On Tuesday July 31st, Brad Haddock was recognized with the unique honor of the Order of the Arrow’s (OA) Legacy of Servant Leadership Lifetime Achievement Award – and with Brad celebrating the 50th anniversary of his induction in two weeks, what an incredible lifetime it’s been. Brad has served as the National OA Committee Chairman and the 1975-1976 National Chief. The trail he has blazed for our Order is one of permanent improvement, strengthening its program in ways the OA maintains today.
Brad’s first steps as an Arrowman will be familiar to many Arrowmen. After completing his Ordeal, his chapter chief asked him to get more involved. He led his chapter in their efforts to bolster their unit elections rate, and reached a 100% rate in his district. The choice to accept the offer of his chapter chief started Brad’s illustrious career as a youth in the Order. “What hooked me on the OA was somebody asking me to get involved,” Brad reflected on his beginnings in the Order. In time he served as a lodge officer, lodge chief, section chief, and eventually the national chief of the Order of the Arrow.
During Brad’s service as national chief, he was once surprised to have a meeting with the Founder of the OA, Dr. E. Urner Goodman. After a half-century of tenure wearing the sash, Brad has had the opportunity to witness some of the Order’s most profound changes and have some incredibly unique experiences. He developed the first syllabus for the National Leadership Seminar in 1976 and later, as the chairman of the National OA Committee, oversaw the ArrowCorps5 project with the U.S. National Forest.
On ArrowCorps5, Brad reflects that it “helped the Order of the Arrow see who they are and what they’re capable of.” The Order gained unprecedented publicity with the event when it demonstrated the power of Arrowmen’s service to our natural resources. Pride in how the Order changed after ArrowCorps5 makes this Brad’s most cherished memory.
“From ArrowCorps5 to its recent disaster relief service in Puerto Rico, our brotherhood has helped out in many, many ways over its existence,” Brad notes. “The Order of the Arrow’s biggest impact may lie ahead.”
Brad’s journey through Scouting is one he hopes inspires other Scouts to further their own journeys in the program, deepens their involvement and strengthens their commitment to Scouting’s Oath and Law, and to our Order’s Obligation. “Individually each of us if we adhere to the Scout Oath, Law, and the OA Obligation – that makes the biggest impact on the country because then you’re a good citizen, a good father, and a good husband. If every Scout makes the decision to act according to the principles of Scouting, the future of our country will be very bright.”
About the Legacy of Servant Leadership Lifetime Achievement Award
The Legacy of Servant Leadership Lifetime Achievement Award was created by the National Order of the Arrow Committee in 2002 to recognize the Order's second and third generation "Founders" - Scouters who have built an enduring legacy to Scouting and the Order of the Arrow through a lifetime of cheerful service to others.
The award is intended to recognize those extraordinary Arrowmen who have deeply influenced and significantly contributed to the vision, direction, and growth of the Order of the Arrow, faithfully demonstrated a lifetime of servant leadership, and, through their daily example, illuminated, and reinforced the significance of the values found in the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
The prestige of the award requires the criteria be general in nature to allow members of the National Committee to exercise wisdom, flexibility, and discretion in the evaluation and selection of a worthy recipient. Although any past or present member of the Order of the Arrow may be nominated, a nominee must meet the following criteria:
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Vigil Honor member
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Distinguished Service Award recipient
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Continued to render outstanding and dedicated service to the Order of the Arrow on a sectional, regional, or national level, since receiving the DSA
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Member of the Order of the Arrow for a minimum of 25 years