The Order of the Arrow began the implementation of Journey to Excellence in 2012. Due to its incorporation into the lodge recharter process, every lodge in the Order participated in the past year's JTE program. To simplify rechartering and JTE recordkeeping, information can now be submitted through OA LodgeMaster and each council will receive a direct charge to cover national membership expenses.
The data collected during the first two years of JTE has been incredibly valuable. To continue helping lodges improve, there will be incremental changes to the program in coming years. All changes will be announced 18 months in advance, so that lodges can plan accordingly.
The first set of changes will occur for 2014 JTE. The 2014 requirements were released in May of last year. While the requirements are unchanged from 2012 and 2013, the standards required to achieve each level of recognition have been adjusted based on previous data. These new benchmarks (and all future ones) are based on the top 10% of lodges earning gold, the middle 50% earning silver, and the top 80% earning bronze on a given requirement.
2015 will be the first year the requirements undergo changes. The most significant change is the elimination of required items. Such a move allows lodges that were unable to meet the two previously required standards to remain focused on the areas in which they excel, and still achieve recognition. Similarly, the number of points per item have been adjusted, to place a higher emphasis on particular requirements. Standards such as membership growth and event attendance are weighted significantly higher than other objectives.
Some requirements have also been removed or combined, and a few new requirements have also been added. The 2015 Performance Points are now available for review.
Lodges must now complete elections in a percentage of units throughout the entire council, rather than only for units requesting an election. Points can be awarded for helping units to earn the OA Unit of Excellence Award, and points will be available for lodges making in-person visitations to units for other purposes, such as camping promotions. These new requirements push lodges to reach out and enhance the Order's visibility in all Boy Scout units.
A final programmatic change for 2015: JTE and charter petitions will be exclusively accepted through OA LodgeMaster. The JTE and OA LodgeMaster teams are working to create an implementation plan, which will be released this autumn.
Journey to Excellence is an incredible resource that allows the Order to collect and understand data in a way that has never before been possible. This data shows how the Order is growing, supporting local councils, and reaching out to individual units, subsequently providing insight that has the ability to shape our entire organization. Lodges should work to embrace the JTE data that is available, letting it guide them in their efforts to grow and improve each year.
Aaron Gluck Lodge Ledger