By Nicholas Goldrosen
Arrowmen of Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge went to college one weekend in March, when the Tennessee-based lodge hosted an OA University (OAU). Wa-Hi-Nasa runs the OAU as something of a souped-up LLD. “We train Arrowmen in ceremonies, leadership, lodge operations and whatever else they might want to know,” said Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge Vice Chief of Training Sid Salazar.
OAU has a long history in the lodge and has gone through lots of reiterations and lots of changes according to Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge Chief Jack Adamson. The structure of the event, Adamson noted, has shifted away from a college-based program to a more standard format for a lodge training event. However, that does not mean it has lost its unique approach to educating Arrowmen.
This year, Salazar said, the lodge tried a new chapter-oriented structure. Participants were grouped by their home chapters, and those chapters merged with geographically close ones to form groups for the weekend. Instead of specialized training tracks, the training focused on eight core courses on leadership and the operation of the chapter and lodge. The theme for the event was “Year in the Life of a Lodge,” which was reflected in the trainings.
“For example, in May and August, we held ceremonies training to prepare for Ordeals,” Salazar explained. “In September, we held a mock lodge executive committee meeting to prepare for a fall fellowship weekend.”
Adamson said the chapter-oriented approach worked great. “It worked really well. It filled the need where our chapter operations and leadership were a bit weak.”
Leaders and participants alike thought OAU was a success. “It went really well; it exceeded my expectations. I was pleasantly surprised with how it ended up,” Adamson said.