OA section leadership from across the Northeast Region gathered at Camp Alpine in New Jersey from September 20th to the 22nd for an annual Gathering of Leaders (GOL), also known as a Section Officers’ Seminar. They met to share program ideas, write goals, and participate in numerous training sessions designed to make stronger section leaders and even stronger sections. The theme of this year's permeated the event: “Your Piece of the Puzzle.” Throughout the weekend, 2013 Northeast Region Chief Tyler Allen led the participants in understanding how their roles as officers or advisers fit in with the overall puzzle of their section, the region, and the national Order of the Arrow organization. The symbolism was strong: all of the pieces of a section leadership team must come together for the full picture to be viewable; in this case, that full image was the vision of success for each respective section.
Section youth and adult leaders were divided up into groups based on the section office they held. Specific training cells were presented to each group on Saturday morning to help provide specialized knowledge for each of the officers and advisers to succeed in leading their sections over the next year. One participant, NE-3B Section Vice Chief Kevin Montano, said he had a great time at the event. "One of my favorite parts of events like this is the opportunity to catch up with friends from other sections,” said Montano. “Additionally, being able to make new connections with fellow officers and share best practices with them to better our sections’ successes was a highlight. The staff did a great job executing their plan, and I’m excited for the year to come."
The 2013 NER GOL was a huge success in helping develop better section leaders to serve the Arrowmen of the Northeast Region. A great time was had by all at this year's gathering, and the foundation was laid for a great year ahead.