Crew
Alvin Cluff-Clyburne	2^nd Russell	Jan Stodola	7^th Kanata
Andrew Peverley	Odawa Rover Crew	John Dougherty	DCC Program
Andrew Grant	Asst. DCC Program	John Stalker	AC Valley Highlands
Barbara Hohenstein	4^th Orleans	Luc Hernie	1^st Rockland
Bill Bowman	1^st Nepean	Mary Hagerman	1^st Osgoode
Bob Sylvester	112^th Nepean	Mike Jowett	Council Commissioner
Brett Budge	25^th Nepean	Nigel Ward	1^st Kanata
Brian McAuley	7^th Prescott	Perry Schippers	HARC / 2^nd Gatineau
Bruce Morton	14^th Gloucester	Phil Edens	123^rd Ottawa
Cal Clupp	2^nd Gatineau	Ray Renton	1^st Dunrobin
Charles Mandeville	137^th Ottawa	Raymond Mackenzie	7^th Prescott
Chris Prevost	112^th Nepean	Scott Stanley	1^st Stittsville
Christiaan Burchell	1^st Nepean	Sharon Lefebvre	7^th Kanata
Chuck Fraser	1^st Glen Cairn	Stewart Ross	DCC Recognition
Cyndy Courtland	Carleton Place	Tiina Kurvits	17^th Southminster
Darrell Bond	3^rd Kanata	Wally Gale	14^th Gloucester/VAFChair

Opening Comments:

Thanks to Bob Sylvester for taking the minutes for this meeting. The agenda includes a special presentation about biking in PEI and there should be sufficient time after this for a hike leader meeting for those participating in one of the February Winter Adventure weekends.

Past Activities:

Senator’s Game - Dec 10 2010 - John Dougherty

Excellent - it was the one that they won - more than 800 attended with tickets from scouting - organisers were very pleased with the turnout - they will do it again next year (last year we had 500) Sleepover was sold out (275), especially helpful to those from out of town.

Upcoming Events:

Ottawa 67ths game - Sunday Jan 23 - John Dougherty

Afternoon game $9.00+tx ($10.16) at the Civic Centre Please bring a donation for the food bank. Might be looking for youth volunteers to help collect the food bank donations. See Voyageur council website for details. There will be a rebate if we manage to sell over 500 tickets total.

Winter Mountaineering Adventure - 4 Weekends in February - Allan Yates

We have 194 people who have signed up - every group that has wanted to go is able to go although one group ended up with their last choice of possible dates. We are using the snowshoes that VAF purchased along with those from other groups. Every group must get their own tour permits though we are looking into an overall permit for next year. The snowshoes will be stored at the Brookside Motel so transport of the 56 pairs to/from the U.S. will only be required the 1^st and last weekends and volunteers are required for this transport. Participants for the 1^st 3 weekends must leave their snowshoes at this location. Both accommodation locations expressed thanks for how good the youth were and how clean they have left the rooms last year. Hike leaders will meet with Christiaan after this VAF meeting for a session on weekend requirements and their roles and responsibilities. See the VAF website for 2 articles/lists on how to dress for the weather that might be expected.

Whitewater Weekends - May/June 2011 - Bill Bowman

Getting geared up for the spring. The plan is to do the same thing as last year - two weekends of 6 courses: WW1 (80 max) and WW3 (30 max) May 27-29 run by Bear Creek at Petawawa on the Petawawa River; and WW2 (60 max), Kayak1(20 max) & Kayak2 (10 max) and mini WW1 (10 max) the following weekend run by Paddlers Co-op at Palmer Rapids on the Madawaska River. Registration should be open by Feb. 1.

Prices should be similar to last year with GST replaced by the higher HST. Course costs last year were $70-95 +HST and canoe rentals were $50 +HST per person There are 6 outfitted whitewater canoes at OPE available for use – require transport and paddles, throw bags. [update: cost is $40 per canoe, ie $20 per person with 2 per canoe]. Mode of payment will be the same as last year: register online <preferred> or on paper then call the Voyageur Office to pay be credit card.

Adam Taylor will run a pre-training course for WW1 on Sunday May1 at Camp Ope – a mandatory prerequisite for WW1 participants unless an equivalent course is taken. Other prerequisites: WW2 needs WW1; Kayak1 needs WW1; Kayak2 needs Kayak1; and WW3 needs WW2.

Laserquest2 - March 5-6 2011 - RARC Andrew Grant

Set date - Mar5-6. Quite a long waiting list from the December LaserQuest and these will have 1^st opportunity to register. Will be the same price. RARC will email groups that are on the waiting list to obtain confirmation.

Rovent 2011 - Doug MacKinnon

First planning meeting will be Tuesday Feb 8 in the Buffam room at 7:30 pm – looking for youth to join this planning committee.

Reports:

Service Corps (VRSC) Lost Children - John Dougherty

Scouting is not participating in the Lost Children activity this year at Winterlude.

Joint Council - Jake and Brina

December Bowling

10 youth at the Merivale bowling lanes

January event

Going to the museum of Science and Technology Jan 23 (2-5 pm). Bring $8.00 & RSVP before Jan 16 to see if people will go as a group. Please wear uniform (activity or full), neckar.

Winter Camp - Feburary 11-13

At Mackie house in Crystal Beach. The fact that it is located in the city does not mean that youth can come and go or leave at anytime, this is still a weekend camp. Cost is $40.00 plus breakfast food for the breakfast that each group will host. Come equipped with stove and utensils for cooking outside since the kitchen is too small. The theme is Dr. Seuss. Registration deadline is next VAF meeting (Tuesday Feb 1) and there is lots of room.

There were only 88 people upstairs tonight, 62% in uniform - JC is a uniform event meeting - Please encourage your youth to wear one.

Training and Development:

Woodbadge2 - Feb 25-27, Mar 25-27 - Alex Gazaleh

There are registrations in and it is a go.

Outdoor skills April 16-17

Requirements for the Outdoor Skills class will be assessed in the first two weekends. If someone already has advanced outdoor skills from a troop WB2 then they are likely not going to have to take this one.

Wilderness 1st responder Jan 7-9 – Doug Proud (via Wally)

Doug will be onsite Thursday at 9pm. Classes will start after breakfast on Friday. There are 10 registered

Recertification $160+HST, scheduled for March 5-6 - location TBD

Other Business:

Apple hill Scout Reserve work weekend – May 6-8 - John Dougherty

OPE work weekend requirements are reduced this year but Apple hill has indicated a need for help so companies could consider this as an alternative (cut trails, build structures, etc). The Apple Hill weekend is scheduled for May 6-8 (same weekend as RSVP). Accommodation in tents, catered food. It would be possible to come for the day. Contact John Dougherty if interested.

Note that the Camp Opemikon work weekend is scheduled for April 29 to May 1. Tim Taylor indicates that details will be available by late January.

VAF Chair nominations - John Stalker

Looking for nominations for VAF chairperson. Wally has indicated it is time to hand over the reins after more than 3 years in this position. Everyone should look around and nominate someone they feel would be a good candidate, or decide if they would like to volunteer themselves. Candidates should feel comfortable in chairing/facilitating the meetings of the most successful (and only) Venturer Advisor Forum in Canada, including agenda preparation, review of minutes and distributing/replying to email communications. Other tasks are open to initiative. Wally has conflicting activities and will miss the next 2 VAF meetings – is willing to carry on to the end of this season.

Venturer Company membership exclusion - Mike Jowett

There will be a conference call with National next Monday to discuss the policy for excluding members from joining a venturer company. So there is nothing to discuss at this meeting. Seven youth and adults have volunteered to be on the committee.

Special Presentation - 1st Kanata Bike tour across PEI - Nigel Ward

Excellent presentation about 1^st Kanata Venturer Company’s bike tour tip-to-tip across PEI last summer. Trip fully planned and performed by the youth in accordance with rules of Amory Award: 7 Venturers & 0 leaders in the 12 days of biking, & 4 days of car travel. Cost was approx. $400 pp total. Route followed the Confederation Trail (an old railway bed through the interior), involved 25 – 45 km/day.

Hike Leader meeting for Winter Adventure hike leaders

Christiaan met with hike leaders to discuss the rules for hiking in the Adirondacks Park, related choices of hikes, safety procedures and clothing recommendations.

Next Meeting: Tuesday Feb 1, 2011 at 7:30 pm - special presentation by Bill Bowman: 1^st Nepean’s Coulonge River whitewater trip

The Chair for the Venturer Advisor Forum is Wally Gale at vafchair@rogers.com.  Please contact Wally for any notices to distribute or information of potential interest to the Voyageur VAF community. If you find any omissions or errors, please contact ……  Scouter Jocelyn Remus-Robinson at cascahawk@gmail.com or 613-592-4738

… and visit the VAF website for a goldmine of information, including present, past and future events http://web.ncf.ca/ad554/