[23834] in APO-L
Re: [APO-L] APO Chapters sponsoring/being BSA Venture Crews
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bob Amick)
Thu Aug 7 16:09:11 2003
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 13:34:15 -0800
Reply-To: Bob Amick <amick@spot.colorado.edu>
From: Bob Amick <amick@spot.colorado.edu>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
In-Reply-To: <001d01c35d13$ace311b0$03f1af80@famtree>
Gamma Theta Chapter, University of Colorado at Boulder has sponsored a
Venturing Crew and a Sea Scout Ship (and an Explorer Post prior to the
creation of Venturing in 1998) for members for about 15 years. The
association with the local Council Scouts and Scouters through sponsorship
of a Crew and Ship for APO members has been very positive. The
chapter has sponsored the Merit Badge University and University of
Scouting each semester since 1993 for over 400 District Scouts, Venturers
and Scouters, in which about 30 merit badges are taught and 15 University
of Scouting courses for Scouters and/or older Scouts Venturers are
offered. Moreover the chapter sponsors and operates the annual Klondike
Derby for the District. Several APO members sit on the District Committee
as members at large representing the MBU and Klondike programs. One member
is the Assistant District Commissioner for Venturing/Sea Scouting. Another
member is the Council Venturing/Sea Scout Training Chair and is also a
member of the Council Exploring Committee and Teen Leader Council Advisor.
The district often lauds the Chapter and Venturing Crew for the outstanding
contributions they have made over the years to greatly improved advancement
statistics and improved training.
In order to form a Venturing Crew and/or Sea Scout Ship, contact your local
BSA Council Office and get a New Unit Charter Application. Discuss the
formation with the District Executive and invite them to a planning meeting
with Chapter officers. You will need to identify the
following positions and have brothers sign up for these positions/memberships:
1. Institutional Head (this could be your advisory board chair)
2. Chartered Organization Representative (this could be any brother age 21
or older)
3. Committee Chair (again any brother age 21 or over)
4. minimum of 3 Committee members (brothers age 21 or over)
5. Advisor or Sea Scout Skipper (key adult leader, any brother age 21 or over)
6. Associate Advisor or Sea Scout Mate (associate adult leaders, any
brothers age 21 or over) at least one required
(A background check of all adult applicants is now mandatory for youth
protection requirements and is done by BSA at no additional cost when the
application is submitted).
7. Minimum of five youth members between ages 14 through age 20 as
Venturers or Sea Scouts.
Cost for registration fee (which includes $15 million general liabilty
primary insurance policy coverage for the Chapter) is $10 per member.
Cost for chartering fee (initial and each year thereafter at rechartering)
is $20.
Because many of our Chapter/Crew/Ship projects often require verification
of liability insurance to the University or to organizations for whom the
Chapter/Crew/Ship provide service, the BSA local Council can issue a
certificate of insurance to those organizations requiring evidence of
liability insurance coverage for either $500,000 or a maximum of $1
million for such organizations as an "additional named insured."
Since the chapter is primarily insured as a sponsoring organization, the
BSA liability policy would offer protection for all members and advisors
should any claim for accident, injury, death, or other loss arise in
connection with any APO or Venturing/Sea Scout sponsored event conducted by
the chapter. The only caveat is that the event must meet BSA health and
safety/risk management requirements as found in the guide to Safe
Scouting, and tour permits should be filed with the local Scout office for
such events in order to verify compliance with the policies and
identification of the activity as an official Chapter/Crew/Ship event.
Here is some information from the BSA National website that should help you
in starting a new unit:
Guide to Starting a new Scouting unit:
http://www.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?c=su
http://www.scouting.org/
For specific information on Venturing/Sea Scouting:
http://www.scouting.org/nav/enter.jsp?s=vy
To see the guide to safe scouting downloadable as a pdf file go to:
http://www.scouting.org/pubs/gss/
For tour permits downloadable pdf file go to:
http://www.scouting.org/forms/34426.pdf
Also, the chapter may elect to acquire the BSA group medical/health
insurance for all members which covers any one who has no health insurance
primarily, and all others with health insurance secondarily to any existing
coverage. This coverage often pays for unusual health costs that normal
insurance may not cover if a member is sick or injured. The policy costs
about $1.80 per member per year so is very economical for the coverage that
is provided and is a part of the chartering package if the chapter elects
to include it as a benefit.
There are currently about 35 chapters that sponsor or charter BSA Venturing
Crews/Sea Scout Ships that we know of in APO.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you require additional information.
Bob Amick, Advisory Chair, Gamma Theta Chapter/Venturing Crew/Sea Scout
Ship 492, University of Colorado at Boulder
Member at large, National Scouting and Youth Services Committee, APO
Longs Peak Council Venturing/Exploring/Risk Management/Training/Jamboree
Committees
At 02:42 PM 8/7/2003 -0400, Michael Ryan Gallagher wrote:
>Zeta Sigma Chapter at the University of Delaware is considering becoming or
>sponsoring a Venture Crew. How do APO chapters do this?
>
>Thank you,
>
>Michael Gallagher
>Historian & Webmaster
