The Order of the Arrow is always striving for ways to recognize its members. Whether at the chapter, lodge or even national level, leaders look for ways to thank and reward those who have put in hard work and made many sacrifices in the spirit of the brotherhood of cheerful service. Now, many lodges across the country are mixing old and new awards to help pay tribute to their deserving members.
The James E. West Fellowship and the Legacy Fellowship are two ways a lodge can recognize its members who promote brotherhood, cheerfulness and service. The main requirement for each award is a one-thousand dollar donation. To receive the James E. West Fellowship, the donation must be made directly to the council endowment, while the Legacy Fellowship requires the donation to be made to the national Order of the Arrow endowment. Additionally, to receive the Legacy Fellowship Award one must already be a recipient of the James E. West Fellowship Award. These awards are perfect for lodges because of how they relate to the three pillars of the Order. Lodges can present this award to an Arrowman honoring his service to the lodge or the OA as a whole. Both awards incorporate brotherhood and cheerfulness by showing how the lodge appreciates an Arrowman’s devotion and contributions to the lodge. These awards also incorporate service by giving financial support to the lodge’s council or the Order.
Many lodges around the country have their own ways of recognizing Arrowmen. For instance, Nanepashemet Lodge recognized members over the last two years with a Rookie of the Year award. This award not only helped create a cheerful environment of celebration at their annual banquet, but it also encouraged Arrowmen to become even more involved. Awards do not always need to be serious. As part of the Rookie of the Year award, Nanepashemet incorporated humor by giving the recipient a leftover cake from the banquet that year.
Moswetuset Lodge created the Howie Nelles Silver Arrow Award for Civilians in 2009 to recognize non-Arrowmen for their dedication and service to their lodge, and for demonstrating the principles of the Order of the Arrow. This award is similar to the national Red Arrow Award which recognizes individuals who are not members of the Order of the Arrow for outstanding service to the Order.
There are many ways a lodge can recognize members and nonmembers. It is important to be creative in order to keep the awards and presentation interesting. However, a lodge should not let itself become burdened by a colossal number of awards that begin to drown the lodge; rather the awards should be selected in order to provide an energetic, encouraging, and engaging atmosphere. Most importantly, the awards should focus on brotherhood, cheerfulness and service towards others.
Matthew Harrington Lodge Ledger