Like many girls, Erin Sudlow started with the Brownies and moved up. But by the time she qualified for Girl Scouts, the Emporia girl realized it was a little too arts-and-crafts for her. She wanted a little more adventure.
So Erin joined the Boy Scouts. Sort of.
Erin is part of a Venturing crew, a co-ed unit under the Boy Scout umbrella. Her crew focuses on shooting sports, but others have been known to do rock climbing, canoing, even skydiving.
“I really like it,” said Erin, who is 17. “It’s co-ed, so guys and girls can learn at the same time. And it brings a unity to the group — you have to learn how to get along.”
Venturing began as part of the old Explorer program before being spun off on its own in 1998. The idea was originally to provide one more challenge for Scouts who had seemingly done it all.
“Kids would make Eagle Scout at 14 or 15 and not have a whole lot left to do,” said Jeremy Latchaw, district executive for the Boy Scouts’ Sojadi District. “So this program was developed for older boys and girls wanting to do high-adventure kinds of things.”
To participate, would-be crew members must be between 14 and 20 years old. Right now, Latchaw said, there were two crews in Emporia and one in Burlington, totaling about 15 members. Of those, he said, four or five are female.
“I think it would take off here if we would publicize it more,” Latchaw said. “My focus has been first to build the traditional program and then build this stuff, so it’s just now coming to light for me.”
Erin’s group, still a fairly new one, practices shooting .22 rifles and 20-gauge shotguns. However, finding a consistent shooting range has been challenging.
“We’re still trying to find a range,” she said. “The nearest one is Topeka and we don’t feel like driving two hours each time. So each of us is shooting on our own time with adults that are responsible instructors.”
And in case you were wondering, Erin’s more the shotgun type.
“Winchester all the way,” she said with a grin.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Scout program without awards and honors. Some recognize excellence in sports, or shooting, or community service. Near or at the top is the Ranger award, given to someone who has shown top-flight outdoors skills in a number of areas.
“I’m almost jealous,” Latchaw admitted. “I looked at these things and said, ‘Man, I was an Eagle Scout but I didn’t get these cool medals!’”
Of course, Erin would be in the outdoors with or without the medals — in addition to the shooting sports crew, she’s part of a backpacking club at school. And she’s sat in informally on enough Boy Scout meetings (her father’s a scoutmaster) to both be comfortable with the setup and somewhat used to the attention.
At one of her first meetings, she said, “I sat down and all the guys sat around my table. Dad said, ‘Yep, flies to honey. Flies to honey.’”
It stays friendly. On reflection, it had better. Sudlow’s senior picture shows her in a formal dress with a 20-gauge shotgun in hand.
“Dad says ‘That’s my proudest moment, captured on film,” Erin said.
Those interested in the Venture program can contact Latchaw at 888-456-2542.