Hello Fellow Venturers and Sea Scouts,

As the year ends, we want to let you know about a number of upcoming event dates and other information that you can share with the other members of your crews and ships. Starting with this message, we'll be sending out periodic messages and newsletters with important updates. Here's some of the highlights to know now:

Monthly VOA Meetings- Every 3rd Tuesday, 7 PM
These meetings are open to all Venturers, Sea Scouts, or adult leaders, and are usually held at the Chief Seattle Council Service Center in Seattle. We'll be discussing upcoming events, program and training opportunities, best practices, trip ideas, and more. Our December 18th meeting will be holiday-themed and feature a white elephant exchange. Bring a gift ($5 or less) and get a gift!

Venturing Winter Challenge- February 1-3
We'll be returning to Ensign Ranch near Cle Elum for a weekend of winter fun! Registration will be online before Christmas.

Western Region Venturing Conference- April 19-21
The Western Region comes to Camp Pigott this April. This is an event you won't want to miss. More details will be released in the coming weeks, but be sure to mark your calendars now.

Website and Multimedia
You can find the latest information on our webpage, www.seattlebsa.org/venturing. In the next few weeks we'll be launching a brand new website, www.seattleventuring.org, with a bunch of cool new features. You can also join our Facebook page, Chief Seattle Council Venturing, if you haven't already, and watch our videos on YouTube.

Our Crew, veterans of Philmont Expeditions in July 2008 and June 2010, has learned that we've been selected to return to Philmont in 2014.  Each year, a lottery is held to select those Scouting units across the nation who will be allowed to go.  News will follow once the paperwork arrives, but start clearing your calendar for late June/early July 2014 for our Trek.   Go to the Crew Photo Album to see what it was like in 2008 and 2010.

Philmont Scout Ranch is a large, rugged, mountainous ranch located near the town of Cimarron in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico.  The ranch, formerly the property of oil baron Waite Phillips and now that of the Boy Scouts of America, is currently in use as a National High Adventure Base in which crews of Scouts and Venturers take part in backpacking expeditions and other outdoor activities.  It is the largest youth camp in the world by size and number of participants.  Phillips sometimes allowed others to visit his ranch, including a few Boy Scout troops.  He was so impressed with the Scouts that in 1938, he donated 35,857 acres to the Boy Scouts of America.  In giving it to the Scouts, he included 3 provisions: that his horse Gus could stay there until his death, that his family could come and visit the ranch, and that it remain a working cattle ranch.  They initially named it the "Philturn Rockymountain Scoutcamp"  The word 'Philturn' comes from Waite Phillips's name, together with the "Good Turn" he did by donating the property.  In 1941, Phillips added more Philmont property, including the Villa Philmonte, bringing the total to 127,395 acres.

On November 12th, the Crew went to the Kitsap County Veteran's Day assembly at the Fairgrounds.  This is a service project we conduct every year in behalf of our sponsor, the American Legion.  As a crew, we served as VIP escorts to the senior officers and elected officials. We got to meet some very influential people in the Washington government.  I enjoyed myself as a Venturer, and my favorite part had to be when we all tried to fit in the Jeep afterwards!