NEXT! - A New Century

Next! - A New Century

As the centennial draws to a close, Arrowmen are asking, “What’s next?” The answer is the 2016 hands-on, high-energy summer program, NEXT: A New Century. This event features signature programs and training focused on membership, program, and innovation at the local level. Leaders gather at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana from July 30-August 3.

Each of the four days at NEXT focus on a different key topic: brotherhood, program, membership, and innovation. Lodge delegations are comprised of 3 youth and 2 adult delegates. Those attending shall return home, empowered as agents of change for the Order’s second century.

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2015 National Planning Meeting

On December 27, 2015, the Section chiefs, section advisers, national OA committee members, key volunteers, and members of the BSA’s national OA professional staff gathered in Westlake, Texas for the Annual National Planning Meeting.  The program of emphasis during the four-day meeting was NEXT: A New Century, which focuses on the Order’s next century of service.  The elements of NEXT include such local level topics as brotherhood, membership, program, and innovation.

As is tradition, the section chiefs met to select the Order’s new national officers with Hunter Jones of Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge from the Middle Tennessee Council being elected National Chief, and Tyler Inberg of Wauna La-Mon’tay Lodge from the Cascade Pacific Council being elected National Vice Chief.  In addition, Logan Greene of Nischa Chuppecat Lodge was elected Central Region Chief, Jeff Sedlacek of Wahissa Lodge was elected Southern Region Chief, Chris Boyle of Buckskin Lodge was elected Northeast Region Chief, and Joe Garcia of Wipala Wiki Lodge was elected Western Region Chief.

Other topics of discussion throughout the planning meeting included the OA’s four-day Prism sessions during the summer of 2016 at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve; changes to the Journey To Excellence program; the official dedication of the Summit Circle Ceremony Grounds; and the continued promotion and recruitment of Operation Arrow for the 2017 National Scout Jamboree.

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2014 National Planning Meeting

2014 National Planning Meeting

Section chiefs, section advisers, national OA committee members, key volunteers, and members of the BSA’s national OA professional staff gathered in Westlake, Texas for the 2014 National Planning Meeting.  The meeting’s activities were centered on the Order’s upcoming 100^th Anniversary, and its year-long centennial celebration.

In keeping with tradition, the section chiefs met and selected the Order’s new national officers.  Alex Call of Karankawa Lodge from the South Texas Council was elected National Chief, and Donnie Stephens of Lowwapaneu Lodge from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Council was elected National Vice Chief.  In addition, Joey Dierdorf of the Central Region, Alex Leach of the Southern Region, Matthew Bell of the Northeast Region, and Nathan Lee of the Western Region were each elected Region Chief.

Throughout the course of the meeting one of the regional ArrowTour exhibits was on display, and attendees had the option of participating in its many activities.  Other topics of discussion included the 2015 National Order of the Arrow Conference and its theme It Starts With Us; the centennial NOAC red sash; the Order’s Centurion Award; the completion of the Lodge Legacy Project; and the development and dedication of the Summit Circle Ceremony Grounds.

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Centennial Campaign

The National OA Committee set a goal to raise $1.2 million to create a permanent presence at the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas, and at each of the BSA’s High Adventure bases, enabling the OA to proudly display important historic pieces from the past as the Order moves into its second century.  The Centennial Campaign began in 2014.

The funds will be used to create a new exhibit area in the National Scouting Museum, featuring a Youth Leadership Display (Chief’s bonnets and other items showcasing the outstanding youth who have led the Order); a Treasure Island Display (to take visitors back to the early days of the Order and educate them about the Order’s birthplace); a Founders Display (to include uniforms, pictures, and memorabilia from the personal collections of Goodman and Edson); and the Order of the Arrow Gallery of Art (to display paintings of significance, including several original Joseph Csatari paintings).

For the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, the actual rocks from the fireplaces, the historic podium, and other important artifacts from the original ceremonial grounds have been moved to the Summit.  Funds raised support the ongoing preservation of these historic grounds.  At Philmont Scout Ranch, the OA is establishing a multipurpose education room and display at the Philmont Museum and Seton Memorial Library.  At Northern Tier and at Florida Sea Base, the Centennial Campaign is funding historical displays that tell the Order’s story of serve and leadership development.

The Centennial Campaign concludes on June 30, 2016.

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Legacy Project

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Treasure Island Mural

Treasure Island Mural, 1936

Painted by Edward Spicer

The mural, Treasure Island is a painting of a map of the island by artist Edward Spicer.  It is a cornerstone to OA Art History.

The 12 foot-wide, seven-foot tall panel mural was dedicated to the Order at the 1936 National Lodge Meeting hosted by Unami Lodge on Treasure Island. The painting depicts an aerial outline of the island surrounded by the Delaware River. Various areas of camp, including the Unami Ceremonial Grounds , are suggested by indian figures indicating the history of Leni Lenape living on Island.

The large work was displayed prominently in the Treasure Island dining hall above the kitchen doors for approximately 75 years. When Treasure Island closed in 2008 the painting was abandoned until years later when it was de-installed and brought to Camp Delmont.

In 2015, the Cradle of Liberty Council made a significant donation and gave the painting to the Order of the Arrow. Additionally, The National Order of the Arrow Committee created a fund to completely restore the mural to its original beauty by an art conservationist and for transportation.  For the first time the mural was scheduled to be displayed anywhere other than on Treasure Island. The restored mural was presented to thousands of Arrowmen in the 2015 NOAC GEO at the National Order of the Arrow Conference at Michigan State University. 

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OA Summit Adventure

OA Summit Adventure

The OA Summit Experience (OASE) is the newest addition to the OA High Adventure programs. The concept of OASE stemmed from the 2013 National Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve as a way to serve the Summit and surrounding community.

OASE launched in the summer of 2014 with 80 participating Arrowmen. The program is designed to serve as an introduction to OA High Adventure, the Summit, and to further an Arrowmen’s understanding of the Order. As such, the program’s eight-day duration and activities are geared for scouts between 14 and 17 years old.

During the first four days, Arrowmen build trails around the Summit Bechtel Reserve or in the surrounding terrain of the New River Gorge National River Area. Through this service, Arrowmen learn what it means to cheerfully serve in another capacity that is far from home by giving back to the BSA, as well as to the citizens of the neighboring communities. The final four days of the trip are filled with high adventure activities including whitewater rafting, zip lining, mountain biking, rock climbing, and mountain boarding.

The OA Summit Experience inspires commitment to the OA, the outdoors, and instills the values of selfless service to others through a specially designed program for the newest and youngest Arrowmen in Scouting.

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Original 1940 National Chief Bonnet Case

Original 1940 National Chief Bonnet Case/Portfolio Found

In 2014, members of the National OA Committee were made aware that the original 1940 National Chief’s Bonnet Case/Portfolio was in existence and well preserved.  Most current OA members with the exception of a few National Chiefs and past National Committee members were not even aware of its existence.  Those who were aware of the leather case believed that it also was destroyed along with the bonnet in the 1980 fire that consumed much of the Order of the Arrow’s early memorabilia.

The leather case, about the size of a small artist portfolio only one inch thick, was used to transport and store the original National Chief’s eagle feather bonnet.  In addition the case carried other rich historical treasures.  These included a letter from the 1940 Anicus Lodge officers, Chief Herman Zink Jr. and Secretary Raymond Fisher Jr.; which presented the beautiful eagle feather bonnet to be passed on to each National Chief at subsequent National Conventions.  Also included were leather framed note card holders, to hold personal handwritten notes from each of the National Chiefs who had been honored to wear the bonnet during their term of office.  The first National Chief to wear the eagle feather bonnet was Joseph Brunton Jr., a former Anicus Lodge Chief, and future Chief Scout Executive. The bonnet along with the case, was officially presented to the Order of the Arrow at the 25th anniversary meeting at Camp Twin Echo in 1940. At that meeting Brunton, ceremoniously passed on the bonnet to the next national chief, George A. Mozealous.

Transporting and storing the bonnet in a one inch thick leather portfolio case took a major toll over 25 years.  Subsequently, at the end of the 1965 NOAC the National OA Committee sought out Rhese Hoylman Jr., a Vigil Honor member of Ta Tsu Hwa Lodge and esteemed teacher of bonnet making, to repair the bonnet prior to the 1967 NOAC. 

The process involved removing, numbering, and straightening each feather along with numerous other tasks before putting the bonnet back together.  Upon completing meticulous repairs and reconstruction, Hoylman returned the bonnet in a new metal cylinder container so the bonnet could be inserted in one end and removed from the other end, never moving thefeathers against their natural grain.  However, the original leather portfolio case was not returned.

Upon the death of Rhese Hoylman Jr. his son Rhese Hoylman III, also a Vigil Honor member, and past Lodge Chief of Ta Tsu Hwa found the case amongst many of his father’s OA memorabilia.  After due diligence, in 2014 Hoylman identified a member of the history and preservation subcommittee of the national committee and returned this treasure to become a part of the Goodman Edson Observatory (GEO).  It  beaome a new display in the Order’s 2015 GEO centennial museum.
 

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Centurion Award

Centurion Award

Introduced for the centennial year of the Order of the Arrow, the Centurion Award was a one-time only award created to recognize arrowmen who meaningfully contributed to the forming, maturing, or ongoing operation of their lodge. Recipients were designated as either a youth or adult contributor, with a minimum service period of three years for youth contributors and six years for adult contributors. Posthumous awards were permitted.

Lodges selected over 1,800 arrowmen for the award. Recipients received a certificate and a metallic centennial totem suspended from a red and white neck-ribbon.

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2015 DSA Recipients

(DSA) is presented to those Arrowmen who have rendered distinguished and outstanding service to the Order on a sectional, regional, or national basis. The following were presented the DSA at the 2015 National Order of the Arrow Conference – Tyler Joseph Allen, Richard D. “Ricky” Angeletti III, Gregory Wade Bajan, William Josef Barton IV, Scott M. Best, Peter Scott Bird, Taylor Louis Bobrow, Ryan Michael Braddy, Derrick Paul Bransby, Matthew Edmondson Brown, Timothy Carlton Brown, Harry L. Bubeck, Eric W. Bush, Raymond T. Cheung, Brian T. Chrzanowski, Brian Andrew Corder, Nicholas Gerald Dannemiller, Kevin M. Dowling, David Albert Dye, Alan Edward Eggleston, Barry J. F. Ekle, Noel Falcon, Sean Ferrier, Robert Michael Gates, Elliot W. Gault, Samuel M. Giacalone, Michael C. “Mikkie” Goins, Michael T. Gray, Jordan L. Hughes, Ryan Gregory Jones, David B. Joyner, Michael James Christopher Kintscher, Paul C. Lackie, Alan F. Lambert, Timothy I. Malaney, Preston H. Marquis, Daniel B. Maxfield, Sean R. McCabe, Isaac McDaniel, Tracy R. Mesler, Steve E. Miller, R. Gregory Moore, Craig G. Ongley, John Martin Opthoff, Colin R. Pinnavaia, Kyle James Piper, Samuel Edward Pitts, John P. Rehm, Jr., Wesley D. Seaman, Aaron Shepherd, Michael A. Shostek, Russell Hoke Smart, Tyler Adam Stepanek, Mark McLean Stickel, Bradley David Torpey, Brett Alan Warner, and Brian T. Wilder.

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Goodman Biography Published

A Thing of the Spirit, The Life of E. Urner Goodman is the biography of the founder, written by Nelson R. Block and published by the Boy Scouts of America.

This book is an excellent source of information on the life of Dr. Goodman, and preserves oral history about Dr. Goodman that might have otherwise been lost. In the book Dr. Goodman's life is described in seven chapters that encompass his life from his birth, travels through his early days as a Scoutmaster, details on his days founding the Order of the Arrow, chronicles his life as a professional Scouter, and closes in a description of his career. The book includes dozens of photographs of the founder.

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Ninth National OA Committee Chair

On September 1, 2009 former Vice Chairman of the National OA Committee Ray Capp became the Order’s ninth National OA Committee Chairman. Capp succeeded Brad Haddock who had served the Order for eight and a half years as the committee chair. Ray Capp was appointed to the National OA Committee in 2000.

Among initial actions by Capp was the restructuring of national sub-committees. The Unit, Chapter and Lodge Support Sub-Committee became the subcommittee of emphasis for Capp. Capp appointed National OA Committee Vice Chairman Randy Kline to lead this important committee. Capp said,

Helping our units, chapters and lodges to be successful, by giving them tools to do their jobs more easily, is the key to understanding my philosophy about the OA.

Ray Capp also created the new History, Preservation and 100th Anniversary Sub-Committee led by National OA Committee Vice Chairman Tony Steinhardt. This committee is charged with, among other things, preparing the Order for its centennial. This OA History Timeline is a direct result of this new sub-committee.

3, OA, Scouting