Grand Chieftain Thomas Cairns authorized by the Grand Lodge at the 1933 meeting formed the Transition Committee to handle negotiations required for the Order to become an official BSA program. He renamed it the Grand Lodge Committee. This committee replaced the old Grand Council that was the executive board for the Grand Lodge. Cairns placed on the committee the Grand Lodge Officers, H. Lloyd Nelson, L. J. (Bert) Case and Joseph Pattison. Recognizing the need for the very best leadership to strategize, interface and negotiate with the BSA, Thomas Cairns consulted with E. Urner Goodman and appointed three more Arrowmen to the Committee – Alfred C. Nichols, Robert S. Henderson and Charles M. Heistand. Goodman was added to the committee as the National Council representative. During the transition, this committee became known as the National Executive Committee and it is the direct precursor to today’s National OA Committee. There were two notable differences. Every member of the National Executive Committee with the exception of Nelson was a professional Scouter, whereas today’s committee is primarily volunteer leadership; And National Executive Committee members would be required to stand for election at the end of their two-year terms.

The National Executive Committee took over the role of the Grand Lodge. The Committee ran the business of the Order. No longer would elaborate meeting with parliamentary procedure dominate the national gatherings. That was a good thing too, because with the national recognition by BSA the national meetings would be too large for parliamentary debate. The time could be put to better use with training and gatherings to exchange ideas. H. Lloyd Nelson served on this committee and its successor, the National OA Committee every year until his untimely death in 1955.