Great Rivers Council, Venturing

05/23/2026

The New Venturing Handbook is out in PDF format. Here is the link to it:

05/19/2026

05/13/2026

05/13/2026

The Older Youth Program National Reception will be held at the National Annual Meeting, in-person, at 6:00pm CT, in Majestic Rooms 4 & 5 of the 37th Floor Central Tower. For those who would like to watch online, the streaming link will also be added here, streamed on YouTube, and likely Facebook when available: https://www.youtube.com/. This reception recognizes our National Venturing Leadership Award, National Sea Scout Leadership Award, and National Flagship & Fleet recipients, as well as highlights achievements from the year for the Venturing and Sea Scout programs

The National Annual Meeting is an annual gathering of volunteers, professionals, and national leadership to discuss organizational strategy, celebrate Scouting achievements, and plan for future youth development

05/12/2026

We express our gratitude to Tom Roberts for his service as the National Venturing Commissioner, we are pleased to announce that Ramin Rostampour has been selected as the next individual to serve in this role.

Ramin is from Lenexa, KS where he joined Scouting in 2002 in the Heart of America Council. He earned his Arrow of Light in 2006, his Eagle Scout Rank in 2012, and his Venturing Silver Award in 2015. Ramin joined Venturing in 2011 and quickly fell in love with the program. In the 2014-2015 term he had the honor to serve as the Central Region Area 5 Venturing President. Additionally, Ramin has served on staff at the 2013, 2017, and 2023 National Scout Jamborees and is planning on returning to staff at the 2026 Nation Scout Jamboree. Ramin recently returned from serving on the International Service Team at the World Scout Moot in Portugal this past July.

Ramin currently serves as the Advisor for Crew 5003 and Skipper for Ship 5430 in Fort Collins, Colorado. He also serves as the Adventure West Council Older Youth Programs Chair, the National Service Territory 5 Venturing Officers Association Associate Advisor, and is a member of the National Venturing Membership Subcommittee.

Outside of Scouting, Ramin is an active Rotarian in the Loveland Thompson Valley Rotary Club and enjoys to travel to new countries. Ramin is a Professional Engineer and works as a Construction Project Manager with AECOM.

05/11/2026

We express our gratitude to Julie Dalton for her years of service as Scouting America’s Venturing Program Committee Chair and the Venturers & Advisors she has impacted positively.

We are pleased to announce that Rick Bausher has been selected as the next Chair of the National Venturing Program Committee. Rick serves on the National Membership Committee, is an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Distinguished Commissioner Service Award, and Venturing Leadership Award.

Rick has contributed to several key program initiatives. Rick’s depth of experience, proven leadership, and membership engagement knowledge will help support and grow Venturing across the country.

Rick and Julie have begun the leadership transition process with Rick to become the Venturing Program Committee Chair on June 1. Please join us in congratulating Rick on his new role as he furthers the goals and values of Venturing across Scouting America.

05/05/2026

The Older Youth Programs National Reception will be held on May 13th at the National Annual Meeting at 6:00pm CT, exact location with online streaming details to be updated on this post and our social media platforms in the coming days!

Update: The Older Youth Program National Reception will be held at the National Annual Meeting, in-person, at 6:00pm CT, in Majestic Rooms 4 & 5 of the 37th Floor Central Tower. For those who would like to watch online, the streaming link will also be added here, streamed on YouTube, and likely Facebook when available: https://www.youtube.com/

Please join us in celebrating the achievements from this year locally to nationally for Venturing and Sea Scouts, and welcome the next group of officers!

04/24/2026

Crew Officer Orientation assists Crews in understanding the roles and responsibilities of Crew officers and how to effectively plan meetings and events. It is recommended that this training be conducted annually with the entire Crew to ensure all members comprehend the officers’ roles. Additionally, this training is required for advancement to the Discovery Rank.

More info can be found here, this training was last revised in 2025:https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Venturing-Crew-Officer-Orientation-Facilitator-Guide-2025.pdf

04/17/2026

Recording from the Venturing De-mystifying Venturing’s Tier Levels Program webinar is now available on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hyuh28gflc&feature=youtu.be

This tier matrix provides a good breakdown of how to differentiate between the three adventure tier levels

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ocE6kgkYDbR6BhZA9Z8Dpz9Jg1aostgs/view

Additionally here are scenarios that further clarify the tier levels and crew activities

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UXbU8s47IRuL6RalVNqxPVH1zRLCnfMX/view

04/10/2026

Please join us April 15th at 7:30 central time for the Venturing Program Webinar! This month we will be ”De-mystifying Venturing’s Tier Levels”. Bob Avey, CST 12 Advisor, and Ella Ozier, CST 6 Advisor will be discussing how one adventure can be different tiers for the members of your crew

Register in advance for this webinar: https://scouting-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_V-PyftnQR6esPgvtR5QyCQ #/