On Friday night and Saturday, October 21-22, Jeff Z led an Introduction to Leadership Skills for Crews (ILSC) course over at Camp Fife in the Grand Columbia Council, assisted by Jerry J from Crew 898 and Zach F from Crew 570/1042.  John Z helped out in Module I, but then led the adults to another area of the Camp for an introduction to Kodiak Challenge course.  Both groups, youth and adults, rejoined on late Saturday afternoon as Zach and Jeff gave a encore of their Managing A Superactivity presentation from the previous weekend's conference in Seattle.  The new officers and advisors for 10 Crews, none of whom had been through Venturing training, were the student-participants. 

The four hour drive from Poulsbo to Goose Prairie through Chinook Pass was an adventure!  Eastbound on Friday night, the Pass was dark, socked in with rain and fog.  That was actually a blessing, because when the sun was out on the westbound leg Saturday at sunset, we discovered that the highway through the Pass, while breathtakingly beautiful, resembled something like Ice Road Truckers would record...the edges of the narrow twisting Highway 410 had few guardrails and the drop off the ledges along the switchbacks went straight down into a seeming abyss.  The rocky peaks looked like the back side of Mars.

Camp Fife is a delightful facility, located in the heart of the eastern slopes of the Cascades, along the banks of the aptly named Bumping River.  Herds of elk wander through the fields, and the massive dining hall sports a two-story stone fireplace and seating capacity for 450.  Accustomed to bare huts and open-air adirondacks at our local Camps in Puget Sound, we were blessed to stay in one of Fife's little staff houses, complete with a full kitchen, lounge, mattressed beds, and showers...with hot water!  There's no commercial power in Goose Prairie, so the Camp runs on a 100kw generator that shuts down at 11PM and starts up again at 6:30 the next morning.  "Lights Out" at night means exactly that!

Other than at a Jamboree, have you ever seen over 800 Scouting folks in uniform at the same place at the same time?  That would describe the 2011 Chief Seattle Council Program and Training Conference this past weekend.  This was the 6th annual PTC and it was held at North Seattle Community College.

Just like at a University, courses were available in different programs. The PTC is held to primarily train new adults in the basic courses of their Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, and Venturing programs. Additionally, follow-on courses of interest are offered in administration, safety, and special interest.  Want to learn about bike treks?  Lightweight backpacking? Kayaking and canoeing?  How about suggestions on how to raise funds for your events? There was even a session where folks could chat with the Council Scout Executive, Council Commissioner, and Council President.

Our Crew was tapped to teach a class called Managing A Superactivity.  As you know, a Superactivity is a backbone to the Venturing program, and should represent the biggest and brightest event in a Crew's year. It should take a long time to plan, prepare for, and then run. Since Crew 1042 has built a local reputation for exciting and successful Superactivities, the Council wanted us to share our secrets with others. We did that. If you'd like a copy of the presentation, just go into our Files & Forms section of the site (hey, it's up on the top of the page) and look for Presentations.

We were also invited to teach about Kayaking, one of our favorite pastimes.  Remember Show and Tell from kindergarden?  This was like that, but with bigger people and bigger stuff...and bigger smiles, too. PTC was a long day but when you get to hang out with 800 people who like the same things you do, it can be a lot of fun.  It was.

Please congratulate our newly elected Crew 42 Officers for 2011-2012!

President Melissa W.  The Crew President is elected by the youth members and is the primary leader of the crew and leads the other officers. The president delegates responsibilities, and with the support of the Advisor, follows up to be sure the jobs have been carried out.   She leads meetings and activities, and conducts the monthly officers' meetings.  The president provides counsel to members who have problems, questions or concerns.  She appoints Crew Guides to mentor new Venturers.  Melissa is a senior at North Kitsap High School, is a Philmont veteran, a Desolation Sound kayaker, an Odyssey sailor, and has earned her Venturing Outdoor Bronze and Gold Awards.  She has staffed Wood Badge.  Melissa is a graduate of  the National Youth Leadership Training course and completed a Kodiak Challenge and staffed another.