Section and Lodge Key 3 Leaders:
When the Order of the Arrow (OA) realigned sections following the elimination of the regions and areas and establishment of territories in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), it was anticipated that the OA would need to revisit the section alignment approximately 18-24 months later. Certain circumstances slowed an overall revisit of section alignment; however, some realignment proved necessary in Gateway Region.
As a result of council mergers in the western portion of the country, several OA sections as drawn in 2021 now have only two OA lodges. To provide a robust section program, a larger number of lodges is needed to create a critical mass of members to deliver effective section programming and support to local lodges.
The following realignment will take place to address the current needs of the Gateway Region:
Effective 8/1/23:
Sections G14N and G14S will be dissolved.
Section G14 will be comprised of the following councils:
- Inland Northwest Council (Es-Kaielgu Lodge)
- Blue Mountain Council (Walamootkin Lodge)
- Mountain West Council (Tukarica Lodge)
- Grand Teton Council (Shunkah Mahneetu Lodge)
Section G12C will be dissolved.
Sections G12S and G13 as they exist today will be relabeled. The councils included within those sections remain the same.
- Section G12S will be relabeled G13E.
- Section G13 will be relabeled G13W.
A new Section G12S will be comprised of the following councils:
- Crossroads of the West Council (Ammatdiio Lodge)
- Greater Colorado Council (Tahosa Lodge)
- Pathway to the Rockies Council (Buffalo Mountain Lodge)
Effective 10/2/23:
Section G12N will be comprised of the following councils:
- Montana Council (Apoxky Aio Lodge)
- Adventure West Council (Kola Lodge)
- Black Hills Area Council (Crazy Horse Lodge)
Crazy Horse Lodge will participate in the Section G11 Conclave, scheduled for September 29 – October 1, 2023. Should a youth from Crazy Horse Lodge run for and be elected to any office (section chief, section vice chief, section secretary) at the Section G11 Conclave, they will serve their term in Section G12N as a co-officer with the previously elected officer of Section G12N for the remainder of the term within Section G12N. At the next officer election in Section G12N, the section would elect only one person to serve in each section office.
Should a youth from Crazy Horse Lodge be elected during the Section G11 Conclave and move to Section G12N to serve in their elected role, Section G11 would follow the procedures outlined in the Field Operations Handbook to fill any vacant office created by the transfer of an elected officer out of Section G11 due to this realignment.
Effective on 1/1/24:
With the merger of Chief Seattle Council and Grand Columbia Council on 4/1/23, the subsequent merger of the lodges will incorporate the lodge members of Grand Columbia Council (Tataliya Lodge) into the Chief Seattle Council (T’Kope Kwiskwis), which is part of Section G15, extending the geography of Section G15 further east.
These realignments will provide each OA section with at least three lodges to participate in section leadership and program. The net effect of these realignments reduces, by one, the number of sections in the Gateway Region.
The national OA committee will continue to review section boundaries in the future and act as necessary to address issues where number of lodges, lodge membership, and geography pose challenges for effective section programs.
An updated OA section map will be published later this summer. Please note that the map exists for illustrative purposes only. The process to update the OA section map can be time-consuming. Moving forward, the map will be updated when significant changes are necessary.
If you have any questions about these changes, please contact Order of the Arrow National Director Cortland Bolles at @email.
Yours in Brotherhood,
Michael Whitford Tracy Atherton Cortland Bolles
Gateway Region Chief Gateway Region Chair National Director