Voyageur Council Venturer Advisor’s Forum

Meeting Minutes for October 2, 2007

Scout’s Headquarters - National Boardroom

Final

 

 

Name

Group

Name

Group

Al McPhee

1st Metcalf

Joanne Mullen

Bells Corners

Alan Clapp

8th Orleans

Joe Boudreau

1st Greely

Alan Griffin

112th Nepean

John Dougherty

Odawa Area

Andrew Peverley

Carleton Area Rovers

John Stalker

Valley Highlands / CP

Andy Walsh

25th Nepean

Justin Braganza

28th Ottawa

Bill Bowman

1st Nepean

Marilyn Johnson

Camp Director

Bob Dore

Joint Council

Matthew Janssen

Carleton Area Rovers

Bruce Morton

14th Gloucester

Malcolm Volmer

29th Nepean

Catherine Snedden

7th Kanata

Mike Jowett

Nepean Area

Chris Little

14th Gloucester

Perry Schippers

LSC & 2nd Gatineau

Chris Tyler

1st Manotick

Ray Renton

1st Dunrobin

Christiaan Burchell

1st Nepean

Sandra Redshaw

1st Glen Cairn

Cyndy Courtland

Carleton Place

Sean Freill

Nepean Rover Crew

Daniel Schaffler

1st Vars - Navan

Sharon Ley

7th Kanata

Doug MacKinnon

112th Nepean

Stephen Smye

1st Wakefield

Doug Proud

1st Greenwood

Stewart Ross

Nepean Area Sr Sect. Serv.

Eric Hansen

CCRRT

Thérèse Desjardins

137th Ottawa

Francesca Viney

Nepean Rover Crew

Tim Harbinson

137th Ottawa

Gil Lepine

4th Orleans

Tim Redpath

1st Stittsville

Jim McQuaid

112th Nepean

Wally Gale

14th Gloucester

Jim Montgomery

1st Glen Cairn

 

 

Opening Business:

 

No change to business agenda.

 

Past Events:

 

OPE Mini Work Weekend (Wally):  One Venture company went and they got all the work done as they this is about the 6th year they have gone.  Overall it worked out quite well.

 

Couch Rally (Eric):  The winner was Dunrobin and Catherine still needs to bring in the Trophy so new plaques can be put on for the winners.  The weather cooperated and the youth had fun.  A lot of people submitted videos this year as well and helped in making the decisions but it is getting harder and harder to decide the winner with all the great material, e.g. one group submitted 1 GB of photos.  The crests have been ordered and will come in at the same time as the ROVENT crests.  The crest is a collector’s item as it has the 100th anniversary logo on it.  The problem with last year’s idea of just having a flash would be that it is the same price as a full crest anyway. 

 

There were a number of difficulties with the organizing of this year's event, including cancellation of the barbecue without advance notice.  Eric thanked everyone for their emails and feedback and indicated he is still interested in feedback on any other issues with the event and on the bus service, i.e. how it worked versus trying to find parking downtown.  Send comments to Eric and he will wrap up the report and hand it off to VAF and to the Senior Section Youth Council.  For next year, this event organization will be turned over the SSYC (Senior Section Youth Committee), i.e. it will be a youth council run event next year.  It is critical that feedback about this year's event be taken into consideration for planning the next one.

 

Venclimb (Jim and Christiaan):  The event was very successful with 61 youth and 21 leaders.  The feedback was that the session was phenomenal, a good time had by all.  The badges are in TO and the company is waiting for a cheque so Jim says they should have them by the next VAF meeting.  Jim noted the take was $915, so that after expenses there is $250 left over. They made the $300 dollar donation to Access as agreed previously.  Jim noted the account balance is sitting just under $500 when all accounting is done for this year and previous years.  Since they did not charge for leaders this year, a further suggestion for next year is to cut back on the cost of the program.  A discussion ensured about using the funds to get equipment but most groups have their own harnesses and ropes and there are still the subsidies from the VAF budget although Jim noted that the biggest handicap in the sessions are the lack of harnesses.  Christiaan also suggested that a lot of companies don’t own ropes, just harnesses and that his Venturer rope supply is dwindling so we will need more next year. 

 

The decision was that since gear (soft goods) only has a 5 year lifespan anyway, the money can be used for groups either buying it or REPLACING it as we go on.  Groups without any gear and purchasing new, will be given first dibs on the money, then those that are already equipped could apply for a subsidy to replace their current equipment.  For a guideline, harnesses are about $40. Jim will take care of the list of groups looking for equipment and Wally will take care of the budget.  Email Jim at jmontgomery@ottawapolice.ca.

 

Two other notes:

- Christiaan noted that for companies who only want to try it out climbing, they can rent gear from Multi-trek (http://www.multitrek.com/).

- Christiaan also has some gear that was left behind and he is missing some gear of his own. He will continue to bring lost gear to VAF until it is all gone. 

 

Crazy Canuck (Bill):  The event was held this past Saturday with 13 teams including some Rover teams.  The weather was great, everybody finished on time and everything went well.  The Venturers who participated loved it.  The first team in was Tim Taylor’s group with 14th Gloucester not far behind.  Bill had a lot of help this year (with both Rovers and Venturers) so it worked out really well with monitoring checkpoints.  Bill also had some good comments on the Roast Beef dinner.  Bill noted that this year they lengthened the biking and shortened the canoeing so he is open to any comments on that.  Also he has some crests left so see Bill if your group needs any.

 

 

Upcoming Activities:

 

River Rescue (Stephen):  He has 15 registrations as of this evening and since only 8 were needed, the weekend is a go.  As of the meeting, the event will still be held in Petawawa.  However the Kiska campground is being re-purposed and Fort Pine is no longer available.   Stephen is looking at either 8 acres of land off of Petawawa road that is owned and being offered by a scouter or a Scout Hall.  The hall is heated, with running water and toilets but does not have any showers.  Stephen will communicate by email to those registered as plans firm up.  In discussions with Jill, groups are expected to be there Friday night but really groups only need to ensure they are there when the course starts at around 8:00 or 8:30 am on Saturday.  Bring the usual white water gear except for canoes, i.e. helmets, pfds, insulating gear, and such to be safe and warm.  Stephen closed registration for this course by end of business the day after VAF.  Note: Stephen is also looking for ideas on suitable training sites in Ottawa for convenience in the future.

 

RoVent (Mike):  Rovent registration numbers are sitting just under 200.  They are targeting 250 participants this year.  There will be a Friday opening planned (around 9 to 10 pm) although if it is a problem for some to arrive then, Saturday morning arrivals will be addressed separately from the opening.  Mike reminded everyone that there will be a couple of service projects on Sunday morning to bring the docks in (so bring your wetsuits) and to gather up all the trees that have fallen down to bring the wood in for firewood.  The organizing team is trying to keep to budget and to not to raise the fees.  Currently they also are on track and ahead of schedule so everyone is looking forward to a lovely event.  Watch for any last minute instruction coming out over the next week or so.  This year some changes: Rather than plaques, there will be medieval photos with crests on them.  There will be NO parking on the grass, it will all be across the road.  Please try to carpool to minimize parking.  Mike wanted to ensure that everyone is aware of the “Tabins” (the tent platforms have been closed in), there is no cooking in them so bring dining shelters.  For Rovent the Tabins will be available at no charge but on a first come, first served basis.  One will be used for an activity but the rest are up for grabs.  Finally while we are at OPE, there will likely be a passing the hat for the OPE crew cabin as a nice gesture for all they have done over the years. 

 

Other notes: Mike has about 50 extra crests and he is asking $3 dollars apiece if you want an extra one.  The only other event at OPE so far are the ODOWA area scouts, with about 175 at that event.

 

Fall Paddle and Garbage Pick-up (Wally and Stephen):  This event is the same weekend as Rovent, October 20th (Saturday).  Laurel (former Venturer advisor with Glen Cairn) is organizing this and has sent out information.  This year it will be at Kettle Island and Venturers are welcome to help out.  It is also open to the public but aimed primarily at the paddling community.  Stephen noted that Kettle island is in rough shape due to some party abuse which is why there is an appeal to help clean up.  Laurel has also asked that if anyone has a power boat to shuttle volunteers (5-4) for those who want to help but don’t want to canoe to the island, to please let her know.  More information is on the Ottawa River Keeper website (http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/index.html).

 

Food Drive (Jessica and David):  The Food Drive is Saturday November 3, 2007.  Food collection points are at Loeb stores.  The event runs from 11 am to about 5 pm.  Donations are collected and delivered to the sorting station at the Ottawa Food Bank by Purolator trucks.  The VRSC is looking for volunteers to help sort food being unloaded from trucks into pre-labelled boxes.  The sorting station is located at 1317B Michael Street, just off St. Laurent Blvd near the Queensway.

 

The contact this year is Jessica at: vrsc.lcs@gmail.com.  She is looking to organize 3 shifts from 10 - 1, 1 - 4, and 4 - 7.  Please email her with your group’s shift preference and numbers of volunteers and she will coordinate the results and get back to everybody to ensure an even distribution of effort.  She is looking to have about 20 volunteers per shift although there is some flex to help with unloading. 

 

Winter Adventure (Christiaan):  Christiaan hopes to have something for the next meeting but at this time is he looking at the weekends of February 9-10 and 23-24 2008.  He is also looking for help on this, especially administrative help and hiking help as he can’t lead 2 hikes at the same time.  It will still be a hiking trip to the Adirondacks.  He plans to have two hikes, one easier and one more challenging.  He noted that you will need to get your passports updated if you are planning on going and that takes at least a month, i.e. if you do it online, it takes about 3 weeks and you get jumped to the front of the line when you go into 240 Sparks.  Email Christiaan and let him know if you can help at xiaan_b@yahoo.com.

 

 

Reports:

 

JC Report:  The October event will be at Saunders Farm on Friday October 26th from 6 to 10 pm.  The group needs at least 15 people to come to get the $19 group rate else it is $20 without.  So please come out.  The protocol for this event is to just show up versus as units or companies.  Just meet outside the entrance.  Vicky (Guiding Lead) works there so she will meet them at the entrance.  There is no specific program, it is just an opportunity for the youth to spend the evening together so come as you like.  The September Wave pool event had 6 Ventures and 6 there so about 12 and they had a good time.

 

SSYC Report (Phil G. via Wally):  The first meeting is next Wednesday, October 10th  at 7 PM.  The meeting will be held in the same room as VAF.  They will be organizing ROVENT and the Couch Rally next year.

 

CCRRT (Eric):  Eric noted that the CJ DVD for Fort Amherst is almost done.  They are matching up the music to the slides.  Kevin is going to be up for ROVENT and expects to hand them out then.  For the Fort Amherst crests, see Kevin if you want one.  Eric will continue on as chair for CCRRT until he ages out as there is a problem with procedures so the elections are not happening as fast as expected.  Eric noted that SSYC is using facebook so Eric hopes that CCRRT will too.  Next week we should see items on the MOOTs across Ontario, for Venturers and Rovers across Ontario and Quebec.  Look for Ontario MOOT and you will see all of them.  The only one for Rovers only is the age out ceremony.

 

Training: (Stewart, deferred to Bob):  There will be one a Woodbadge I at ROVENT with 11 participants as of yesterday.  Overall it is $10 for training, the ROVENT fee of $15 was separate.  If you got caught up in paying for the course registration at $15, you will get $5 back on the first day.  The sessions start Saturday morning at 9 am and continue until 2-3 pm.  There will be a break for siege and the session will start up again after that with another short one on Sunday morning.  There will be no outdoor skills and no core session components to keep it senior section focused.  Bob does not have a list of full participants so contact him if you want some information.  His coordinates are on the training page of the Council website.  The cut-off for registration is the week before, the same as the ROVENT cut-off.  As an advisor, if your group is not coming, then find a group to buddy up with for the weekend.

 

Voyageur WHOLE Council Leader Conference (Stewart):  Stewart has directed us to go onto the Voyageur council web site to see the schedule of activities.  It is on October 27th and the cost is $20.  It will be held at the high school in Smith falls.  The sessions are mostly specific to the Beaver / Cub / Scout levels with some outdoor and some general sessions.  There are no presentations aimed solely to Venture leaders (VAF is doing the job for them).

 

 

Presentations for the evening:

 

Medal Presentation:  It was Mike Jowett’s honour and pleasure to make a presentation of the Commemorative Centennial medal for Scouts Canada to Christiaan Burchell for all he has done and is doing for scouting.  A large round of thanks went to Christiaan.

 

Guest Speaker: Marilyn Johnson, Director of Camps in the Voyageur Council and OPE.  Highlights of her talk are as follows:

-         The council decided that the council camp needed a year-round part time position to monitor day to day camp operations.  They created the position of Camp Director, posted it, conducted job interviews, and Marilyn was selected.  She is responsible for overseeing the 11 scouting properties.  The other 10 (other than OPE) have volunteer wardens to oversee each camp.  Her position is also not to be confused with the Summer Camp Director at OPE.

-         She was given three tasks, 1) to get finances under control; 2) organize what was happening at the camp; and 3) make sure rules and regulations were followed.  So in 2 years she has got the deficit down from 200K to 20K and with the help of many volunteers the camp is now pretty much under control.

-         So moving forward, the council is supporting the development of programs at their camps as their members ask for them.  Marilyn’s job as a year-round resource person is to look at program implementation to take advantage of everything from our wilderness camps to camps with heated showers and sleeping quarters.  This includes looking at summer programs for other camps e.g. for senior Scouts and Venturers with activities such as geo caching etc.  They will be week long camps and will look at camps for groups to come as units, like at CJ.

-         There are 2 entities approved by the commissioner to oversee OPE:

§         1) The OPE scouting group chartered advisors group committee.  This group only has the 2 senior sections (because youth must be 14 years or older to work in the food service) and will provide food service, maintenance and ropes and rocks program activities.  The Group Commissioner is Alex Gazeleh.

§         2) There is an OPE camp committee with youth and adult volunteers.  Their mandate is to “Create, implement and monitor short, medium and long term business plans” for our camp.  They need to know what WE want as programs and their contact for queries, suggestions, comments is at campopemikon@scouts.ca.

-         Of the second entity, there are 2 sub committees formed: 1) The spring work weekend group with has booked the camp for April 25-26-27, 2008.  To help with food and costs as per VAF discussions last year, there will be a $10 per person charge towards the food.  Tim Taylor is the contact for this.  2) there is a 70th Anniversary committee chaired by Arnold Smith and information for this will be on the events page shortly.  The celebration is scheduled for June 20-21-22, 2008.  It will be a full weekend camp for alumni and friends of OPE etc.  There will be a big dinner for thank you awards and then on Sunday an open house.

-         In getting ready for the June celebrations at OPE, Marilyn et al are looking at such things as new roofs for the cabins; a new furnace in the dining hall (and to move the existing one to the med center); and for help to make space under Ye old Kitchen usable (needs proper waterproofing).  She is putting in for Trillium Grants for some of these.  If anyone can help with those, please contact Marilyn.

-          In closing Marilyn thanked everyone for use of the camps and in keeping them going.

 

 

 

Next Meeting:  November  6th, 2007.  The FIRST Tuesday of the month.

 

The Chair for the Venturer Advisor Forum is Wally Gale at vafchair@rogers.com.  Please contact Wally for any notices to distribute or ideas on future topics.

 

If there are any omissions or corrections in the minutes, please contact Catherine Snedden at csnedden@forethoughtsystems.com

 

Also view current and previous copies of the minutes and other VAF notices at http://web.ncf.ca/ad554/ or contact Bill Bowman to get information posted to this website.