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Upcoming events:
- September 06
- Venturing Meeting
- September 20
- Venturing Meeting
- September 24
- National Venturing Event - Fall Fun Rally
- October 04
- Venturing Meeting
- October 18
- Venturing Meeting
- October 22
- Haunted House Outing
- November 01
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- November 15
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Archived News from 2005
Links page updated
There are now two more links on the "Links" page. It's not much, but they are helpful.
Both contain information about the Venturing program. The Fast Start link is a great resource for current Venturers, and has a lot of information for prospective Venturers that would like to know more about how crews are organized.
Crew Makes Presentation to White Eagle Roundtable
On Thursday, January 13, Crew members gave a presentation on their backpacking trek on the Appalachian Trail in 2003 and their mountain biking trek in the Adirondack Mountains of New York in 2004. The presentation consisted of 2 seperate Power Point shows. Each presentation focused on the details of planning, organization, transportation, conditioning, routes, associated costs and overcoming problems. Emily, Lindsey, Lynn, Matt, Pat & Terry gave the Appalachian Trail presentation. Kevin, Laura, Lynn, Matt, Neil, Pat and Terry gave the mountain biking presentation. We would like to thank White Eagle District and Deb Slager for the opportunity to make this presentation.
Indoor Rock Climbing
On Saturday, January 8, 2005, Terry, Doug, Sylvia, Luke, Matt S., Ryan, Lindsey, Marcy, Chris, Drew, and Pat went to Upper Limits in Bloomington, IL to go rock climbing. We left the Church of the Brethren at 8:00 a.m. and after some trouble finding the right exit we arrived at Upper Limits. After we arrived we signed in and got our climbing gear. Then everyone went to the main climbing area and got a quick lesson. Then we went to the climbing silos and started out on some of the easier walls. Around noon most of us went to “the cave” and tried to climb upside down. It worked better for some than others. Around 1 we decided to take a lunch break because our fingers where getting tired. After lunch we started climbing on some of the harder walls and Matt encouraged Lindsey to keep going until she reached the top. At about 3:30 everyone was exhausted and were ready to go home. Most people slept on the way home. I think everyone had a good time.
View photo album of this event.
Christmas Party
Friday, December 17, Venture Crew 85 and a hoard of guests met at Plum Hollow for two hours of walley-ball. Much fun was had by all with only a few minor injuries. After walley-ball we headed out to the Fuger residence for the “Christmas” part of our Christmas Party. There was plenty of pizza and refreshments for everyone including the numerous starving guys. All of the members and some guests had brought a white elephant gift (which just had to be something simple and non-gender-specific). We all drew numbers and took turns picking gifts. Matt S. only barely got away with his gift being non-gender-specific. Movie charades was the choice game of the night which was a blast. We had a wonderful and memorable time that night and—of course—kept Terry up past his bed time.
View photo album of this event.
Discover Scuba Diving
On January 4, the Venture Crew went to Loves Park, Illinois to go Scuba diving at an indoor scuba training facility operated by Loves Park Scuba. Members in attendance were Chris, Jenn, Sylvia, Kevin, Ryan, Matt S., Rachel, Pat, and Neil. The newcomer was Bashkim, and our advisors were Ray, Dave, and Lynn. We had a great time learning how to breathe through the device attached to the long tubes and we got to practice lifting stuff off of the bottom of the pool and swimming with flippers. This event was awesome in that it was really close to home and it only cost ten dollars per person. All in all, it was a great introduction to scuba diving and at an affordable cost, anyone could try it out.
Crew Members Attend Youth Leadership Conference
March 5 & 6, members of Venture Crew 85 attended the Youth Leadership Conference sponsored by Chicago Area Council, at Pheasent Run Resort, in St.Charles, IL. This is the third year in a row that members have attended this conference. This was the first year that anyone from Crew 85 was a presenter at the sessions. Emily presented a session on Roberts Rules of Order, while Matt F. and Terry gave a presentation on Creating a Scouting Website. The other attendees were Sylvia, Pat, Marcy and Doug.
Crew Members Complete CPR and First Aid Training
A Red Cross Adult CPR and First Aid Certification course was taught on Tuesday, May 17. The course was completed by Chris, Kevin, Luke, Marcy, Neil, Pat, Sylvia, Tiffany, Dave, Matt and Terry. The course was offered to all Crew members, but especially for those attending Philmont. Dave and Terry will be completing their certification in Fundamentals of Instructor Training in early June. They will then be able to offer the course to those who were unable to attend. Our thanks to the instructors who taught the course Tanya Brooks, DeeDee Morgan and Nash Castaneda from the Lee County Chapter of the Red Cross.
Petunias Planted on Galena Ave.
Crew members Jen, Kevin, Marcy, Pat & Terry planted double rows of petunias on the top half of the block in front of the Lee County Courthouse. In addition to planting they spread weed preventer and grass clippings over the area when they were done. The area planted was 240 feet long and took approximately 2 1/2 hours.
Philmont Preparation Begins in Earnest
On May 21, crew members biked the Sugar River Trail form Brodhead to New Glarus, WI. They completed the round trip of 46 miles with the typical sore bottoms that you would expect on the first long ride of the year. Lunch was cold cuts, apples, cookies and water. Along for the ride was Sylvia, Luke, Marcy, Carol, Doug and Terry.
View photo album of this event.
Relay for Life - Crew 85 Walks for Cancer Research
On June 10 & 11, Crew 85 participated as Team #15 in the Lee County Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Sylvia and Terry were Committee members and Sylvia recruited the Crew members to collect the lap prizes at various businesses. Thank you to Green River Cyclery in Amboy, Dairy Queen, De La Hey Salon, Design Works, McDonalds, Modern Shoe Shop, Olivers Food Pride, Pizza Hut, Plaza Cinemas, & Taco Bell in Dixon. A fun time was had by all as they walked the track at Amboy H.S. through the night. Team members were Danae, Eric, Jenn, Kevin, Laura, Lindsey, Luke, Rachel, Ryan, Sylvia, Matt S., Lynn & Terry.
2nd Philmont Shakedown Completed
The Philmont crew from Crew 85 hiked 16+ miles along the Hennepin Canal on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, June 17 - 19. They carried all tents, food and equipment in their backpacks in preparation for their trip. Backpacks were adjusted and readjusted along the trail to ensure a proper fit. Backpacking meals were prepared. The crew refined their map reading, Leave No Trace, knots and first aid skills during breaks. The crew members participating were Luke, Ryan, Sylvia, Doug, Matt S., Lynn and Terry.
View photo album of this event.
Venture Crew 85 Active at Petunia Fest
Dixon's Petunia Fest brings out the community spirit in Venture Crew 85 members. This is the fourth year in a row the crew has helped with the Petunia Fest. In 2001, the crew began planting petunias and helping with the Garden Club Pancake Breakfast, 2005 was no exception. This year, Thursday through Monday, they again emptied the trashcans from the concession areas and directed parking at the Country Concert on Thursday evening. In addition, they rolled up the flaps on the Taste of Sauk tent every morning. On Saturday, 12 members assisted at the Garden Club Pancake Breakfast by cleaning tables, empting trash and assisting patrons.
For the second year in a row the crew entered a float in the parade on Sunday. Crew members passed out candy and handed out informational flyers about the Crew. The float had a dining fly, stove, cook kit, canoe, lantern, sleeping bag and cooler. The float displayed what the Crew has done over the past 4 years. Crew members paddled a canoe (BWCA 2002), wore back packs (Appalachian Trail 2003 and Philmont 2005) and rode mountain bikes (Adirondack Mtns. NY 2004).
The Crew did an excellent job fulfilling all of their obligations and logged a total of 119 service hours during the Fest. Crew members participating were Doug, Drew, Emily, Jenn, John, Kevin, Laura, Lindsey, Luke, Lynn, Marcy, Matt S., Neil, Pat, Sylvia, Terry and Tiffany with help from Amanda, Dan, Danae, John, Katie and Sarah.
View photo album of this event.
Philmont 2005 High Adventure
The High Adventure of 2005 was a trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. On the drive out the crew, who was traveling with Boy Scout Troop 85, made a few stops along the way. Some of the stops included: go karting (for the 18 yr. olds), REI, and white water rafting the Arkansas River. Once we arrived at Philmont the crew gathered our gear and we headed into the bush the next day. Three very important lessons were learned in the first days of our trip: 1) Never enter a port-a-pottie when Matt is near. 2) Make sure your river guide has all her digits before you give her a hard time. 3) When a texan asks you what's significant about Los Alamos, DON'T say the Alamo. As the crew traveled on we were able to experience many places and do things like search and rescue. We also found out it's much harder to mountain bike in the mountains than in Illinois. There was just a little something to do with elevation changes that we weren't used to. Eventually we came upon the dreaded Greenwood Canyon. Now the place itself wasn't all that bad, but the circumstances could have been better. It preceded to rain for the next 3 days effectively doing what rain does-get stuff wet. In spite of the rain we made it out with a smell so wonderful even the bugs left us alone. Overall the Philmont trip was a blast. For those of you still wondering what is significant about Los Alamos, it's where they developed the atomic bomb. This adventure included Sylvia D., Emily F., Pat K., Luke N., Ryan W., Lynn S., Matt S., and Doug K.
Story submitted by Ryan W.
