It's a stunner.  At the Order of Arrow's Sectional Conclave at Fire Mountain this weekend, and for the first time ever, a Venturer defeated 5 other candidates in the election for the 2012-2013 Section W-1N Chief.  Our Crew's Chris Z will be representing the Lodges of the local Councils in Western Washington and Alaska, and traveling to Michigan State University this summer for the National Order of the Arrow Conference.

Chris will be directly responsible for planning the 2013 Sectional Conclave at Camp Pigott, when the local Lodge plans to open the Silver Marmot (pronounced T'Kope Kwiskwis in Chinook) Longhouse.  That historic event is expected to bring out hundreds of Arrowmen from all over the country.  Further, his travels in the next year will take him to Conclaves of neighboring Sections throughout the Western Region.

Next spring, he will travel to BSA National Council headquarters in Irving, Texas for the next annual OA planning conference. At that convening, the Chiefs of all the Sections and the four Regions will elect a National 2013-2014 Chief from among their numbers as well as new Regional Chiefs  The Order of the Arrow was founded in 1915 and thare over 180.000 Arrowmen in the United States.

It's official.

Zachary Sean Turley of Venturing Crew 1042 in Poulsbo has been selected as the American Legion Department of Washington’s 2012 Eagle Scout of the Year.  He will receive a $1,000 scholarship at the Department Convention in Wenatchee in July.  His application has been forwarded to the Legion's National Committee for consideration for the National Award.  The National winner collects an additional $10,000 scholarship, and three runner-ups are awarded $2,500 scholarships.

This is the second time that Zack has won this prestigious award, and is the third successive year that a member of Crew 42 has been the selectee!

Rain and snow in the forecast?  High in the 30s and winds gusting from the NW?  Ah, sounds like our Crew's kind of weather!

If there is one thing to remember, it's that you cannot trust the weather forecast completely.  Expecting and prepared for much worse, the clouds parted and we enjoyed a pair of 23+ mile cycling legs on the Olympic Discovery Trail in Clallum County that runs along the old lumber railroad right-of-way.  The ODT is maintained by a wonderful group of volunteers and presently runs from Port Townsend to Forks.  The vision, which may take decades to realize, is a continuous cycling trail from the Winslow ferry terminal on Bainbridge Island all the way out to the Pacific Ocean.

We pedaled from east of Sequim out to the Port Angeles waterfront and back.  We carried the insurance of full raingear in our panniers, we were treated to blue skies and sunshine to warm our spirits, though it didn't necessarily warm the air or dry out the woods.  The hills were still heavily adorned with snow at elevations above 500 feet and the creeks are only trickling, not the roaring gushes that will arrive in another month.  Another advantage of winter cycling is that the ODT was clear of joggers.

Chains or studded tires were not required...just layers of clothing and defrosting stops along the way.  That's just the way we roll.

In case you thought that the Advisor and other adults put the Crew's calendar of events and other program items together, then think again.  Adjustments are just a way of life for teenagers when you have school, family, church, cross country, football, basketball, wrestling, soccer, tennis, ASB, a part time job, a paper due, marching band, wind symphony, jazz band, brass ensemble, piano recitals, tutoring sessions with the young ones, and this little thing called Venturing.  Add to it when your Venturing spills over into staffing other Scouting events that need workups. Necessarily, you have to learn to be flexible.

The Cabinet gets to wrestle with the conflicts and juggle all the calendars of two dozen families. Do they get it perfect every time? Not always. Do they get it right most of the time? If you don't think so, please run for office and serve a year as an officer. At the least, volunteer to be an Activity Chair for an event and ensure that it has no date conflicts for anyone. Your Cabinet works for you, and there's no better example of the struggles and joys of Servant Leadership.