Cook receives scouting's Venture Crew highest award

Emily Cook, Colfax, is the third person in the Inland Northwest Council of the Scouts BSA to achieve the "Summit," the highest award in scouting's Venture Crew, since the co-ed program was created in 1998. It is equivalent to the Eagle Scout award in the Boy Scouts.

Emily Cook, 20, daughter of Brad and Linda Cook, will receive her Summit during a Court of Honor scheduled for a future time. It was originally planned to be March 17.

"I've been involved with scouting my entire life because my parents were before I was born," Emily said. "My favorite parts are the hiking and backpacking, and the service. Our Crew does service projects a lot. My older brother earned his Eagle, and it is good that I can do the same through Venturing."

"Venturing is a flexible program," said her father Brad, who has been in scouting since he was a child. "It's designed to help all Venturers grow and develop into service-oriented, responsible citizens."

Emily became involved with scouting well before she was old enough to join the Crew at 14. Her brother's Scout troop has always encouraged "mascots" – sisters, moms, aunts―to participate along with the boys, even before the official transition to co-ed Scouts BSA. She has backpacked on three "50-milers," summer trips that scouts take. She hiked a 72-mile, 12-day expedition at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, including participation in a forest management demonstration and conservation project.

She has also been the lead on several Venture outings. Her leadership training requirements were fulfilled through participation in the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program, at a two-week course held last summer at the National Conservation Training Center in Harpers Ferry, W.V.

For her Summit project, Emily inventoried and created a physical inventory and filing system for teaching materials and supplies for Sheltering Branch Baha'i School, an annual event averaging 135 participants.

"This is the first time in its 40-year history that school materials have been systematically organized," said her mother Linda, who has been involved with the school and with scouting for more than 20 years. "This will allow teachers and staff to reuse older materials and develop innovative curricula for future years."

Paul Wheeler, scoutmaster of Troop 460, is delighted with Emily's achievement. The troop is a sister unit to Venture Crew 460. "I've known Emily practically since her family brought her home," Wheeler said. "It's been incredibly rewarding to watch her grow from a girl, who wasn't so sure she could meet the challenges of outdoor activities, into a young woman, a leader, who is confident in the wilderness."

"She knows who she is and what she wants to do next in her life," he said. "I'm sure she'll be a leader and an example to others."

Emily is currently finishing her junior year at the University of Idaho in the Natural Resources Department. She hopes to enter a natural resources career when she graduates.