I. Preamble
A. Venturing Oath
As a Venturer, I promise to help strengthen America, to be faithful in
my religious duties, to help others, and to seek truth, fairness, and
adventure in our world.
B. Venturing Code
As a Venturer, I believe that America's strength lies in our trust in God
and in the courage, strength, and traditions of our people.
I will, therefore, be faithful in my religious duties and will maintain
a personal sense of honor in my own life.
I will treasure my American heritage and will do all I can to preserve
and enrich it.
I will recognize the dignity and worth of all humanity and will use fair
play and goodwill in my daily life.
I will acquire the Venturing attitude that seeks the truth in all things
and adventure on the frontiers of our changing world.
II. Crew Bylaws
A. Objectives
1. To always put fun as the main objective in everything we do.
2. To experience and participate in High Adventure activities.
3. To always share opinions, ideas, and thoughts to help influence the
outcome of a crew decision.
4. To have a crew activity at least once every two months.
5. To hold a full crew meeting at least once per month.
6. To have at least one High Adventure activity per year.
B. Charter
Venture Crew 130 will hold its charter to the Union Congregational Church,
Maynard, Massachusetts. We will abide by any rules or requests
that our charter organization makes of us. The charter organization representative
will handle communication between the charter
organization and Venture Crew 130.
C. Membership
Membership will be open to all young adults of high school age who are
at least 14 years of age and have completed the eighth grade. No
prospective member will be disqualified because of race, color, creed,
or sex. All members must be registered as Venturers and agree to
the crew oath, code, and bylaws.
1. Attendance and Expectations
All members are expected to attend the monthly crew meeting. If a member
will be unable to attend the crew meeting for any
reason, it is the member's responsibility to inform the crew President
in advance of the meeting. All members absent from a
crew meeting will be required to provide an excuse for their absence. Acceptable
excuses include sickness, prior family
engagement, family emergency, and religious services. Unacceptable excuses
include homework, baby-sitting, and social
events (parties, concerts, etc.) Members unable to provide an acceptable
excuse will be placed in inactive status. These rules
and expectations also apply for officers’ meetings and fundraisers. It
is the duty of the Secretary to take attendance at all crew
activities.
2. Inactive Members
Members who are classified as “inactive” will be returned to active status
provided that they (1) are up to date in payment of
dues; AND (2) attend or have an excused absence for the current month's
crew meeting. Inactive members are not permitted to
participate in any crew activities, except crew meetings and fundraisers.
It is the duty of the Secretary to maintain the list of
inactive members.
Officers who are inactive may be removed from office by a two thirds majority
of active members present at a crew meeting.
D. Officers
The elected officers are: President, Vice President - Administration, Vice
President - Program, Secretary, and Treasurer.
The President, with the approval of the senior crew Advisor, will appoint
activity chairs and make other assignments as needed. The duties
of the officers will be as stated in the Venturing Leader Manual.
The normal term of office will be for one year starting with election at
the September crew meeting. Elections will be held at the September
crew meeting. All contested ballots will be secret.
E. Meetings
1. Crew Meetings
Crew meetings will be held at least once per month. The day and time of
the meetings will be determined at the previous
month's crew or officers’ meeting or by the crew President and/or senior
Advisor.
2. Crew Business
Voting on all issues will be by simple majority of active members present,
with the exception of changes or amendments to the
bylaws, which require a two thirds majority of active members present.
At crew meetings, a quorum of two thirds of the active
membership is required for a vote.
3. Officers’ Meetings
Officers' meetings will be held at least once a month, prior to the crew
meeting of that month. Officers’ meetings will be
scheduled at the previous officers’ meeting or by the crew President and/or
senior Advisor. At officers’ meetings, a quorum of
three of the five elected officers is required for a vote.
F. Finance
1. Dues
Dues for youth will be $10 per quarter, paid at the December, March, June,
and September crew meetings. A payment plan has been installed so that
for the first and second months of the quarter $3 is paid and in the third
month the remaining $4 is paid.
The Treasurer is responsible for the collection and accounting of dues.
Any member not up to date in payment of dues will be placed in inactive
status. Dues may be paid at any time to the Treasurer, provided that the
funds are suitably presented in an envelope clearly labeled with the crewmember's
name.
2. Fundraisers
All fundraisers must be approved by majority vote at the crew meeting,
must be approved by the Advisor(s), and must meet
BSA requirements. Participation in fundraisers is expected of all crew
members.
G. Code of Conduct
1. Dress Code
Class A uniform will be worn (1) during travel to and from crew activities
and (2) at crew and officers’ meetings.
For events, including fundraisers, where we are representing Crew 130 to
the public, Class A uniform will be worn with khaki or
gray shorts or pants. If the weather calls for the wearing of a long
sleeved shirt beneath the green Class A shirt, the shirt must be white
or gray in color. Those wearing a tan Class A shirt will wear green
shorts or pants.
Class A uniform is defined as the green Venturing shirt with all correct
insignia; OR the tan Boy Scouting shirt with all correct
insignia, including the Venture patrol insignia.
Class B uniform is defined as any Scouting related shirt, preferably the
Crew 130 T-shirt.
2. Guidelines for Coed Behavior
All crew members, youth and adult, will be cognizant of the fact that both
sexes are present for all functions. As such, the
following will be expected:
Use common sense.
Be respectful and considerate of each other.
Tents in use by members of one gender are off limits to members of the
other gender at all times. Rooms, cabins,
lean-tos, etc. in use by members of one gender may be entered by members
of the other gender only with permission.
Every effort will be made to accommodate separate toilet facilities for
each gender, as determined appropriate at the time.
Public display of affection (PDA), including but not limited to kissing,
hand holding, or excessive touching, is prohibited at all crew activities.
Two persons of opposite genders should always be supervised and/or accompanied
by one or more other persons.
This document was drafted
on December 29, 1999, and is based on the Suggested Crew Code and Bylaws
and on the Code and Bylaws of Venture Crew 464,
Woodland Hills, California.