Scouting Statewide June / July
2002
NETWORK
N: Newsletter - “Venturing Essay”. I am going
to distribute a newsletter bi-monthly to each Venturer Scout and VSL &
AVSL. Included in the newsletter there would be articles from Units about
activities plus photos, notices of up and coming events and training days
and also ongoing information about Branch activities and National and
International events. I have advertised via the group mail out system for
someone who may be a budding journalist, photographer and in depth
reporter or who may like to co-ordinate a small team of people who are
prepared to go out and about to activities and are prepared to put
together a few pages of newsletter every two months. If you are reading
this and think that you would like to be a part of this buzzy group -
please give me a ring and together we will get this newsletter off the
ground. It is important that the Venturers are kept up to date with what’s
happening and given the information directly. Not all Venturers get to see
the Statewide so the “Venturing Essay” will be their version.
T: Training - I have been going through
Branch records and looking at what level of training people have done in
the Section. There are quite a few VSL’s & AVSL’s who haven't done any
training at all and those who have started their training and just haven’t
finished it. If you are one of these Leaders, don’t be surprised to
receive a letter In the next couple of months, as I will be sending out
letters giving you the dates of the next training days and encouraging you
to contact the Training person so you will be able to complete your
training. The funding of these courses are paid by your Group so make sure
your Group Leader knows you are going on the course so the Group can pay
for the course. Training is a fantastic way of meeting other Leaders who
are in the Venturer Scout section and also other Leaders of other
sections. It is beneficial to both yourself and also your Unit. Please
think very seriously about your training as it is considered to be
part of keeping your warrant in the section.
W: Working with other Units/Sections - This
part of networking is invaluable. We learn from others and we learn by
doing. So if you mix with others Units you may well learn a new game, a
new way of running an activity and you may also learn the name of the
Leader who is in charge of the Unit in the next suburb! We all have
different ways of doing things and it is really interesting to see how
other Units are run as well. So by phoning up another Leader and asking if
they would like to come and share a night with your Unit or vice versa, it
begins to break down the barriers within our section. On the other hand -
working with other sections within your own group is also a big plus in as
far as breaking down those barriers as well. If you organise an annual
camp with your Scout troop, the next lot of Scouts to come up to your Unit
will feel much more at ease with the Linking process as they have met the
Venturers at this other activity. And similarly with the local Rover crew.
This kind of networking can really help with at the retention of numbers
of the young people linking between the sections. So at your next Group
Council, suggest you would like to organise a Troop/Unit camp/activity or
a Unit/Crew camp/activity. It can only help the young people, the very
people we are in this organization for.
O: Organize activities, which encourage
interaction with other Units/Sections/District/States/Countries - Look
right outside of the square -make it happen - just do it! Get a group of
Venturers together and go to DragonSkin (NSW's equivalent of our EV) or
Hoadley Hide (VIC's equivalent of EV) Find a Unit interstate and set up
“Sibling Unit”, correspond and interact with this Unit and maintain the
friendship. Set up an annual activity with the Scout/Rover section of your
Group. Have a competition with another District on a term basis. Organise
a Joey camp where your Venturers are your Joey’s “big brother/sister’s”
for the weekend.
R: Reconnoitre - Look, listen and learn to
other Units and Leaders even the community and other Youth Organizations
to find out what is working for them and find out new and exciting things
to do. Get in to their psyche. Why don’t you have a night with the local
Youth Group, perhaps go to the rock-climbing wall with them. Maybe ask
them on a standing camp. This is another situation of looking right
outside of the square.
K: Keep in your Venturers informed - We as
Leaders should accept responsibility of the fact that we have to pass on
information we have received to our Venturers. We all get a lot of
information through the mail from our District or Branch and often it may
need to be passed onto the Unit. Communication is an integral part of
being a Leader, both receiving and giving and it is therefore your
responsibility to pass on that information even if you feel it may not be
relevant. So when you read the Statewide, emails and mailed out
information - please read it and pass on the information.
As someone once said, “look outside of the square you’re living in”. We
all creep into our comfort zones at various times and that is fine, but
other times we need to expand our thinking, look at how to do things
differently and just do it - be daring - be different - but always be
within the guidelines of the P & R and most of all have FUN.
I had another thought for “W” and that could have been
“Website” I am
going to give you a few websites to look at, one for our State and also a
few other States as well. I have just been on a National Branch
Commissioner conference and as part of my networking we exchanged website
addresses so we can see what is working for other States. Here are the
sites:
ACT:
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~cdiener/venturers
NSW: http://www.nswscouts.com.au/default.aspx?FolderID=25
WA:
www.venturer.scouts.org.au/wa
I don’t have VIC’s or TAS or NT yet but I will endeavour to find them out
at the NEC conference in June. Have a look at these - you will notice that
the NSW Venturers turn up to and have their closing ceremony in uniform!!
Most of the other states appear to prefer the beret than the akubra - we
will be discussing head gear in the next 6 months, when we get the SA
Venturer Council up and running. There are also programming ideas on these
websites as well.
Now in closing I would like to welcome a new member to my team. David
Russell has joined the Branch Venturer Scout Team as an Activity Leader
and he will be in charge of organising the Anzac Eve Vigil. David has come
to us from Ridgehaven Venturer Unit and we welcome him with open arms.
David has been involved with the Anzac Even Vigil for that last two years
and is happy to be the person in charge from now on. I am sure that his
job description will change in the near future (be very worried David!)
but I see that he is a keen team player and is always willing to give a
hand when asked. Thanks David for accepting the position and we all look
forward to working with you.
Please keep in contact and look forward to seeing you all around the
traps.
Yours in Venturing
Kate Ryder
Branch Commissioner - Venturer Scouts.
