There is no doubt that you have been to multiple lodge events year after year. Have you ever gotten deja vu from attending so many? Sometimes, the same events have the same activities, the same training, and most of the time even the same food. Sure, there are always slight changes, but for whatever reason—be it convenience, tradition, or some other factor— these yearly events remain unchanged.
Now, for many people, this annual recurrence probably gets boring after a while. If you're not active in the event leadership, you have pretty much done everything you can in your second year of activity. One of the things you can do to keep events fresh is look at what other lodges are doing and try to implement some of their ideas in your own events.
In Shawnee Lodge, part of the Greater St. Louis Area Council, there are ten chapters which oversee the daily activities of the lodge. They vary in size, inducting anywhere from 25 to 250 members per year. Every three months, these chapters hold chapter meetings where they socialize, discuss upcoming events, and have a fun engaging program. This can be anything from bowling, a speaker, or OA/Scouting trivia. The best meetings, however, have a program that nobody has ever seen before. These ideas may come from the chapter's executive leadership or even from the newly inducted Arrowmen. The first line of defense against the common problem of sash-and-dash are chapters, as well as holding fun and informative chapter meetings. Lodges with chapters should remember this when developing their meeting programs. This is the first step in engaging new and old members alike.
Because there are so many chapters holding their own events, the lodge does not host many events of its own. However, one major event, the "Arrowman Experience," happens every spring, and draws between 200-300 Scouts each year. It is similar to a NOAC, where participants can attend training cells, sports games, and ceremonial competitions. This event allows Arrowmen who are not able to go to NOAC or the section Conclave to still get training in the areas that interest them. Some of the cells held in the past include regalia workshops, meet- the-man sessions, tipi and pioneering training, and even duct tape sashes. It also allows the chapters to compete against each other in sports and ceremonial competitions, with the top placing chapters moving onto section and national competitions.
Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge from Nashville, TN holds another cool event that isn't just for OA members, but for everyone in their council. Each winter they host an event called "Winter Camp" that includes competitions, training, and other fun activities. This event is organized by lodge leaders and is a great way to get younger Scouts excited about joining the OA in the future. This event is one of the largest within their council and has a tradition of excellent programs.
The Chattahoochee Lodge from Columbus, GA has recently been trying to give some of their events special themes. At their past Fall Fellowship, they had a "Duck Dynasty" theme for the weekend. They raffled off a plethora of cool gear from the TV show throughout the weekend and had a huge dinner on Saturday night with some food that the Robertson family would've been glad to eat themselves. Each Arrowman that attended the event got a free ticket to enter into the raffle. Arrowmen that paid their 2014 lodge dues got five more tickets to enter into the raffle to increase their chances of winning. The event went well and isn't the first themed event the Chattahoochee Lodge has organized. Last year they held a James Bond themed event and even created a special lodge flap.
The secret to retaining members is engaging them with fun programs and the best way to do this is outside of pre-planned events like Conclaves. Maybe your lodge is doing something interesting already. If so, stick with it, because quality programs don't come along every day. And if you're looking for something to start in your own lodge, just ask your newly inducted Arrowmen what they want to do in the OA. Success in the OA depends on a lodge's ability to adapt over time, and the best way to adapt is through holding fun and interesting events over the year.