Winter 2016

Leader INSIDE THIS ISSUE 2 Holiday Issue Winter Camping Tips 2016 A little Winter Knowhow 3 \\ Insomniacs Recap 3NEPA Council Venturing Officers Association NEPA Summit Award 4 72 Montage Mountain Road Moosic, PA 18507-1776 Super-WHO-Lick Event 5 voa.nepabsa.org Best Scouting Apps 6 [email protected] Big Moon Rising 7 570-207-1227 In each edition we will feature a NEPA Council Crew. Drop off your crew bio at the next VOA meeting.President’s CornerBuilding venturing from the ground up.Venturing membership is at an all-time low, and because of this, I present to you a challenge;a challenge to bring the wonders and joys of Venturing to more people.I would like to challenge you, Venturers, to enrich the program that is Venturing, and toincrease the awareness and membership of the amazing program that Venturing is. I believethat everyone should have a chance to be a part of this ever so changing and evolvingprogram. Venturing itself needs you! Needs you, so that more people can experience all theamazing things Venturing has to offer.I challenge you not only to enrich Venturing, but yourself. Try new things, push yourself tonew limits. As our Northeast Region President, Erik Saderholm, stated, “If you have an ideathat you think could work, go for it! It is never a bad idea to take a chance and try somethingnew with your programs.”It has been a pleasure to serve as your Council President for these previous months. Yours in Scouting, Joshua Sepcoski

Venturing Leader Page 2 NEPA VOA, Top 15 -- Winter Camping Tips 10. Double insulate your sleeping bag the DIY way with two car windscreen heat reflectors. Sew two car windscreen heat reflectors together and place your sleeping bag inside. It reflects your body heat back onto you so you’ll stay much, much warmer. Just make sure you poke holes in them so you don’t wake up soaked in sweat. 11. Use wooden utensils, not metal ones. Since metal can get super cold, metal utensils can cause the temperature of whatever you’re cooking to drop quickly. Opt for wooden or plastic instead.Scouts camp year round. With every season comes new and 12. Use your backpack as a foot cover. Alternatively, youexciting adventures. But the best way to enjoy those can stick your hiking boots and other things you don’t wantadventures is to stay safe. We have put together a few to freeze into the bag and stuff it into the bottom of yourWinter Camping Tips to help you enjoy the great outdoos of sleeping bag.Northeast Pennsylvania or where ever your feet lead you. 13. Hook a binder or key ring to your zippers to make them1. Keep your matches in a metal, not plastic, container. easier to unzip. “When it’s really cold outside and you havePlastic can break if frozen. Always pack way more than you on a lot of layers, it can be hard to find your zipper—-think you’ll need. especially with frigid hands or while you’re wearing very thick gloves. As a simple solution, just hook a 3⁄4-inch key ring on the handle.”2. Open the vents in your tent even if it’s freezing. 14. Know the quickest and best way to start a fire in adverseOtherwise, your breath will condense, creating snow orwater inside your tent. conditions. Take a small square of foil, a cotton ball coated3. If you’ve got room in your sleeping bag, keep your with Vaseline, and fold the cotton/vaseline soaked ball intoclothes for the next day in there with you. the foil in a small square. When it’s time to start the fire, cut4. Use hand warmers to warm up your sleeping bag. an X in the packet and twist out a small amount of cotton into a wick and strike a spark to it. It will light dependably first time, every time. It will last up to 10–15 minutes depending on how much vaseline you put in the cotton.5. Yoga mats can double as foam sleeping pads to isolate 15. Wear Nitrile Exam Gloves as Glove Liners. If youryou from the ground. hands sweat when you hike and you have to carry extra gloves or mittens, you can cut down on the number of6. Don’t sleep with your face buried under the gloves you need to pack by wearing nitrile or latex gloves ascovers/sleeping bag. The moisture from your breath will glove liners. They prevent hand sweat from being absorbedcancel out the insulating properties of your sleeping gear. by your gloves and will keep your hands warmer too. It’s the same principle as wearing oven roasting bags over your7. Put boiling water in your water bottle and sleep with it at feet to keep your socks dry.your feet. Fill your water bottle with boiling water (makesure it’s able to withstand boiling temperatures, like aNalgene) and put a sock around it. Keep it in your sleepingbag for extra warmth. In the morning, you’ll have non-frozen water to drink.8. Keep your water bottles upside down so they freeze at thebottom first.9. Tie a tarp between two trees to create a wind wall. If youhave heavy wind and/or snow coming from a particulardirection, a wind wall will keep your tent warmer and helpwith fire building as well.

Page 3 Venturing Leader A Little Winter Knowhow Insomniacs Revenge – A Recap by Josh Sepcoski With winter fast approaching, some crews may be thinking about planning a winter camping trip. If The Northeastern Pennsylvania Council Venturing planning a camping trip in the winter, some suggested Officers Association has been working on a places to visit include: Vermont state parks, multitude of projects in the previous months. One Pennsylvania state parks, or even your own backyard! In of the biggest projects being our annual weekend Vermont, the state parks offer “off season camping”. event, Insomniac’s Revenge. Vermont is known for their beautiful mountains. Some activities Vermont caters include: skiing, ice fishing, Registration was opened up at 7:00pm The event sledding, and snowshoe hiking. If thinking that Vermont was kicked off with a gathering of all the is a drive, there is always Pennsylvania state parks. Bald participants, in order for them to choose what Eagle State Park, located in Centre County, offers winter programs they would attend later during the event. camping as well as cabins. If planning to travel there, After a cracker barrel, the activities began. don’t forget to bring your sled because they offer great hills. If your crew wants a winter camping experience, The night activities were of a great variety, from but don’t necessarily want to travel too far, then camping Robot Laser tag and building your own high in your own backyard is an option. powered light saber, to C.O.P.E, and laser engraving. In the middle of the night, all the The important thing to remember when planning a winter participants met up at the parade field for a rave. trip is planning for the weather. If the items which you prepare are suited for cold weather, then you should be in The rave, which lasted for almost an hour, was a good shape no matter where you decide to go camping. favorite to many of the attendees. It included a DJ It is important to have a sleeping bag rated for the and hype men, and a plethora of glow sticks and temperatures which you will be sleeping in and an all alike. The program sessions resumed shortly after weather tent. Dry, warm clothes are a necessity if the rave ended. The night sessions concluded and planning to sleep outside in the winter. the camp met up again for colors and breakfast. When planning a winter camping trip, there are some After breakfast, the day program sessions started. unique programing ideas. For one, building an igloo is The day sessions consisted of more action always a fun option, and it provides insulation from the sessions, like Archery, and Jedi Lightsaber cold. Another option is building a snow tubing slide, off Training (Sword Fighting). Once all the program of a hill, making sure that it is clear of obstacles. Hiking sessions ended, everyone met up for Colors and in the winter is a unique experience, and one which your dinner. crew should definitely try. Just make sure that your trail is safe for winter, and that there are no unseen hazards in The dining hall was decorated for the theme, with the path. Cross country skiing may even make the hike all the staff in costumes. After, the campfire was more enjoyable through snow. To practice scout skills, had by all. The skits that the participants put on an orienteering course could be set up as well. Sitting were amazing and hilarious. The whole camp fell around a warm campfire is a must-do in winter camping asleep in the dining hall while watching Star Wars. as well. In the morning, there was a delicious breakfast and a chapel service By Greta Ketchner

Venturing Leader Page 4 NEPA Council Holds First Summit Board of Review. Our first Summit Award was earned by Crew 2025’s Tyler Sepcoski.Congratulations to Tyler Sepcoski on being the first Tyler has been a constant fixture in NEPA VOA forSummit Award Recipient in Northeastern years. He is a mentor to new Venturers throughPennsylvania Council. The Summit Award is the trainings within local crews and in Area 5. As Area 5fourth Venturing program level award, and the president, Tyler ran a Venturing Rendezvous, competehighest award given in Venturing. with a life size Tardis.The highest award of Venturing goes to those He continues to provide helping hands to Council &Venturers who have matured in their personal Area events as a consultant, but enjoys also just being adirection, skills, and life competencies, and who have participant!! Tyler has worn a BSA tee shirt every dayaccepted the responsibility to mentor others and serve since 2009. Under uniforms, dress shirts or chainmailtheir communities in a lasting way. he has worn a camp staff, Venturing, Explorer, OA orTyler is currently a Senior at Penn State studying troop shirt! He has done so much, he will never run out!Justice Administration. He enjoys blacksmithing andMedieval Reenactment in his spare time. Tyler has been to Sea Base and National Jamboree. HeTyler Sepcoski is a founding member of Crew 2025. has taken Powder Horn, Kodiak, and PhilmontTyler joined Venturing at the age 14 and is still NAYLE. He has held the positions of NER Area 5active as an advisor. He was a founding President of President, NER Area 5 VP, and Crew President.Crew 2025 as well as a founding member of memberof Crew 1066. In addition to the Summit, he has earned the following awards/ranks; Eagle Scout, Venturing Bronze, Silver, Ranger, Trust Awards, Pope Pius Religious Award, Area Venturing Leadership Award, and James E. West Award.How are you advancing toward your Summit Award? NEPA Council has receivedthe second Summit Award Application and we know that there are at least threemore before the end of the year.For additional information on the Summit Award contact [email protected].

Page 5 Venturing Leader Super- WHO – Lock Page 7The 2017 Venturing Lock-in to be help at Queen of the This year's theme for the Lock-In isapostles Hall in Avoca, PA. Doors open at 8:30 for SuperWhoLock! SuperWhoLock is aregistration and program begins at 9:00pm. For a night of combination of three popular fiction showsSuper WHO Lock Fun! Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock. Supernatural is a show about two brothers, Sam and Dean, who join in their father’s footsteps to hunt out monsters after the unfortunate and grizzly death of their mother. After the search for their father, many years later both Sam and Dean continue to hunt monsters under their motto, “Saving People, Hunting Things, the family business.” Doctor who, like Supernatural, is a fictional show about a man called The Doctor, from the Planet Gallifrey, that seeks out planets in need of saving. His regeneration power keeps him alive but changes his appearance every couple hundred years. His companions usually meet an untimely demise but he still likes to pick up a couple stragglers here and there. Sherlock, is one of more realistic of the three shows. It takes place in modern day London with self deemed, “highly functioning sociopath”, Sherlock Holmes and war veteran, Doctor John Watson. Sherlock having a high functioning mind seems to live in his even more clever brother Mycroft Holmes, shadow. He solves crimes with his partner, John Watson, and runs into a repetitive criminally insane mastermind, James Moriaty. The Venturing Lock In is the closing event of the year, where many crews and scouts gather at the Queen of Apostles, to take part in a night of themed events such as Save The Hex Bags, for Supernatural, where 2 teams search for their teams small brown bags hidden within the room and whichever teams gathers all their back first wins for their team. With Gallifreyan Translation, for Doctor Who, where a series of symbols in Gallifreyan are placed as hints and scouts have to decode the secret message first! And then some Live Action Clue for Sherlock, where it is like playing clue but with you as the characters and the room as the board! The Venturing Lock In is a welcoming place to enjoy the ending of the venturing year and as well enjoy many exciting events. The Lock In is $15 by December 30th and $20 at the door. Everyone is asked to bring a snack and appropriate scout sleep wear. A sleeping bat and mat is the best choice to bring for sleeping on the concrete floor. Scout Appropriate Clothing is required (no short-shorts, muscles tops, yoga pants, etc.) The best dressed as a character from either show will be rewarded! The Lock In commences promptly at 9:00 pm with registration and ice breakers. We encourage that you bring a non-Scouting friend, and if you do your name will be entered into a drawing for a $25 Scout Shop gift card. The Lock In is open to all Venturers and Boy/Girl Scouts age 14 and older. Please send all completed registration form and money to the NEPA Council at 72 Montage Mountain Road, Moosic PA 18507. For more information, contact [email protected]. We hope to see you and your crew there for a great night!

Venturing Leader Page 6 The Best Scouting APPS Page 3NEPA VOA Tested APPS for your phone. Every Issue we willtest out some cool Scout related apps and provide a link tothe ones we like. We hope you like them as well. ~ JoshFirst Aid There was an amazing presence of crewsDeveloper: American Red Cross staffing this year’s harvest fest. ForDevices: Android, iOS those of you that don’t know, HarvestCost: Free fest is an event hosted annually at CampDescription: The only app here that may some Acahela by the Council as an event forday save a life. The official American Red Cross cub scouts attend. Every year, theFirst Aid app puts expert advice for everyday council asks troops and crews to helpemergencies in your hand. Includes videos, staff the event. This year there wereinteractive quizzes and simple step-by-step advice. more crews there than ever before. Crews staffed a variety of things neededAudubon Bird Guide: North America o make the event a success, such as BBDeveloper: National Audubon Society Range, the kitchen, face painting, andDevices: Android, iOS even being mascots. Thank you to allCost: Free the crews for their hard work andDescription: This popular app, now free, dedication to the Boy Scouts ofhelps your Scouts or Venturers identify birds they America.So A big shout out to:see or hear. The app includes 808 species, 3,200 Crew 2025 providing DJ services andimages and eight hours of bird sounds. A featured the Wolf /Tiger costumes. Crew 3701called eBird helps you locate birds seen recently painting hundreds of faces! Crew 461 inaround you, using the continuously updated the dining hall feeding thousands ofdatabase from the Cornell Laboratory of participants and staff. Crew 1600 on theOrnithology. BB Range!Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of OrnithologyDeveloper: Cornell UniversityDevices: Android, iOSCost: FreeDescription: Speaking of the Cornell Laboratoryof Ornithology, the wizards there havecreated Merlin Bird ID, which asks you fivesimple questions to help identify which bird youand your Scouts have spotted. It contains the 400most common bird species in the United States.Dutch Oven Helper LiteDeveloper: Kyle KendallDevices: iOSCost: FreeDescription: A simple app with a clear purpose:telling you exactly how many charcoal briquettesyou’ll need for a Dutch oven meal. Choose atemperature, Dutch oven size and cookingmethod, and the app does the rest — well, exceptfor preparing the meal. And eating it. Andcleaning up.

Page 7 Venturing Leader Biggest Moon this CenturyNovember 14th, 2016As night sets in on November 14, wander outsideand gawk at the sky. If the weather is clear, the moonwill be at its biggest and brightest in nearly 70 years,and it won't put on a similar display until late 2034.Here are the best times and places to watch.A so-called \"supermoon\" occurs when the moon is notonly full, but is orbiting close to Earth. This month's fullmoon will be the closest to Earth since January 26, 1948.NASA says a supermoon - technically called a perigeemoon - can appear to be as much as 14 per cent biggerand 30 per cent brighter than a full moon at its furthest orbital point.But NASA says the November 14 moon could, arguably, even be called an \"extra-supermoon\", and here's why.Since the moon has an elliptical orbit, one side of the orbit (the perigee) is about 48,000 kilometres closer toEarth than the other side (the apogee). When the Earth, moon and sun line up in an orbit, while the moon is onits nearest approach to Earth, we are treated to a so-called supermoon.This happens three times this year: on October 16, November 14 and on December 14. But, on the middle date,the moon becomes full just two hours after its closest approach to Earth. \"On November 14, it becomes fullwithin about two hours of perigee - arguably making it an extra-supermoon,\" NASA says.\"The full moon of November 14 is not only the closest full moon of 2016 but also the closest full moon to datein the 21st century. The full moon won't come this close to Earth again until November 25, 2034.\" Low-hanging moons could create what was known as a moon illusion: when the moon appears unusually large whilecoming over the horizon.Challenge yourself with Scouting magazine’s Where Am I?contest for November-December 2016 The end of the year brings gift-giving season. Take the sting out of holiday gift expenses by winning this awesome gift card. Examine the photo and clues and take a guess — you could be chosen as the winner of the Where Am I? contest, earning you a $100 gift card to Scoutstuff.org. Take a closer look at the photo featured above and read the clues in the newest Where Am I? contest, “Desert Dreaming.” Important: Don’t leave your guess as a comment below; submit it at this link for a chance to win. The contest ends Dec. 16.

Venturing Leader Page 8 How can YOU benefit from the NEPA VOA Page 5Why you should attend VOA Meetings  You help to determine the program for Council Venturing events.  The VOA is there to support its crews, so if you have any struggles, you can let us know so we could offer our help.  The VOA will aid in your campaigns for membership.  Networking with other crews in your area.  You help to determine the direction of NEPA council Venturing  You have access to all the VOA resources for recruitment and planning.NEPA Council Venturing Officers Association72 Montage Mountain RoadMoosic, PA 18507-1776