By Eric Zavinski
Arrowmen in Ho-Nan-Ne-Ho-Ont Lodge of Section NE-4A recently embarked on a weekend adventure in Erie, PA. On November 9th, they started and spent a fellowship weekend by truly having a blast thanks to some outside-of-the-box thinking!
Instead of another typical weekend at camp, Ho-Nan-Ne-Ho-Ont decided to go big, travel and spend a day at Erie’s indoor waterpark and resort, Splash Lagoon. They also went to see Thor: The Dark World in theaters during its release weekend. To round off their excursion, they splurged at the Golden Corral, going home with full stomachs and a satisfied sense of fellowship. While these events don’t normally sound like “OA-related” ventures, Ho-Nan-Ne-Ho-Ont has found that fellowship can take place outside of a camp and often can be more effective in that manner.
Thirty Arrowmen including lodge chief Tylor Davis attended this event, which got rave reviews from those participating. Davis said the fee for the unique fellowship weekend was a bit higher than usual, but he internalized and recognized that it was worth a special trip to mix up lodge programming and help with membership retention. “We want to get out more,” Davis noted. “That option shouldn’t just be limited to big events like high adventure or a NOAC.”
Saturday, November 9th was just one part of the lodge’s weekend plans. Most Arrowmen arrived a day earlier at the local Scout camp, Camp Merz, on the Chautauqua Lake in New York. The festivities there included a viewing of Thor, the prequel to the movie Arrowmen were planning to enjoy on Saturday. Most of the fellowship’s attendees stayed for some more fun on Sunday as well.
Participants at this Ho-Nan-Ne-Ho-Ont fellowship were happy to sing the praises of the event after arriving back home. A sibling of one of the youth who attended the event was even “kicking himself for not going after all,” laughed Davis. Overall, this New York/Pennsylvania based lodge saw to it that each Arrowman had a fun-filled experience and connected with each other. Each participant only had to pay a $50 fee for the entire weekend, with the lodge handling the food expenses as part of their retention effort. Although there were expenses, “it was an awesome weekend and well worth the investment put into it,” Davis said.
Does your lodge have an awesome, out-of-the-box event like this fellowship? Share it with us by sending the information to @email, and your story may be featured in a future OA publication!