Voyageur
Council Venturer Advisors’
Forum
Meeting
Minutes for November 2, 2010
Scout
Headquarters - National Boardroom
Name |
Group |
Name |
Group |
Alex Gazaleh |
Opemikon |
Luc
Henrie |
1st |
Allan
Yates |
1st Merrickville |
Mary
Hagerman |
1st Osgoode |
Andrew Grant |
DCYC/Rideau Rovers |
Mike Jowett |
Voyageur Council |
Barbara Hohenstein |
4th Orleans |
Nick Wise |
Rideau Area Rovers |
Bob
Sylvester |
112th |
Nigel
Ward |
1st |
Brett
Budge |
25th |
Pat
Megan |
1st |
Bruce
Morton |
14th Gloucester |
Peter
Wittwer |
23rd |
Bryan
Cruikshank |
3rd |
Phil
Edens |
123rd |
Cal
Clupp |
2nd |
Ray Renton |
1st Dunrobin |
Chris
Prevost |
112th |
Raymond Desjardins |
DCYC/Rideau Rovers |
Chuck
Fraser |
1st Glen Cairn |
Rod
|
1st Manotick |
Craig
Gray |
27th |
Sharon Lefebvre |
7th |
Cyndy Courtland |
|
Simon
Thompson |
1st Carp |
Dave
Skinner |
1st Glen
Cairn |
Stephen Smye |
1st |
Doug MacKinnon |
112th
|
Steve
Doody |
25th |
Doug Proud |
1st
|
Stewart Ross |
DCC Recognition |
Eric
Schmitt |
8th |
Stuart Smith |
17th Southminster |
Ernie
Koshman |
Nepean Rovers |
Tanya-Rea Smith |
3rd |
Eugene Lavigne |
Service Corps |
Terry
Rimmington |
1st |
John
Howitt |
1st Glen Cairn |
Thomas Miller |
2nd Orleans |
John
Stalker |
Valley Highlands |
Tiina Kurvits |
17th Southminster |
Larry
Brunet |
1st |
Thomas Wittwer |
23rd |
Larry
House |
1st Manotick |
Wally Gale |
14th Opening Comments Thank-you letter from Marilyn Johnson, (Council Property Manager) to the VAF was read, thanking the VAF for outstanding support to Camp Opemikon: eg. outfitting of whitewater canoes and 10,000 hours of service donated by advisors and youth over the 1st 10 years of spring & fall work weekends. The VAF also showed a
round of thanks to Bob for his record last month in getting the meeting notes
out within 24 hours of the meeting. Presentation 1st Merrickville Venturers had a great adventure in their July
trip down this challenging stretch of whitewater. The water was exceptionally low,
exposing many rocks and forcing some lining of canoes. A river run kayak and
playboat provided additional testing of skills. Almost ran out of food - lots of canoes
pinned. Details are available via
the VAF website on the Merrickville
site. Special Note Congratulations to Alan Griffin for receiving an award from the Governor General at the National Awards Ceremony held in the Senate Chamber. Past Events RoVent: Oct 15-17 (Doug Mackinnon) 325 Youth (incl OOS) & 94 Advisors participated – amazingly good
weather The OPE crew set a record
for most meals served in one day at OPE no injuries during games - 2 medical emergencies during
dinner - not food related. financially sound - not too happy with the traffic blockage
during the dignitary visit National office was very
impressed with RoVent and OPE for the World
Brotherhood visit & tours/hospitality – spoke well for Canada/Scouting. Delegates were very
generous. Next year the RoVent planning committee will start in February (likely 2nd
Tuesday) and will be looking for lots of new faces Upcoming Events: Food Drive Sorting
Station - Nov 6 (Phil Edens) Plans are well in hand –
4 shifts have been assigned - Should there be any groups that still want to
participate there may be space at some of the stores but the sorting station is
full. LaserQuest Lockdown - Dec 4-5 (Raymond
Desjardins) Full and reserving spots for the next one (March) but are already half full (49/72) for the next one. No specific date set at this time. The cost will be the same ($40). Will send out lists of
who is in and who is on the waiting list Special note - NOV2 -
Raymond Admits he screwed up. Winter Mountain Adventure in the Adirondacks: 4 weekends in February – Allan Yates Hiking up mountains on snowshoes in the Adirondacks. Registration is open now and payment is due by the December VAF meeting. Plenty of space is available. Indicate all possible choices of weekends on the registration form so all can be accommodated within the available space for each weekend. Registrants will be informed about the date of their assigned weekend in mid-December. A tour permit is required to camp in the States – apply for it as soon as possible. A number of tips were suggested from VAF attendees who had participated in this weekend in the past: - Try a day [snowshoe] hike in the Gatineau in advance as a dry run - Wear uniform for the border - Heated Alpine Club cabin is uninsulated so can be very cool – pump is working - Plan for any weather and dress in layers – For driving note that cars following one another in the fog on unknown roads that have many twists and turns can easily miss a turn and get lost – also note that the road into the Alpine Club cabin is the last to be plowed so be prepared for potential stranding (bring extra medication) - Bring 24/7 emergency contact info for parents to cover the possibility of a personal or widespread emergency - Walkie talkies may work well between groups on different mountains while cell phones may not work Council Beaveree - May14 - (Andrew Grant) Smiths Falls Lombardy Fair Grounds - a one-day event Looking for Venturer Offers of Service to help run games and help out with other tasks Will send information Reports Service Corps/ Lost
Children (Eugene
Lavigne) -
Candle light vigil - Nov1 5 groups came in (40-50
youth)
Nothing but praise from the veterans and veterans affairs. Active participation and noticeable
initiative by Scouting youth in particular to help out reflected well for Scouting in general.
Coverage on the Citizen front page as well in the Globe
and CTV news. -
Rememberance Day
- Nov 11 9:30-11:30 at Sparks and
Elgin - sell poppies and hand out programs - once you are in you likely wont be able
to get out so be prepared and dress warmly. Al Griffin and a few youth will place a
wreath. Joint Council (JC)
(Jake and Brina) -
October Games Night Oct 29 - Raised $40 for Unicef. Watched Rocky Horror Picture show -
November Coyote Rock Gym Nov 20 10-noon, $18-36 spots -
will update website - Please come if you say you
will. -
December - Dance/Gift Exchange - Mount Calvary Lutheran
Church – more details to follow -
Winter Camp Feb 11-13 at Woolsey 106 youth in the room -
82% in uniform –JC website is now up:
www.wix.com/jcexec/home
Training and
Development WoodBadge1 (RoVent weekend)
(John Stalker) 9 people signed up and 17
showed up - youth were well represented in the training team and it was well
received WB2 Feb
25-27, Mar 25-27, April 16-17
(Mark Milan) Alex Gazaleh reported that registration is up on the Council
site. $190 for the first two
weekends - the outdoor skills is self-contained with any cost to be sorted
out. Wilderness 1st Aid
- Oct 22-24
(Doug Proud) 19 people on the course
60% were youth. Advanced Wilderness
1st Aid - Nov 12-14 Spots still
available Wilderness 1st
Responder - Jan 7-9 Advanced Wilderness
1st Aid is the prerequisite for this but must be taken recently (last
year’s course would be acceptable albeit pushing the limits). Re-certification will be offered in the
early spring. Wally opened up a
discussion on possibly subsidizing some of the costs for Wilderness 1st
Responder from the VAF budget – and/or for other types of advanced training
courses. The rationale is to raise
the bar for safety and due diligence as Venturers become increasingly involved
in high-adventure activities and to further encourage/establish Venturers as a
breeding ground for outdoor skills.
There was a general show of support for this approach but also some
objections and no time for further discussion. Other
Business / Announcements Sens Game night Scotiabank place Dec 10 (Krystina Fletcher) Encouraged to involve as
many people as possible - Beaver/Cub sleep-over for 300 Sens Vs Devils - deadline is Dec 1 (but it is 1st come
1st serve - sign up early) 300 level tickets
$30 7-10pm game additional $10 for sleep-over (includes 3 videos: Miracle(?), Wallee and Cars), can bring sealed snack for sleepover only … but these are details for the Beaver/Cub overnight Krystina will provide further info by email and can be
contacted at tina.x.fletcher@hotmail.com Scouters Conference (Nick Wise) At the Smith Falls
Collegiate HS Saturday April
9 More details to
follow National Venturer Event 2012 - input request (John
Dougherty) Venturers are asked to
provide input to the survey emailed recently concerning activities of interest
to Venturers. CJ13 will not include
Venturer activities but a Venturer-only Jamboree may be organized for 2012 if there is
interest. VAF Chairperson position - is open as Wally is stepping down. John Stalker is heading the nomination
committee. Contact j_stalker@sympatico.com with
nominations or to be included in the nominating committee. Archery Equipment
- John Stalker is now in possession of the VAF archery equipment. Contact him to borrow it. Trainers needed -
Cindy Courtland noted the need for a few trainers for Nov 20th WB1 in Valley Highlands area for Cubs. Please contact her if you are
interested. Next
Meeting: December
7th, 2010. The FIRST Tuesday of the month.
VAF
Website Address: 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 |