Voyageur Council Venturer Advisors’ Forum

Meeting Minutes for May 3, 2011

Scout Headquarters - National Boardroom

 

 

 

 

 

Opening Comments – Wally Gale

 

2^nd last meeting of the season.  Any new advisors for next season are encouraged to attend the next/last meeting to get familiar with the VAF and to prepare for a rapid start to next season’s activities.  Those who know of new advisors could extend the invitation.

 

 

Past Activities

 

OPE work weekend (April 29 – May 1) – Tim Taylor (in absentia)

Very well attended, thanks to all participants.  Betty also sends her thanks.  Wally noted our thanks to Tim for the substantial work involved in organizing this annual event.

 

Whitewater1 Pre-training (May 1) – Bill Bowman

About 65 participants including some not registered and some no-shows.  Thanks to Adam Taylor for organizing, Thomas Miller for making the safety/theory presentation (keeps on getting better year after year) and to on-the-water instructors.  Send photos to Bill for posting.

 

 

Upcoming Activities

 

Apple Hill work weekend (May 7-8) – John Dougherty

No worries about power failure or water, they haven’t got any! 30 people have signed up to clear trails of deadfall, repair archery pit.  Room for more help.

 

RSVP (May 6-8) – Neil Rice

Registration was concluded the week before VAF, 151 youth registered.  Looking for a group to plan and run “Our Own”.

 

WW1 and WW3 Petawawa (May 27-29) – Bill Bowman

Online registration and payments through the office are working really well.  WW1 58 participants, WW3 27 participants.  Black Bear camp was confirmed by Tim Taylor so there will be a place to camp.  Volunteers are required for admin for each of the groups and for coordination with the campground, parking passes.

 

WW2, Kayak1&2, mini WW1 Palmer Rapids (June 3-5) – Bill Bowman

WW2 46 participants, Mini WW1 22 participants, Kayak1 22 participants, Kayak2 4 participants.  Paddler Coop is confident that Madawaska River water levels will be suitable for the river run on Sunday.  Volunteers are required for admin for each of the groups – 1st Greely is taking care of the WW2 Sunday shuttle with some additional help solicited.

 

Note: Petawawa River Development – Wally Gale

Hydro development is planned for the Petawawa river in the vicinity of WW1 & 3, and there will be community meetings.  It would be a good idea for anyone interested to attend any of these meetings and report back to VAF on the potential impact on our whitewater venues .  Xenica will hold an open house May 5 4-8pm in Petawawa and the community action committee will hold an open house May 17.  There is already a good representation of the paddling community showing a keen interest in halting this development.

 

 

LaserQuest Lockdown (May 13-14) – 23^rd Nepean Thomas Wittwer

For those who couldn’t participate in the 2 past LaserQuest events or others interested, 23^rd Nepean has organized this additional opportunity – have 23 registered so far and will fill the required 30 minimum with Scouts if Venturers do not take all of the spots (67 max).  Cost $40.

 

Couch Rally (Sept 10) Somewhere in downtown Ottawa – Raymond Desjardins

Cost is approximately $15 per participant (includes crest/activities/BBQ). Flyer available. The main idea is to move a full sized couch to designated sites downtown and to complete an activity at each site accompanied by digital photos – like a photo scavenger hunt.  Scoring & prizes, rules on couches, etc will be available on website (under development) -  HTTP://rideaurovers-couchrally.webs.com/

 

 

Reports

 

Service Corps – Lost Children – Eugene Lavigne

Battle of the Atlantic Parade (May 1) – No Youth Present (not surprising due to timing conflicts with other activities)

 

CN Cycle (May 1) - Low key event, 4 youth at main location directing traffic – good showing for scouting presence in the community.  1^st Dunrobin had 18 volunteers at the Westborough Beach station.

 

Teddy Bear Picnic (June 25 – Rideau Hall) - Still looking for volunteers for Lost Children Service (will provide info about Scouting). MedVent, Police Venturers will be present.  Warning, parking is on the street and at a premium (some street closures), might be better to bus – shuttle service available.

 

Joint Council Report
April Event – Nepean Sportsplex swim

Good turnout 20 participants

 

May Camp (May 20-23 Victoria weekend – Camp Opemikon)

One hosted meal but self contained otherwise.  Registration closed as of the end of the JC meeting.

 

June event – Semi Formal – Mount Calvary Church (933 Smyth Rd) June 18

7:30pm to 11:00pm.  Youth volunteers requested for setup/cleanup.

Cost $10 in advance, $12 at the door.  Can bring one guest.

 

Executive members will be elected next meeting, nominations open at May Camp.

65 in attendance – 47 in uniform (72%) at tonight’s JC meeting.

 

Training & Development

Outdoor Skills component of Wood Badge (April 16-17).  Cal Clupp reported it was a

good session, lots of fun, a LITTLE wet (weather couldn’t decide on snow, sleet, hail or rain) 50ish leaders attended, ~12 in Senior sections.  The food was great! Thanks to Mark Milan and Alex Gazaleh for running a great training session.

 

 

Other Business/Developments

 

WW4 Tripping Course interest – Michael Wall (1^st Nepean Rover Crew)

Looking to see if there is interest in a WW4 course which would be mostly for Advisors or Rovers interested in taking their youth tripping.   Some Rovers/Advisors are already available to teach skills for planning/executing a white water tripping excursion and others are required.  The course would likely run sometime between April and August 2012 – likely after the whitewater weekends.  The cost would likely be limited to expenses such as parking, gas, food and canoe rentals.  Looking for 10 participants minimum.  There seemed to be a good deal of interest around the room.

 

Ottawa Food Bank Award – Phil Edens

Phil attended an awards banquet and accepted an award plaque on behalf of Scouts Canada Voyageur Council for 21 years of service to the Ottawa Food Bank.   He presented it to John Dougherty to be displayed somewhere at HQ.

 

Rovent 2011 – Doug MacKinnon

Running a little behind, registration package in draft.  budget has been made, the Quest is coming along.  Brave Heart is the theme.  Still room for more to join the organizing committee.  Come out to a meeting, 2^nd Tuesday of the month 7:30 in the Buffam room.

 

Scoutcon 2011 (April 9) – Nick Wise

200 leaders attended.  Thanks to those who ran sessions.  Everyone seemed to have a good time. New uniform was there.  Next conference in 2 years.

 

Doors Open Ottawa (June 4-5) – Nick Wise

Scout Museum is part of Doors Open Ottawa this year, looking for Scouter, Rover & Venturer help 10am-4pm.  Also looking for help with activities outside.

 

Rideau Canoe Rally – John Dougherty

Possibly Sept 3 or 10 weekend down the canal – still looking into it.

 

Troop Council Camp (Jun 1-3 2012) – Tanya-Rae Smith

Soliciting Offers of Service (Venturers, Rovers, Advisors/Leaders), will be held at Camp Traill.  Youth will run camp so really want Senior youth to be a part of this.  There will be a work weekend in advance to get the facilities ready. There will be a meeting May 26 at HQ and a web site will be set up.  This should be a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ camp.

 

Rover Moot – 2013 (Aug 8-18) Low Quebec – John Stalker

Land of Paths, Land of Commitment, Land of Success!  Universal theme is water.

A lot of good things are planned: 4x24 Canoe du Nord, Trips to Ottawa/Montreal.

Looking for ideas of sites to visit while in Ottawa, activities within 80 km of Low.  Participants will be divided into groups.  Some major equipment/facilities will be required for some activities.  For ages 18-26, dry camp. Cost approx. $795 per participant.

 

Swift Water Rescue Course – Allan Yates

Brief discussion of interest/need for this training.  Past courses of this nature were extremely valuable.

 

 

Wilderness Tours – Special Discounts for Scouting members

25% off May, June and September programs

15% off July and August programs.

Accepts Scouts Canada reciprocal indemnity form.

 

Next Meeting: Tuesday June 7, 2011 at 7:30 pm     -  Bring activities and proposed dates for the 2011/12 season.  Wally will have a preliminary list for review/changes.

 

 

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

Apologies for the lateness of these minutes, there has been an illness affecting the family

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