June 2009 Region Update
Silver Buffalo Recipients: Randall K. Cline, Northeast Region Program Impact Committee Chairman (and immediate past NE Region OA Chairman) from Mechanicsburg, PA, and James S. Turley, New York, NY, were two of eight recipients of the BSA’s Silver Buffalo Award at the closing banquet of this year’s National Annual Meeting of the BSA in Orlando, FL. Other Silver Buffalo recipients this year with ties to the OA include Nathan O. Rosenberg and Charles T. Walneck. The Silver Buffalo Award recognizes distinguished service to youth on a national level and is the highest award presented by the Boy Scouts of America.
Silver Antelope Recipients: Congratulations to six distinguished Scouters who were recognized by the region with the Silver Antelope Award: Charles M. Clark, Donald I. Dussing, Jr., Alvin A. Eichorn, Vito J. Gautieri, Sr., David H. Klein and Jonathan G. Sloane. The awards, given for distinguished service to youth by the region, were presented at the annual regional luncheon, held in conjunction with the National Meeting.
Distinguished Service Award: At its meeting on May 20, the National OA Committee selected 49 Arrowmen for recognition with the Distinguished Service Award, including ten Arrowmen from the region: Darrell W. Donahue, Jonathan E. Fuller, Kenneth J. Hager, Adam Heaps, Sean M. Murray, David Nguyen, James W. Palmer, Patrick W. Rooney, David E. Schaub, and Kaylene D. Trick. Also from the region, Sandra Reti will be recognized with the Red Arrow Award. The awards will be presented at the National OA Conference in Indiana this August.
E. Urner Goodman Camping Awards: Two lodges in the region received the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award for 2008. The awards were presented at the regional luncheon held at the recent BSA National Annual Meeting. The award recognizes outstanding camp promotion efforts and techniques that result in significant improvement in council summer camp participation. The recipients are:
Octoraro Lodge, Chester County Council, West Chester, PA
Wyona Lodge, Columbia-Montour Council, Bloomsburg, PA
National Service Awards: Two Northeast Region lodges were also honored at the regional luncheon with the OA National Service Award. Lodges receiving this recognition for outstanding qualitative and quantitative service to their councils included:
Octoraro Lodge, Chester County Council, West Chester, PA
Madockawanda Lodge, Pine Tree Council, Portland, ME
NOAC: The National OA Conference will be held August 1-6 at Indiana University in Bloomington.
Nearly all lodges in the region have registered contingents for the conference. If your lodge has not registered and you have youth who want to attend, it may be possible for them to attend with a nearby lodge; please contact your Section Adviser or me for assistance immediately.
Important information for contingent leaders is available in the Lodge Contingent Leader Guide at:
https://registration.oa-bsa.org/guides/documents/2009_NOAC_Contingent_Leader_Information_Guide.pdf
For lodge contingent members and staff, it is important to use the new Annual Health and Medical Record form #34605 that is available from the NOAC registration website at https://registration.oa-bsa.org/guides/documents/Medical_34605.pdf. Also, these forms are to be submitted electronically; instructions for lodge contingents are in the Lodge Contingent Leader Guide, and instructions for staff are at https://registration.oa-bsa.org/guides/documents/StaffMedicalSubmission.pdf.
There is still a need for youth staff in the Chiefs Corps. If you are interested, or know youth who might be, please have them register through the Staff Login link on https://registration.oa-bsa.org right away.
More information on NOAC is in the March-May 2009 version of the OA’s National Bulletin, available at http://www.oa-bsa.org/bulletin/nb-q1-09.pdf.
OA High Adventure Programs: All OA High Adventure Programs continue to be popular with Arrowmen: OA Ocean Adventure at the Florida Sea Base, Wilderness Voyage and Canadian Odyssey at Northern Tier and the OA Trail Crew program at Philmont. All programs are close to “sold out” for the 2009 season. If you plan to participate in this program in the future, register early, as space is limited and the sessions fill quickly. Detailed information can be accessed from the front page of the national OA website: www.oa-bsa.org.
National Scout Jamboree: While the 2010 National Scout Jamboree is more than a year away, recruitment for staff is well underway. The OA has three primary programs: the Chiefs Corps (formerly known as the Service Corps), the Indian Village at the Merit Badge Midway, and the Mysterium Compass.
OA Annual Report Released: The 2008 Annual Report of the Order of the Arrow was released at the recent National Annual Meeting of the BSA. The report colorfully records the Order’s progress and details its service to Scouting during 2008. Copies of the report will also be mailed to council offices.
Lodge Assistance Program: The Lodge Assistance Program continues to be well received across the nation and the region. In 2008, all sections completed the most recent three year cycle, with all lodges in the region being visited at least once. During 2009, each section should schedule lodge assistance visits to one third of its lodges and have plans to complete a full cycle of visits to all the lodges in the section by the fall of 2011. As of May 1, two sections in the region had started visits for the new three-year cycle . Lodges being visited and section visitation teams should remember to submit electronic copies of the Visitation Reports to Doug Fullman following completion of the visits. The visit is not completed until the paperwork is submitted.
2008 OA Membership Summary Statistics: Here are some OA membership statistics from the 2008 national re-chartering applications:
• Nationwide there are currently 305 lodges, including 74 in Northeast Region
• Twelve of the 50 sections in the nation are in the Northeast Region
• Northeast Region registered 40,600 OA members – about 23.8% of the total national OA membership of 170,539. Of our members in the Northeast Region, 22,882 are youth and 17,718 are Ordeal members
• OA lodges in the Northeast Region provided $97,832 to Friends of Scouting campaigns, $505,641 in material support and 300,710 hours of service to the councils we serve and support
• 40 lodges in the Northeast Region received National Quality Lodge Recognition
• 46 lodges in the Northeast Region achieved a Brotherhood conversion rate of 30% or more.
• The average lodge dues in the Northeast Region in 2008 was $10.19 a year, slightly less than the national average of $10.51.
• Total financial support provided to councils in the Northeast Region by the Order of the Arrow in 2008, including Friends of Scouting, material support and hours of service expressed in dollars, based on the minimum wage, was estimated to be $2,377,662.
Worth Pondering: In 2008, the Order of the Arrow inducted 39,646 candidates as Ordeal members; 17,018 members completed their Brotherhood ceremony, 2,401 members received the Vigil Honor and 510 members received the Founders Awards. Does your lodge take advantage of all the opportunities to recognize those who participate in your programs and service?
Quality Lodge 2009: If lodges are planning to achieve Quality Lodge Recognition for 2009, they will need to review the requirements and begin making plans to qualify now. The Quality Lodge requirements for 2009 are essentially unchanged from the 2008 requirements. To quality, lodges must complete fifteen objectives. Of the fifteen objectives, five are jointly identified by the lodge Key 3 and council Scout executive; of these five, two can be determined by the lodge Key 3 and council Scout executive to meet the council’s specific needs, such as aligning with the council’s strategic plan. Copies of the requirements are available at http://www.oa-bsa.org/resources/forms/Quality-Lodge-2009.pdf.
Also, lodges that qualified as Quality Lodges for 2008 may want to purchase Quality Lodge Pins for their members; some lodges provide a pin for free to all active members.
2008 Maury Clancy Indian Campership Fund: Six American Indian youth from the Del-Mar-Va Council #81, Wilmington, DE, and six from the Katahdin Area Council #216, Bangor, ME are expected to have an outdoor camp experience this summer as a result of proceeds collected at various OA events nationwide in support of the Maury Clancy Indian Campership Fund. This fund was established to honor the memory of Mr. Clancy, a former member of the national OA committee and an early advocate for Scouting opportunities for American Indian youth. During 2009, the OA will provide approximately 667 camperships worth about $20,000 through this program. Your lodge, council and section can support this program and receive funds to support the participation of American Indian youth in camps in your council. Contact Doug Fullman or me for more information.
2009 Service Grant Applications Due October 31, 2009: The national OA committee has allocated $30,000 in matching grant money to lodges for camp and service center projects in their local council. The OA will provide up to one-half of the money for a service project with a $5,000 maximum amount granted for any project. If your lodge is considering applying for a grant later this year for a project to be done in 2010, please keep these points in mind:
• In making their decisions, the evaluators consider the innovative scope and design of the projects, how the projects impact a significant number of Scouts, and how the projects enhance Cub Scouting and/or Boy Scouting in the council.
• Applications must be postmarked by October 31, 2009 and be signed by the Lodge Chief, Lodge Adviser, Council President and Scout Executive.
• Applicant lodges must be a Quality Lodge for 2008 and not have received a grant in 2008 or 2009.
Awards will be announced by January 31, 2010. Application forms are available now.
OA Mentoring Program: Arrowmen have a special opportunity to assist the camping and advancement programs of Scout units needing help. The OA Mentoring Program was established in 2000 as a joint effort with the BSA Multicultural Marketing Team. More information on the team is available at http://www.scouting.org/MultiCultural.aspx. Arrowmen are encouraged to serve as positive change agents and role models for Scouts and leaders in urban and rural units. The units that need the most help are typically newly established, or ones that have a new or inexperienced leader.
To become an OA mentor, an Arrowman must develop an active plan that is approved by the lodge leadership, the District Commissioner and the selected urban/rural unit leadership. Three to five mentors (adult/youth combination) should be assigned to a selected unit for at least three months. At the end of the mentoring period the unit should be left with confirmed commissioner service and be charged with assisting another unit in need.
The OA Mentoring Program can provide a valuable supplement to unit commissioners, and is often a great way for older youth and younger adult Arrowmen to leverage their strong camping and advancement knowledge to make a significant difference to the youth in the units being helped. Indeed, in some urban neighborhoods and rural towns, the OA Mentoring Program and effective commissioners can work together to turn around struggling units in these difficult-to-serve areas.
Presidential Volunteer Service Award: The Order of the Arrow is a “certifying organization” for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. The award recognizes volunteer service, and has three award levels (Bronze, Silver and Gold) plus the Call to Service Award for lifetime service. You can record volunteer hours with the OA using Volunteer Service Award key VGH-33042.
National Resource Video Resources: The National OA website contains a number of lodge resources including training and presentation videos and various forms that were formerly distributed annually through a Lodge Resources DVD. These items are located at:
http://oa-bsa.org/resources/forms and http://oa-bsa.org/resources/lodge/lodgeresourcedvd/videos.htm
Everything is readily available for anyone to download, including the updated Unit Election Training Video and Troop Unit Election Presentation Video, the newest version of the Founder’s Award Presentation video and the videos shown at the ArrowCorps5 opening and closing gatherings. In addition, all of the promotional videos for OA High Adventure are there.
These videos can be downloaded and put on DVDs for distribution within lodges or played directly from a computer. Distribution via the website makes these resources more widely available, and they can be updated whenever necessary, rather than just once a year.
Check Out These OA Websites: The OA has a substantial presence on the web. If you have not seen them, check out the Northeast Region OA website and the national OA website. Both websites contain lots of valuable information for members as well as lodge and section leaders.
National: www.oa-bsa.org Northeast Region: northeast.oa-bsa.org
Dates for your Calendar:
August 1 – 6: National OA Conference - Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
September 25 – 27: National Leadership Seminar - Alpine Scout Camp, NJ
September 25 – 27: National Lodge Adviser - Alpine Scout Camp, NJ
October 14 – 18: National Outdoor Program Seminar - Philmont Training Center, Cimarron, NM
November 6 – 8: Section Offcers Seminar - Alpine Scout Camp, NJ (Section leaders)
December 27 – 30: National Planning Meeting - Dallas Marriott Solana, Westlake, TX (for Section Chiefs and Natl. OA Cmte.)
February 9, ’10: BSA 100th Anniversary “Gala 2010”
March 26 – 28, ’10: National Leadership Seminar - Alpine Scout Camp, NJ
March 26 – 28, ’10: National Lodge Adviser - Alpine Scout Camp, NJ
Apr. 16 – 18, ’10: National Leadership Seminar - Camp Squanto, Plymouth, MA
May 26 – 28, ’10: B.S.A. National Annual Meeting - Hilton Anatole, Dallas, TX
July 26 – Aug. 4, ’10: National Scout Jamboree - Caroline County, VA
Sept. 10 – 12, ’10: National Leadership Seminar - Alpine Scout Camp, NJ
Sept. 10 – 12, ’10: National Lodge Adviser - Alpine Scout Camp, NJ
November 5 – 7, ’10: Section Of?cers Seminar - Alpine Scout Camp, NJ (Section leaders)
July 27 – Aug. 7, ’11: World Scout Jamboree - Sweden
August 1 – 6, ’11: American Indian Seminar - Ridgecrest, NC
Thank you: Thanks for all you continue to do for the Order of the Arrow and Scouting in the Northeast Region. Your leadership and service makes a difference and is genuinely appreciated.
How to contact me: Thomas S. Bain, chairman@northeast.oa-bsa.org
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