Whats new with the Crew! (and APO)

The start of another school year is always very, very busy. New classes, maybe a new school and the kick-off of everything single thing on this green Earth. Right now the things I'm busy "kicking off" are of course another year in my Venturing Crew back home and a New Active Class in APO! YAY for new people :).

Horse Back Riding at Philmont summer 2010 (c).

One of the most important things to keep any organization running is recruitment! Without new blood and fresh ideas, the great things we love wouldn't stay around for very long.  With the Crew, just last week we had recruitment Ice Cream Social themed meeting. Although I wasn't able to be there, I heard it was a great success. We had three crew members bring friends and all of those friends decided to join! And in the crew, each month has a different activity theme to complete requirements for earning ranks and just for fun. I am the Vice President of Programming for the Crew so I am in the middle of planning our November, which is going to be Horse Back Riding themed. One Saturday we will go out to a local Ranch and have them show us general horse care and then go on a trail ride. Prior to that event, at one of our normal meetings I have asked a local Equestrian Vet to come and talk to us about how to care for, treat and general need-to-know information on such a majestic animal. Planning and organizing all of that is keeping me pretty busy.

Goody Buckets fro my Littles last semester (c).

But back here on campus, we're about to welcome in a New Active Class into APO! I'm busy running around gathering treats for my soon-to-be little and creating clues for them to guess who I am. Big/Little reveal is Thursday night so I've really got to hightail it into gear if I want to be ready for all of those new people! Along with new people joining, I'm trying to strike up a few new regular service projects for our organization to help out with. I've been in contact with the Alamo Council Boy Scouts to try and just be on their books for anytime they need volunteers. That's turning out to be harder than expected, though, because the Scouts are going through recruitment for the next couple of months so everyone is probably too busy to call me back...oh well, fingers crossed. Another project I'm heading up is organizing events with the local San Antonio chapters of the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary. Both are veterans or wife of veterans’ organizations so I hope to be able to get a consistent military related project going each month soon.

After writing all that down, I just now realize how busy I really am! So many things that I love and want to be a part of are starting to get busy all at the same time. But I know that while I'm busy and exhausted right now, it'll calm down soon and be worth it all in the end. I <3 APO and Scouting.

On My Honor Photos by Hillary is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The History Behind it All

"On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight." 

My APO Jersey (c).

That is the Scout Oath that all scouts aim to live and learn by. It is also one of the founding cornerstones of the International Service Fraternity of Alpha Phi Omega. Founded by Frank Reed Horton, Alpha Phi Omega was an organization through which men might better the conditions for other men, as well as themselves by holding up a "standard of manhood". Through his experience in WW2 and serving with scouts, Horton found that the Scout Oath and Law were what he was looking for in a "standard of manhood". In 1925 while at Lafayette College, Horton created Alpha Phi Omega an organization for college men who cooperated with all youth movements, especially scouting. As scouting is worldwide, so is Alpha Phi Omega, reaching out to universities and people all over the globe.

My Dad, my boyfriend and myself on Scout Sunday at RPC (c).

These are the things I love about APO. Founded on the Cardinal Principles of Leadership, Friendship and Service, APO is an organization where anyone can get involved and better themselves by helping others. My Father is an Eagle Scout which is the highest Boy Scout Rank one can reach. He raised my sisters and I with a strong sense of doing good in the world through community service. One of the first traditions I can remember my family making is our choice to volunteer on Thanksgiving Day for the annual YMCA Turkey Trot Race. While shivering in the cold, a love for service grew. I never had any interest in being a Girl Scout and doing what I considered "girly" activities like selling cookies and learning how to knit. I wanted to go outside and get dirty and be like my Dad. So it was fortunate when I found a way to be the Boy Scout I always wanted to- through Venturing.

Venturing Crew 707 at the White River Canoe Race 2011 (c).

Venturing is a division of Boy Scouts of America geared toward young men and women ages 14-21. In the program, the groups can do pretty much anything a normal Boy Scout Troop would do. We go camping, hiking, fishing, shooting, canoeing and any other activity you can think of. Like in Boy Scouts, in Venturing there are awards a youth can achieve through completing certain requirements. With my Venturing Crew (Crew 707 in Fort Worth, Texas) I have gone to the high adventure base of Philmont in Cimarron, New Mexico, participated in the National White River Canoe Race and am going to one of the other high adventure bases, Seabase in the Florida Keys Summer 2012. It is such a great experience being able to do all these fun things and live my life on such high principles.

Scout Sunday 2011 by Hillary is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.