What do Cleveland, Ohio and the Summit Bechtel Reserve have in common? Where can you find the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the New River Gorge? All these places lie within the geographic area encompassed by the new Central Region Section 4 of the Order of the Arrow. After a series of council mergers, the former sections of C-4A and C-4B have joined forces to form the new section.
While the merger had been in the works since last year, the merger did not officially happen until last month. Earlier this year, C-4A and C-4B held their own separate conclaves for the last time in May and June, respectively. Arrowmen in both sections enjoyed their weekends of fellowship while looking forward to great things to come as the new super-section comes into existence.
In September, the Section C-4 Council of Chiefs met for their first meeting where lodges elected their first group of section officers who have started preparations for their upcoming year with a new slate of section advisers. The founding section chief of C-4, Joshua Squirrell, commented on how the section has already hit the ground running planning conclave. He notes that their focus is “not just conclave, but all kinds of section business.” The new section leadership is ready to give the support its lodges are looking for, and the lodges are looking forward to kicking off a great inaugural year for the section.
One goal of Squirrell’s is to ensure all lodges are represented on the Council of Chiefs. As many lodge leaders are meeting one another for the first time, steps are being taken to ensure everyone’s voice is heard. Another unique aspect of the inaugural C-4 leadership team is that there is an entirely different team of section advisers. No advisers from C-4A or C-4B are serving on the new team of C-4, so all youth and adults on the section leadership team have the opportunity to chart a new, unique course for the section. All involved are excited to get to exercise their creativity in planning the section’s first year. It will be truly exciting to watch Section C-4 as they begin their first year as a new section how they strengthen ties of brotherhood in Ohio and West Virginia in the future.