Venturing Crew 2179 (formerly Explorer Post 2179) was founded in 1991 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church. It is located in the South City area of St. Louis, Missouri. The Venturing program is a coed, young adult program of the Boy Scouts of America. Our crew is part of Area 93 in The Greater St. Louis Area Council. Venturing Crew 2179 has a well balanced male / female youth membership. We also have a large well trained staff of adult leadership that allows us to pull off our program smoothly. This web site contains information on various aspects of our crew.
ACTIVITIES: Our crew is an outdoor adventure specialty unit. This means that many of our activities relate to hiking and camping. We also do high adventure activities such as rock climbing, rappelling, horseback riding, canoeing, ropes course initiative, and more. Each summer we spend a week at the council's Swift Explorer Base. It is a week filled with outdoor activities and fun. Several of our adult leaders are trained instructors in rocks and ropes activities; so it is easy to set up these events when we want to do them. We also have a large inventory of camping equipment such as tents and cooking equipment stored in our own trailer to make the outdoor program available for the membership.
AWARDS: The Venturing Program offers several awards and scholarships for its members. A number of our youth members have earned the Gold Award for youth involvement and commitment. Most of these members were also elected to receive the Leadership Award for outstanding leadership both inside and outside the crew. There are also Bronze Awards available in various categories and a Silver Award. Youth interested in high adventure may also work on the Ranger Award. In addition, we have several adult leaders who have received the District Award of Merit and The William Spurgeon III Award for outstanding leadership and dedication to Exploring / Venturing. Our crew has been recognized by council each year for its leadership and program with either The Quality Unit Award or the Top of The Arch Award. The crew has also received a Pope Paul IV Award for quality Catholic unit. In addition to these council awards, the crew has its own Award of Merit which is presented to deserving active youth and adult members annually.
LEADERSHIP: The following list comprises the youth and adult leadership in Venturing Crew 2179 for 1999-2000.
Kristi Nollmann - President
Mark Breitenstein - 1st Vice President
Laura Norton - 2nd Vice President
Sean Smith - Secretary
Sean Smith - Treasurer
Kathy Nollmann - Advisor
(Home Phone # 314-544-5616)
Rich Bradley - Committee Chairman
(Home Phone # 314-481-8464)
Ed Bradley - Charter Representative
(Home Phone # 314-845-2113)
Rich Kleeb - Service Team Rep. & Adult Treasurer
(Home Phone # 314-845-0827)
MEETINGS: Venturing Crew 2179 meets every first and third Thursday of the month unless a major holiday dictates a change in schedule. The meetings are held at 7:00 P.M. in the Immaculate Heart of Mary School Cafeteria which is below the parish hall. Immaculate Heart of Mary is located on 4070 Blow Street, Saint Louis, Missouri. In addition, the adult Crew Committee meets every last Thursday of each month. These meeting are often held in the cafeteria or the adjacent rectory basement meeting room. Each quarter, however, the committee will meet at a member's home. Contact the Committee Chairman for further details.
MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS: To be eligible to join Venturing a young man or woman must:
1) Be at least 14 years old but not yet 21 years old.
2) Have completed the eighth grade.
3) Complete a Venturing application signed by a parent.
4) Submit a $7.00 registration fee.
In addition, Venturing Crew 2179 requires the following:
1) Submit an additional $12.00 yearly dues.
2) Purchase an official Venturing uniform shirt and patches.
3) Attend regular meetings and activities as often as possible.
4) Obey the Rules and By-Laws of the Crew.
5) HAVE FUN !
CAREER AWARENESS: The crew leadership recognizes the importance of helping young adults learn about careers so that they may make wise choices about their future. The crew strives to introduce career programs in both meetings and activities. We have had speakers come to our meetings to talk about their careers. We have also made field trips to job sites to learn about various jobs. The crew has participated in several council activities including the Career Game, Disaster Response Drill, and Exploring After Dark.
SERVICE: Venturing Crew 2179 is very active in service projects.
Our crew staffs a fire station for the annual council Scouting for Food Drive held each November. Venturers receive canned goods collected by Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts. The cans are inspected, marked with a tag, and boxed. We then help the army load the boxes onto trucks for delivery to a food bank. More than 600 boxes of cans are collected at our firehouse each year.
The crew also does many service projects for the church such as table and chair set up and take down. Our biggest annual service event for the church is the school picnic. Venturers help set up the picnic grounds, march in the school parade, run a booth, perform various service crew jobs on picnic day, and clean up the picnic grounds on the day after. Over Memorial Day weekend, Venturers from Crew 2179 participate in placing graveside flags during ceremonies at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Venturers are truly a youth asset for the church and the surrounding community.
FUNDRAISERS: The crew holds a bar-b-que each April on the school grounds. Items such as ribs, pork steaks, bratwurst, and hot dogs are sold by the plate. Profits from the bar-b-que go to crew funds for equipment and awards. Participating youth members also get a share of the profits based on hours worked. Their share helps to defer costs associated with summer camp and other crew activities.
VENTURING CREW 2179 / COUNCIL ACTIVITIES
FOR 1999
January
Crew Cabin Weekend At Baker Lodge - Jan. 8-10
-- Rescheduled to May 14-16 due to inclement weather
Ski Night At Hidden Valley - Jan. 16-17
Basic Leader Training At Council Office - Jan. 23
February
Scout Mass At I.H.M - Feb. 6
Crew Ski Trip To Wilmont, WI - Feb. 12-14
Crew Caving Trip To Illinois - Feb. 27
March
Crew High & Low Ropes Course at Beaumont - Mar. 14
Basic Leader Training At Council Office - Mar. 20
April
Crew Bar-B-Que - Apr. 17
EVOA Activity Day (Rain Out) At Beaumont - Apr. 24
EVOA Cardinal Baseball Game - Apr. 27
May
Crew Cabin Weekend At Baker Lodge - May 14-16
Crew Recruitment Meeting at Beaumont tower - May 27
Swift "Fun In The Sun" Weekend - May 21-23
Memorial Day Good Turn at J.B. Cemetary - May 30
June
Council Recognition Dinner / Dance - Jun. 4
I. H. M. School Picnic - Jun. 5
Crew Awards Night at I.H.M gym - Jun. 17
Crew Family Picnic At J.B. Park - Jun. 27
July
Cancer Walk at SLUH - Jul. 9-10
Crew Swift Summer Camp - Jul. 11-17
Water Party at Kirkwood Rec. Ctr. - Jul. 24
August
Nagel / Beaumont Horse Camp - Aug. 1-7
Crew Clearwater Weekend - Aug. 27-29
EVOA Committee Mtg. at Powder Valley - Aug. 25
Program Preview Meeting - Aug. 26
September
Basic Leader Training At Council Office - Sep. 18
EVOA Committee Mtg. at Powder Valley - Sep. 21
Fall Fun Rally at Beaumont Res.- Sep. 25-27
October
Expl./Venturer Leadership Academy - Oct. 16
Dance Cruise - Oct. 30
November
Scouting For Food (Pick Up) - Nov. 13
EVOA Committee Mtg. at Powder Valley - Nov. 16
Basic Leader Training At Council Office - Nov. 20
December
Crew Christmas Party - Dec. 16
QUESTIONS: Any questions concerning
Venturing Crew 2179 or Venturing in general can be directed to
one of the leaders listed below. Interested individuals are also
welcome to visit us any time.
|
Kathy Nollmann 4024 Inwood Dr. St. Louis, Mo. 63125 |
Edward Bradley, Jr. 4365 Kensington Manor Dr. St. Louis, Mo. 63128 |
|
Richard Bradley 3915 Holly Hills Bl. St. Louis, Mo. 63116 |
Richard Kleeb 919 Buckley Rd. St. Louis, Mo. 63125 |
Exploring / Venturing Division Home Page
Greater St. Louis Area Council, B.S.A. Home Page
Immaculate Heart of Mary Church Home Page
