Old Chief Speaks
March 2006
It's been a busy year this far. Before I get started I'd like to offer a special thanks to Alex Stoll for being instrumental in the development and publication of this website. It looks great! I hope that future officers take advantage of Alex's hard work. I'd also like to thank the LEC for their hard work this far. With out their efforts we would not have had successful events.
I am fresh back from romping through the scrub of camp post over Spring Break. Chris Condon, a Vigil Honor member of Nakona 150 and Program Director of our SPC Summer Camps, put together an outstanding five-day training session on tracking aptly named Shadow Scouts. Under the masterful guidance of Mr. Condon, scouts from troop 575 and I had the opportunity to learn and master the basic skills of tracking. As far as I know, this is the first program of its kind being offered exclusively to Boy Scouts. A scout should always be prepared so look for more Shadow Scout training sessions in the future!
It is almost time to summer camp again. Is your troop going to the same ole camp? If you're looking for something exciting and new to do this summer, try serving on SPC summer camp Staph. The council is currently hiring staffers for the 2006 summer. If you are interested, fill out the application on the main page of this site. As arrowmen we have a duty to help our council. What better way to do so than to get paid while doing it!?
Conclave is just around the corner and NOAC is not far behind it. Be making plans to attend both!
Here is a little thought to ponder. When Dr. E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson began the order in 1915, among other things, they meant for the Order of the Arrow to be an organization of scouts and scouters who best exemplify the scout oath and law in their daily lives. It is easy to lose touch with what it means to be a scout in our busy lives. So everyone once an a while we should stop and ask ourselves what have we done to be a good scout?
Yours in brotherhood,
Lodge Chief
Michael Pandya
March 20th, 2006
January 2006
Another year of cheerful service is under way and the executive committee and myself are very excited about what is going to be going on with the lodge this year. Be listening for more OA announcements at your troop meetings. We will be putting together an OA Troop Representative Program to make sure lodge information gets out to everyone. If you are reading this and are an OA Representative take this letter to be an official invitation to all executive meetings. A big thank you goes out to those OA Representatives who have already begun attending executive committee meetings. Of course everyone is invited to attend executive committee meetings, so everyone please come.
Our biggest goal this year is to earn Honor Lodge. Similar to Quality Unit, Honor Lodge is based on criteria such as sending out a newsletter at least four times a year to meeting a set percentage of new brotherhood members. I know the executive committee and I are eagerly working at achieving this goal, but we need your help. We need leaders. If you like being a leader or you just want experience as a leader let me know and I can find you a position in the lodge. We need your ideas. If you have a crazy/strange/dangerous/enthralling idea let me or anyone on the executive committee know about it. We need arrowmen at events. It's just a fact of life; OA events are more fun with four hundred arrowmen than they are with four.
Once again we are all excited about the start of another OA year and we look forward to having an amazing one. Have a great holiday season whereever it may take you.
Yours in service,
Lodge Chief
Michael Pandya
January 4th, 2006
