It’s hard to believe, but in a little more than four months, you and your contingent will be arriving at Michigan State University for the 2015 National Order of the Arrow Conference. To kick off the week, we have created a check-in process that will get you into your residence halls and checked in – all with just a few steps (literally)!
If you have attended national conferences in the past, you may recall that check-in day started at a centralized place – generally a large arena on campus. This year, you will go directly to your assigned residence hall. That is your first stop! In fact, whether you are traveling by car or bus, you will pull up to your residence hall curbside to unload your gear. If you are arriving by plane, the airport shuttle bus will take you to your assigned residence hall. Before the start of the conference, your contingent will be provided with details in regards to your housing assignment, along with directions and a scheduled arrival time that will assure a smooth check-in for all.
Following a quick health and safety review, you will be at your home for the week. The goal is to get you and your contingent into your rooms within a few minutes of your arrival at NOAC. To help facilitate this process, housing staff will be stationed in each residence hall on check-in day and throughout the conference.
Once you are checked in, and your gear is stowed, you will head off to an orientation with a national officer to kick off the conference. The residence halls at Michigan State University are arranged into part neighborhoods. There are five neighborhoods on the campus – and each will have its own orientation session and other activities to welcome your lodge to the conference.
In order to make this process smooth and quick, there are some things you can do in advance. The key is to have your registration information complete and accurate prior to your departure. If any of the following are not complete from the list below, you will experience a delay in your arrival and orientation process.
- Each guest attending from your lodge should be entered into the registration database.
- The roster in the system should match the Arrowmen you will actually bring to the conference.
- Medical forms need to be completed, uploaded and approved.
- Roommate assignments should be completed in the registration system by the assigned deadline.
- Training classes and activities for each Arrowman should be selected and entered into the in the registration system, by individual Arrowman (when applicable).
- Youth Protection Training must be completed by all Arrowmen 18 years of age and older.
The orientation session in each neighborhood will distribute various conference materials and have program staff on-site to address basic issues with training, activities, special meals and other areas of the NOAC experience if needed. Details of this location for your neighborhood and other orientation-specific details will be provided prior to your arrival as well as at the time of your arrival.
As you prepare your contingent for NOAC, there are three important dates to focus on:
- April 1st, 2015 – The registration system will open for you and the members of your contingent to choose individual training and activities for the conference.
- May 31st, 2015 – The registration system will close. This will allow the conference staff time to assign each member of your contingent to specific training and activity locations.
- July 1st, 2015 – The registration site will re-open. At that time each guest will be able to see what he or she has been assigned to prior to leaving for NOAC.
By now you have likely been contacted by a registration assistant from the NOAC staff to assist you with the process of registering the members of your contingent. Their role is to ensure you have everything in order to register your contingent. If you have questions or issues with registering your contingent (including the online registration system), please reach out to this important staff member. If you have not been contacted by your registration assistant, please log onto the registration site and look under “Contingent Contacts” on the dashboard to find and connect with your registration assistant.
A lot of work has been put into ensuring you have a great and welcoming experience when you arrive at the National Order of the Arrow Conference. We look forward to seeing you on check-in day!