Think your summer is packed? Wait until you see the exciting things two of the Order’s national officers are packing into their summer this year.
Jordan Hughes – National Vice Chief
An average summer day in the life of the national vice chief of the Order of the Arrow tends to look like:
10:00 AM – Wake up, shower, and get ready for the day.
11:00 AM – Go to work at Moe's Southwest Grill.
3:00 PM – Leave work to go home and get cleaned up.
4:00 PM – Work on Scouting projects and unwind.
6:00 PM – Eat dinner with the family.
7:00 PM – Catch up with friends or hang out around the house.
10:00 PM – Watch Baseball Tonight on ESPN, “Go Mets!”
1:00 AM – Go to bed (Jordan tries, and usually succeeds at getting a full eight hours of sleep every night.)
Outside of his daily grind at Moe's, Jordan is hard at work (although it doesn't feel like work to him) traveling and attending OA functions all over the nation. Since his summer began in early May, Jordan has attended the BSA National Annual Meeting, three section conclaves and events put on by his local lodge, Lowwapaneu Lodge. Jordan also attended the Order of the Arrow Ocean Adventure at Florida Sea Base.
As the national vice chief of the Order of the Arrow, Jordan will be attending not one but two national jamborees this year. The first jamboree he will attend will be the BSA's 2013 jamboree at the Summit. He will also be visiting the Republic of Georgia, located in Eastern Europe, for their second national jamboree, marking twenty years of Scouting in Georgia. Jordan will visit Georgia with Matt Brown, the national chief of the Order of the Arrow, and other Arrowmen from around the country.
Whether on MLB.tv, Wikipedia, or beyond, Jordan keeps busy exploring the internet in his free time, which one can imagine is sparse. Mets and Orioles scores and statistics on MLB.tv and random articles on Wikipedia keep Jordan in the know about what's going on in the world around him.
Jordan feels incredibly blessed to have been elected by his fellow sections chiefs as a national officer at the Dallas planning meeting, giving him the opportunity to go to, and in return experience, the multitude of rewarding events he has attended this summer. He looks forward to the jamboree, especially seeing its transformation since he was last there and experiencing it from the perspective of the staff.
With the fall NLS season just around the corner, Jordan looks forwards to meeting and interacting with Arrowmen of all ages and backgrounds at one of the most incredible experiences available to Arrowmen.
Mike Gray – Central Region Chief
An average summer day in the life of the Central Region Chief of the Order of the Arrow tends to look like:
9:30 AM – Wake up, shower, and get ready for the day.
10:00 AM – Check e-mail and read ahead for class.
12:00 AM – 4:30 PM – Attend 3 classes at Bradley University with a quick lunch in between.
5:00 PM – Dinner
6:00 PM – Work on OA projects, correspondence, watch TV, etc.
When he's not busy being a scholar majoring in Organizational Communications at Bradley University, Mike Gray finds himself traveling around the country, much like Jordan Hughes and the other national officers. Mike kicked off the summer by attending Order of the Arrow Ocean Adventure at Florida Sea Base where he was able to enjoy adventures with brothers from all over the country. He has been to the Boston area for the Section NE-1A Conclave and was given the opportunity to grass dance at their pow wow. Returning from three weeks of working his sixth summer as staff at Ingersoll Scout Reservation, Mike remarks that this summer “was unique for me since I couldn't work the entire summer” because of his obligations as a national officer.
Mike isn't close to being done with his summer of travels yet. He greatly looks forwards to attending the 2013 National Scout Jamboree at the Summit where he will be staffing the OA exhibit working along with three other region chiefs. In August, Mike will be attending OA Wilderness Voyage at Northern Tier. In addition to his Scouting duties and travels, Mike plans to visit Wisconsin with his family.
Summer has always been a time of year for Mike to spend his free time in the outdoors and enjoy his leisure time with good friends. Although this summer has been busier than others for Mike, he is grateful for the opportunities to travel and participate in events such as OA High Adventure and the jamboree. This summer, as a national officer, Mike has received extremely valuable life experiences that will have a positive impact on his future, especially the concepts of servant leadership, working with and appreciating different groups of people, problem-solving, communications, and many more.
As autumn approaches, Mike Gray looks forward to seeing many of the Central Region's section officers elected at the conclaves. He also awaits his two NLS's put on by the Central Region and hopes that they are able to inspire a large number of Arrowmen about what it means to be a true leader. In November, Mike will be helping out with the Section Officers Seminar to give the new officers the tools they need to be successful during their terms.