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Winter 2015

Central Region Venturing, Area 2

Everything new in Area Two!

Area 2 is comprised of the lower peninsula of

Michigan, also known as the Michigan

Crossroads Council. It serves the four Field

Service Councils: President Gerald R. Ford,

Water and Woods,

Great Lakes, and Southern Shores.

Winter 2015

Area 2 Newsletter

Message From the Area 2

President 2

Scouting One-Liner 2

Gypsum Mine Adventure! 3

Area 2 Kickback

Weekend 4

Venturing Officer

Nominations 5

Duke of Edinburgh

Award/Karuna Expedition 6

Message from the Area 2

Venturing Advisor 7

Note from the Editor 8

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: MCC Leadership Summit/

Venturing Conference Recap

The Michigan Crossroads Council held a Leadership Summit in Okemos,

Michigan on January 17. The purpose of this summit was to bring people

from all over the area and region together, and for them to both learn and

share with each other the things that can make Scouting stronger in

Michigan. We were fortunate enough to be invited to participate in this

summit by holding our own Venturing Conference right alongside the

Leadership Summit!

The Venturing Conference included presentations on the new Venturing

Awards, communications methods, and event planning. We also had the

pleasure of hearing presentations from Emily Mausshardt, the Central

Region president, and Brian Parro, the Central Region vice president of

communications. Accompanying them was their advisor, Kris Zahrobsky.

In total there were 36 people in attendance for the Venturing

Conference, and several hundred for

the entire Summit. At the closing

session of the Summit, an Area

Venturing Leadership Award was

awarded to Area 2 president, Joseph

Jenkins for his service over the last

two years on the Area 2 VOA.

Overall, it was a very successful

conference! Everyone came away

with new friends and a greater

knowledge of Venturing.

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Winter 2015

Central Region Venturing, Area 2

Have a Scouting comic or one-liner? Send it in to be in our next newsletter!

CRVenturingArea2@gmail.com

Have a Scouting comic or one-liner? Send it in to be in our next newsletter!

CRVenturingArea2@gmail.com

Area 2: http://www.facebook.com/

groups/CRV.Area2/?fref=ts

Water and Woods: http://

www.facebook.com/

groups/44602549603/?fref=ts

President Ford: http://

www.facebook.com/

groups/58006254760/?fref=ts

Southern Shores: http://

www.facebook.com/

groups/45491999635/?fref=ts

Great Lakes:

https://www.facebook.com/

groups/81835021000/

Sea Scouting

https://www.facebook.com/crss2

Also follow Area 2 on Pinterest!

http://www.pinterest.com/

venturingarea2/

Area 2:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/

CRV.Area2/?fref=ts

Water and Woods:

http://www.facebook.com/

groups/44602549603/?fref=ts

President Ford:

http://www.facebook.com/

groups/58006254760/?fref=ts

Southern Shores:

http://www.facebook.com/

groups/45491999635/?fref=ts

Great Lakes:

https://www.facebook.com/

groups/81835021000/

Sea Scouting:

https://www.facebook.com/crss2

Also follow Area 2 on Pinterest!

http://www.pinterest.com/

venturingarea2/

Like Area 2’s Page on

Facebook!

Hello Area 2!

Its been a crazy month for your Area 2 VOA! We just finished up the

Venturing Leadership Conference, and are preparing for what looks

to be another amazing fun event. The conference at the MCC

Leadership Summit was a huge success. There was a great turnout,

lots of great questions, and a few special guests. Thank you to

Central Region president, Emily, CR VP of communications, Brian,

and CR Advisor, Kris for traveling all that way to be with us for the

day. Your support and involvement was greatly appreciated!

I would like to personally thank everyone in the area for their

support these last two years. Your help and support resulted in the

Area Venturing Leadership Award that I received at the Summit. It

truly meant a lot to me to see everyone at the Summit clapping for

me, but in reality, also clapping for everything that all of the youth

do everyday to make things run

smoothly.

I am excited to see where these last few

months take us! I hope to see everyone

at the Kickback Weekend, February

20-22. If anyone has questions or

suggestions I am always just an email

away.

Yours In Venturing,

Joseph Jenkins

Central Region, Area 2 President

joseph.jenkins3@wayne.edu

A Message from the Area 2 President

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Winter 2015

Central Region Venturing, Area 2

On January 18th of this year, our crew went on an

exploration of the Alabastine Underground Gypsum Mine. The

trip itself took up most of the day. The Alabastine Mine was

originally used for mining gypsum, and the cave also contains

selenite, which form long, orange colored crystals. In our walk

through the mine, we were allowed collect and take out any

rocks we found. We also found many coprolites (fossilized fish

feces) in the layers of rock and clay. The coprolites were hard

to find, and we had to work to get the crystals off in some

places, but that made it worth it. Getting around the mine was a

blast, as we had to crawl along the sides to avoid mud, and

climb through some small spaces to get to other tunnels.

The mine was used for more than just gypsum; it was

also designated a fallout shelter during the cold war. We

were able to explore the storage rooms, where there were

still boxes full of bandages, medicine, and other provisions

that would have been used in case of nuclear fallout. It was

fascinating getting to see such a preserved piece of history.

This was an amazingly interesting trip, and I

personally would love to do it again. There was so much to

see and do, and getting our hands dirty while doing it made

it even better.

Emma Carlson, Dimondale Venturing Crew 43

Venturing Crew 43 Alabastine Underground

Gypsum Mine Adventure!

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Winter 2015

Central Region Venturing, Area 2

This year’s Kickback weekend is coming up fast! It is February

20-22 at Gerber Scout Reservation (1733 Owasippee Rd, Twin

Lake, MI). Come and hang out with your crew and other crews

from Area 2 while participating in fun activities. This year’s

activities include: snowmobiling, shooting, cross country skiing,

climbing tower, wilderness first aid, archery, and more! The cost

this year is 45 dollars before February 15. After February 15 the

cost is 55 dollars.

Don’t forget to register online as a crew! Crews can register at:

http://www.michiganscouting.org/PresidentFord/Events/

I am very excited for Kickback this year! I hope to see you there!

Mary DeVree

President Ford FSC VOA President

We Want Your Events!

We are interested in what your crew and field

service council are doing! If your event is

open to other crews, councils, or even areas,

please add it to our Central Region Calendar

via http://www.crventuring.org/

event_submission.php

This calendar is a great resource if your crew

is looking for something fun to do. Check out

all events on the calendar here: http://

crventuring.org/Activities/Events_Calendar/

Area 2 Kickback Weekend

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Winter 2015

Central Region Venturing, Area 2

2015-2016 Venturing Officer Nominations

Venturing Wants YOU!

The Venturing motto is “Lead the Adventure.” What better way to lead the adventure than to

help make your experiences with Venturing come to life for others? As a Venturing officer at any

level, you would join a team of passionate youth leaders and advisors who are striving to expand

the Venturing program and working to bring the best possible experiences to participants. If this

is something that YOU would like to do, I encourage you to explore the 2015 Venturing officer

application process. This is YOUR chance to make a difference in Venturing.

There are several different elected positions available at the area, regional and national

level. At the area and regional levels, the positions of vice president of communications, vice

president of program, vice president of administration and president form the area or region

Venturing Officers Association (VOA), respectively. The presidents and vice presidents work

together to serve as a resource for the Venturing community and to the build the Venturing

program. These positions offer an extremely rewarding opportunity for youth to become more

involved in the Venturing community while putting their leadership skills to work.

These positions are also, and perhaps most importantly, a great deal of fun and a

wonderful experience!

To find out more information and to apply, please visit the Central Region

Venturing website! The direct link to information regarding applications for any of

these positions can be found here: http://www.crventuring.org/Home/Fulltext/

s=1&id=85. Apply and become a part of the future of Venturing!

Erin Dunne

Central Region, Area 2 Vice President of Program

REMEMBER THESE DATES

Please also keep these deadlines in mind and the application process requires several signa-

tures!

All submissions are due by:

February 15, 2015 for National Venturing President and Vice-President positions,

February 28, 2015 for Region Venturing President and Vice-President positions, and

March 15, 2015 for Area Venturing President and Vice-President positions.

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Winter 2015

Central Region Venturing, Area 2

Many Scouts and Venturing youth may be looking for a new

award challenge, after earning their Eagle Scout, Silver Award,

Summit Award or Quartermaster. Coming soon to Area 2 and the

Michigan Crossroads Council is The Duke of Edinburgh’s

International Award for any youth aged 14 to 25. This award was founded in 1956 and named for

the United Kingdom’s His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since the award’s

inception, it has become international and has spread to over 140 counties across the globe. Over

8 million young people have earned their own Duke of Edinburgh award.

In 2006 the award program was expanded to the United States, and recently the award has

been highlighted in the new Venturing Awards and

Requirement handbook under the section of International

Scouting Awards. The award emphasizes four areas of

development: community service, special skills, physical

recreation, and adventurous journey. The Duke of

Edinburgh award has three awards levels, Bronze, Silver and

Gold, which differ mainly in length of time committed to the

four areas of development. We are excited to have for the

first time this coming spring the open opportunity for any

Scout or Venturing youth to earn a Duke of Edinburgh’s

International Award of their own. Find out more about the

awards on www.dofeusa.org.

During the Area 2 Planning Conference,

Malenito Karuna, the explorer bear of

the Karuna Expedition came to visit and

spread the news about international

scouting and the Karuna Expedition.

Find out more about him here:

www.Karunaexpedition.com

1 scout – 1 Vespa – 1 Charity –

6 countries – 7000 km –

1 Guinness World Record – 23rd WSJ

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award USA

Karuna Expedition

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Winter 2015

Central Region Venturing, Area 2

Events Looking Ahead

February 20-22, Venturing Kickback Weekend at Gerber Scout Reservation

March 6-8, Caberfae Ski Weekend at Caberfae Ski Resort

April 18, Rock River Regatta at Loves Park, IL

August 21-23 and 28-30, 2015 Powder Horn at Gerber Scout Reservation

2015 World Jamboree in July/August at Yamaguchi, Japan

2017 National Jamboree at the Bechtel Summit Reserve, WV

A Message from the Area 2 Venturing Advisor

Interested in having the time of your life and gaining invaluable

leadership experience? Get involved in Area 2! E-mail us at

crventuringarea2@gmail.com.

Rolling out the New Venturing Program has been a great opportunity to visit with our friends from

every corner of Michigan. The Area 2 youth officers and advisors will continue to make themselves

available throughout the year to share information and ideas about the new program. We will also

be looking for some new Area 2/Michigan Crossroads Council youth officers for 2015-16. The

applications are available now, so give it some thought and get those applications sent in. Many

thanks to the youth and leaders who organized and conducted the great activities throughout the

area during the past several months. Everyone should check the calendar of upcoming events on

our webpage http://www.crventuring.org/Area_Pages/Area_2/ to learn about upcoming events.

Congratulations to Joe Jenkins, our most recent recipient of the Area Venturing Leadership

Award. It was presented at our Venturing Conference/Leadership Summit in January. During the

conference we also welcomed Daniel Ruland to our youth team as the new VP of

Communications. We're looking forward to a great finish to our year, so please contact us if we can

be of any assistance to your council or district VOAs.

Lets grow Venturing!

Jeff Geralds

Area 2 Venturing Advisor

Michigan Crossroads Council Venturing Chairman

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Winter 2015

Central Region Venturing, Area 2

A Note from the Editor

Hello Fellow Venturers!

My name is Daniel Ruland and I am the new Area 2 Vice President of Communications. As Lizzie

Wisman (former VP of Communications) aged out in 2014, a replacement needed to be found. Jeff

Geralds, Lizzie, and a few others presented me with the challenge of applying for the position. As

you can probably tell by the fact that you are reading this message from me, I did accept this

challenge. With the help of Lizzie, Mr. Geralds, and the entire Area 2 team, I hope to push through

the rest of this term while keeping you all up to date with the latest and greatest things that are

happening in Venturing!

For those of you who do not know me, I was born and raised in Lowell, Michigan and I am working

on my Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice with a focus on Law Enforcement at Ferris State

University. I joined Scouting at age 11 when I became a member of Troop 102 in Lowell. I immedi-

ately loved the program and have actively participated since then. At the age of 14 I also joined the

Venturing Crew in Lowell, Crew 2102. Over the years I progressed through Scouting and became

an Eagle Scout in 2010 while serving on the Mackinac Island Governor’s Honor Guard.

While I have never earned any of the Venturing Awards, I am still able to grow and have many life

changing experiences through participation in the program. Through Venturing, I was fortunate

enough to go on two different treks through the wilderness of Philmont Scout Ranch. I honestly do

not believe I would be the same person today if it wasn’t for those two fun, yet challenging treks. I

also had the great opportunity to serve as the President Ford Field Service Council VOA President

from 2013-2014. Due to my service in this position I was honored with the Council Venturing

Leadership Award in the Summer of 2014.

From 2012-2014 I was also able to serve on the Executive Committee of Nataepu Shohpe Lodge.

Over the two years, I held two positions. First, I was Publications

Chairman. This meant that I was in charge of putting together four

newsletters during my term (much like I am now). My second position

was as Ceremonies Involvement Chairman. I continue to be as active as

possible with the lodge.

Once again, I look forward to the experiences that I will have and the

people that I will have the privilege of meeting during the rest of my

term! If you ever have any questions or suggestions for me, please feel

free to contact me.

Yours In Venturing,

Daniel Ruland

Central Region, Area 2 Vice President of Communications

ruland2@gmail.com