BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA WINNEBAGO COUNCIL # 173 Vol. 40, Issue 5—DECEMBER 2012

2013 Winter Banquet

The Sac-N-Fox Lodge will be gathering on January 6, 2013, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Charles City for our annual Winter Banquet.

Here are some times to be aware of:

4:00pm - Registration Begins & Social Gathering.

5:30pm - Opening & Dinner, with activities to follow.

The banquet’s activities include a guest speaker, OA Trading Post, Lodge recognitions for 2012, and a night of fun and great fellowship. The cost for this year’s banquet is $12, plus we’ll be collecting 2013 dues and selling

Activity Cards at the registration table. We hope to see you there! FOX LODGE # 108

- SAVE THE DATES - 2013 Lodge Calendar N - January 6 - Winter Banquet, KC Hall, Charles City.

April 12/14 - Spring Fellowship, Ingawanis Adventure Base.

June 9 - Spreading of the Ashes, Ingawanis Adventure Base.

OF THE SAC R, VICE CHIEF OF COMMUNICATIONS June 29 - Gathering of the Ashes, Ingawanis Adventure Base.

September 13/15—OA Section 3A Conclave. Howard H. Cherry Reservation, Central City, IA.

TBD - Fall Fellowship.

*Please contact your Chapter Chief to schedule your Troop OA Elections between January 1 and March 31, 2013. OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER EDITOR: JAMES BAMBE **Please start thinking about those you would like to nominate for the Vigil

Honor in 2013. Nominations forms will be due again by March 31. SMOKE SIGNALS

Scan this QR Code with your Smart Phone to access the Sac-N-Fox Lodge #108 Lodge Webpage. www.winnebagobsa.org/oa WINNEBAGO COUNCIL # 173 Vol. 40, Issue 5—DECEMBER 2012 2012 Lodge Fall Fellowship

The 2012 Sac-N-Fox Lodge Fall Fellowship was again a success again this year. Attendance was great and a lot of work was completed. Elections for the 2012-13 LEC were also held, and the Lodge is set for another great year of fun through cheerful service. Service projects on Saturday morning were divided up among groups to tackle many jobs. A few groups were assigned the tasks of organizing and loading equipment that was transported to the Ingawanis Adventure Base for future use. Other groups took on the job of clearing overgrown brush around the main parking area by the Director’s Lodge. The afternoon was filled with continued projects, a Brotherhood Workshop, fun, and even a game of flag football.

Saturday evening brought about more Lodge activities, including Ordeal & Brotherhood ceremonies, LEC Elections, a Lodge review of the standing Bylaws, and preparations for our Vigil candidates. Arrowmen from all four chapters were represented at the gathering this weekend, and it was great to find time to catch up with friends from other parts of the council. On Sunday morning, the first LEC was conducted by the newly elected LEC and Lodge members. The LEC scheduled to meet again in November for their annual LLDC training weekend. The new Lodge Officers are excited to get working on another year of service and activities.

On behalf of the Sac-N-Fox Lodge LEC, THANK YOU everyone who attended this year’s OA Fall Fellowship, provided help and assistance with service projects, helped organize and prepare for all the weekend’s activities, and participated in another successful election. We want to especially thank Chuck Hogg and his cooking staff for providing outstanding meals (as usual) for the entire weekend. As we officially join our new section, C3A, this year’s Fall Fellowship clearly showed that the ideals of cheerful service are alive and well in the Winnebago Council.

www.winnebagobsa.org/oa BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA WINNEBAGO COUNCIL # 173 Vol. 40, Issue 5—DECEMBER 2012 2013 Annual Lodge Dues

Please note that your 2013 Lodge Dues can be paid now at either the Waterloo Service Center or the Mason City Scout Office. Dues are again $10 for the year. We will also be collect- ing dues at the door at the Winter Banquet on January 6. The Lodge is once again offering to sell Activity Cards that cover your 2013 dues and registration fees for the Winter Banquet, Spring Fellowship, and Fall Fellowship. Buying an Activity Card gives you a $7 savings. We hope that all leaders will encourage and secure Lodge dues from all members in their units to keep their membership in good standing. This might be a leadership responsibility that could be handled by your unit’s OA Troop Representative!!! This time of year is also great for collecting Lodge dues as a unit so they can be turned in with your unit’s re-chartering paper- work. Remember, the mailing for the Smoke Signals newsletter published by the Lodge is based on those who have paid the current year’s dues.

2012 Ordeal and Brotherhood Members

2012 Ordeal Members Mark Lampe Kirsten Licari Ryan Goodenbour Rusty Tackenberg Luke Kremer Kyle Corwin Greg Reese Alex Capelle Nick Kremer Wesley Voss Trevor Massman Cameron Frederick Jacob Boevers Connor Poppen Tyler Johansen Michael Kruger JarodBodensteiner Miles Grandon Nick Finnegan Colin Hemesath Tanner Mohlis Shannon Grandon Tom Finnegan Cameron Manifold Tristan Miller Skyler Buss Mitchel Borske Matthew Bullerman Keven Goepel Matthew Radar Kelly Thompson Holden Caloud Coltn O'Donnell Matther Huiseman Steve Schroeder Tanner Moran Nathan Corrigan Dustin Martin Alex Bussan John Dixon Keigan Feldmann Tucker Sledd Dylan Lampe Collin Gosse Aldan Flack Kristy Buss Hunter Berg Alex Voight Will Isley Ryan Bartling Tyler Campbell Collin McFadden William Nelson Collin Retterath Luke Kehret Luke Rottinghaus Jonathon Burress Evan Rau Craig Bussan Jared Gienau Wyatt Tollefson Austin Duryee David Reese Tyler Jessen Tyler Boardman Brad Lorence Steven Goepel JeffreyMcRobbie-Bishop Jonathan Daisy Michael Licari Casey Milligan Tyler Lubke Jared Meisgeter Jake Goodrich Marty Goepel Zach Frana Sandra Daisy Michael Wilcox Kevin Wolff Kaleb Michel Casey Ollendieck Marcus Jepperson David J. Green Cody Murray Scott Zafft Lucas Clagett Owen Landers Wyatt Paulus Seth Diercks Alex Rosenbaum Clay Shultz Tyler Andersen Evan Schmidtke Jacob Weis Logan Martzahn Kevin Longcor Justin Knutson Hayden Klaver Thai Phaiboun Justin Reams Thomas Meier Austin Hill Joshua Chizek Mitchell Longcor Joshua Meier David Wade Robby Hancock Jan Mord Eli Griffioen Tim Bass Daniel Schnoebelen Catie Ott Matthew Kangas Isaac Smith Zachary Welper Bennet King Orion Gunderson Brennan Richards Michael Chizek Adam Graves Noah Harvey Nathaniel Reams Alan Hancock Matt Yungtum Patrick Scheib Mike Ollendick Andrew O'Brien Sue Mannes Zach Dietz 2012 Brotherhood Logan Johnson Donald Backer Noah Wolf Jared Van Sickle Jayden Burske Reagan Shonk Boe Deutmeyer Chad Feldmann Week #1 Not Available www.winnebagobsa.org/oa BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA WINNEBAGO COUNCIL # 173 Vol. 40, Issue 5—DECEMBER 2012 Lodge Chief’s Report

Fellow Arrowmen, A new year is just beginning and that means new things and new people. Speaking of new people, let me introduce myself. My name is Brandon Nelson, and I am the new Lodge Chief. I am an Eagle Scout and also a Vigil Honor Member. You might have seen me strolling around camp this summer working on staff. I am also acting as an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 42 in Cedar Falls. But enough about me, let’s talk about things that matter. As I stated previously, it is a new year. The outlook of our LEC is that things are going to change, hopefully for the better, but change nonetheless. There are several things that our LEC wants to start, work on, and possibly get rid of to make our Lodge better and something to enjoy. We would like to start an Troop/Team Representative program. What is this you may ask? Well, essentially the Order of the Arrow Troop/Team Representative (OATTR) is an acting liaison, or message carrier, for both the lodge AND the troop. That’s right, the troop is included as well. We want to have information available to our fellow arrowmen, but we also want to hear back from the troops, and that is where the OATTR comes in. Their job is to relay information back and forth so that both sides are getting the information that they need. Moving on to other things that need to be worked on, I can probably state what is on everyone’s mind. We need to improve our lodge events, am I right? Our lodge events have been lacking somewhat in recent years, but there is good news! There is a way to communicate that to us - by your troop’s OATTR! We are looking to spice up our events so that everyone can have a good time, and come back. If you have any suggestions, ideas, or just plain wacky thoughts, please let us know. Whether it be through the new OATTR program, or contacting any of our LEC, we want to know what you think about things that our lodge is doing. You can do this by calling/texting me at 319-290-9077, or you can e-mail me at [email protected]. I encourage all Arrowmen to take an active part in our Lodge.

Yours in Service, Brandon Nelson, Lodge Chief, Sac-n-fox Lodge 108 Witshemin

The Order of the Arrow is offering DO YOU SPEAK THE LANGUAGE? an opportunity for Arrowmen to join together in cheerful service Draw a line from the English words and the formation of lasting to their Lenni Lenape translation.**

brotherhood on the trails of . Under the direction of the Philmont Owl Nimat Conservation Department, Leader Achgeketum experienced Philmont staff members with strong Order of the Brother Sipo Arrow backgrounds will lead participants on the two-week trail Warrior Gokhos crew and trek. The first week Teacher Netopalis focuses on trail construction and maintenance under the guidance of Philmont trail crew members. The second Eagle Woapalanne week is a seven-day backpacking trek that participants design. The program is not simply building trails and River Alluns hiking, though; the Order of the Arrow Trail Crew is ultimately a journey that challenges Scouts mentally, Arrow Takachsin physically, and spiritually. For more information, go to: http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/Philmont/ **Check the back of your OA Handbook for Camping/IndividualPrograms/OATC.aspx the correct answers. www.winnebagobsa.org/oa BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA WINNEBAGO COUNCIL # 173 Vol. 40, Issue 5—DECEMBER 2012 Vice Chiefs’ Reports

VC of Elections Dear Arrowmen, It is good to be off and running with a new year! My name is Caleb Iehl, and I am your Vice Chief of Elections for the 2012-2013 LEC. I am very excited to help with facilitating the elections of new members into our Order. This year there are a few things that I would like to remind all of you to do in regards to the election process. First, encourage your OA Troop Representative to schedule the election with your respective Chapter Chiefs. Instead of the Chapter Chiefs calling the scoutmasters, the troop reps are supposed to call their Chapter Chief to schedule elections. Elections will need to happen between January 1 and March 31, 2013. There have been some changes to the election protocols. The biggest one is that the number of adults who can be elected into the OA no longer depends upon the number of boys in the troop. It now depends on the number of boys who are elected into the order. If 1- 2 boys are elected in, then one adult is allowed to be elected as well. If 3-5 are elected in, then two are allowed in. This pattern grows by the same factor and depends all upon how many boys are elected in. National has chosen to do this so that more drivers are available for young arrowmen. That is the main change that needed to be noted and described. If you have any questions, please e-mail me at [email protected] . I hope that this year is a successful one. Yours in Brotherhood, Caleb Iehl

VC of Ceremonies

Hello Arrowmen, My name is Austin Cousins, and I am this year’s VC of Ceremonies. I have worked on camp staff for three years and have helped with OA inductions for those three years. I want to make this year great and have awesome ceremonies. We will still have amazing Call-out and Induction ceremonies over the summer. Something new I want to do this year is to start having other ceremonies such as Arrow of Light and Eagle Scout. If you want the OA to do an Eagle Scout ceremony for you or be a part of ceremonies team please contact me at [email protected]. Yours in Service, Austin Cousins

VC Communications

Greetings Fellow Arrowmen, My name is James Bamber, and I’ll be your Vice Chief of Communications for this year. I had this position last year, but didn’t do the best job I could. This year I will do much better! What my job boils down to is Smokes! Yes, the thing your reading right now. If you have any suggestions of how to make it more interesting, or more enjoyable to read, please let me know. The more people who read it, the more they are informed, and that means better communication and turn out at events! Also, if you or your troop have some special date planned for a service project or an event of some sort, please tell me if you would like us to put it in here by emailing me at [email protected]. I’m looking forward to this upcoming year and making Smokes better than ever, especially with your help and suggestions! Yours in Service, James Bamber

www.winnebagobsa.org/oa BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA WINNEBAGO COUNCIL # 173 Vol. 40, Issue 5—DECEMBER 2012 Chapter Chiefs’ Reports

Greetings Arrowmen, I am Chadd Blanchard, the Chapter Chief for Lakeland District. I am very happy to be your 2012-2013 Chapter Chief for the second time. I have many things I would like to accomplish this year. I would like to do a Lakeland District Arrowmen Campout. I also would like to get the Order of the Arrow Troop/Team Representative Program up and going and have Lakeland District have a good representation in the Lodge. I once again thank you for reelecting me as your 2012-2013 Chapter Chief. Yours in Service, Chadd Blanchard [email protected]

To My Fellow Arrowmen, My name is Michael Schwake, and I am the new Sun Rivers Chapter Chief. Some of you may remember me from when I was in this same position for the ’08-’09 term. A little about me, I am 19 years old, have been on camp staff the past few years as a boy scout, have reached the rank of star, and am a 2012 Vigil Honor member. Something to look forward to for this year is our annual One Day of Service at George Wyth State Park In Waterloo. One of my goals for this year is to hold a chapter meetings at the Sun Rivers Roundtable where I will be willing to answer any questions you might have at that time. Thank you for allowing me to serve you for this year. Yours in Service, Michael Schwake

Twin Rivers needs a new Chapter Chief! Tell your Scoutmaster if you are interested. Chapter meetings will occur on the second Sunday of the even-numbered months from 2:00-4:00 pm at pre-announced locations. Our initial meeting is set for December 9th at Trinity Lutheran Church in New Hampton. We will be addressing the following topics at various times of the year: Camping Promotions, Unit Elections Procedures, Brotherhood Conversion, Ceremonial Team Formation/Practice and Outfitting, Service Projects, Leadership Skills Development, High Adventure Opportunities, and much more! Please contact our Lodge Chief, Brandon Nelson, if interested.

Hello Fellow Arrowmen, My name is Daniel Licari, and I will be the Wabuha Chapter Chief this year. I was also the Wabuha Chapter Chief last year and hope for another great year. This year I would like to have some fun chapter meetings. I was thinking of a cookout, pizza party, or other activities. This year the Lodge really wants to implement the OA Troop Rep program. The OA Troop Rep will be responsible for bringing information back to the troop and other OA items. My adviser and I were thinking of treating all of the troop reps to a special party if everything goes smoothly this year. I am looking forward to this year’s elections and hope to have a lot of fun.

Yours in Brotherhood, Daniel Licari

www.winnebagobsa.org/oa BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA WINNEBAGO COUNCIL # 173 Vol. 40, Issue 5—DECEMBER 2012 Lodge Treasurer

Hello Fellow Brothers,

My name is Aaron Iehl, and I am your Lodge Treasurer for the 2012-2013 year. I am ready to serve you willingly this year and have already begun preparing the budget for this next year. We have done preliminary revisions on it during the Lodge Leadership Development Course (LLDC). One of the major proposed changes is to budget more money for the Chapter Chiefs to use to promote their own Chapter events and meetings. This is going to help promote the OA Troop/Team Representative position. We are hoping to get this program up and running with the support from people within the Chapter. If you want to be there to give your voice on next year’s budget, make it to the December LEC and bring your ideas! In closing I look forward to the fellowship that awaits us at the upcoming Winter Banquet. I hope to see as many fellow brothers there as possible.

Yours In Brotherhood, Aaron Iehl

Test your Order of the Arrow Knowledge

A. Among the several ceremonial characters, what is the name of the Guard? (p. 63)

B. Who once said, “Let us realize the significance of the Order in the unit—for the unit is our best hope in Scouting . . .” (p. 31)

C. Alertness to the needs of others is the mark of the ______. (p. 48)

All answers can be found (with a little reading) within the Order of the Arrow Handbook. Page numbers listed after the clues correspond to the 2009 edition. We trust you will first try to answer without the use of any aids - Scout’s Honor! Have fun!

2013 Dues & Activity Registration Form BSA ID#:______

Name:______Chapter______Date:______Please check all payments being made. ______2013 Lodge Dues $10 (Acct. # 601) Payment Total ______Winter Banquet $12 (Acct. # 611) ______Spring Fellowship $10 (Acct. # 613) $______Fall Fellowship $10 (Acct. # 615) ______Brotherhood Workshop $20 (Acct. # 605)

_____ 2013 Activity Card $35 (a $7 savings) (Covers 2013 Dues, Winter Banquet, Spr. & Fall Fellowships) Scout Office, please credit: $10 to 601 $9 to 611 $8 to 613 $8 to 615

www.winnebagobsa.org/oa BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA WINNEBAGO COUNCIL # 173 Vol. 40, Issue 5—DECEMBER 2012

2929 Airport Blvd. Waterloo, Iowa 50703-9677

Current Resident or Occupant

2011-2012 Lodge Executive Committee

LEC Position LEC Member Adult Adviser Adviser Contact Lodge Chief Brandon Nelson Bruce Merfeld [email protected] Vice Chief of Elections Caleb Iehl VACANT Vice Chief of Ceremonies Austin Cousins Gary Stattler [email protected] Vice Chief of Communications James Bamber Mark Curran [email protected] Lodge Secretary Noah Wolf Madonna Nelson [email protected] Lodge Treasurer Aaron Iehl William Schmid [email protected] Lakeland Chapter Chief Chadd Blanchard Ben Mannes [email protected] Sun Rivers Chapter Chief Michael Schwake Stephen Schwake I [email protected] Twin Rivers Chapter Chief VACANT Wabuha Chapter Chief Daniel Licari Al Hemesath [email protected] Chairman VACANT Activities Chairman VACANT Vigil Chairman Ethan Davis VACANT OATTR Coordinator VACANT

Supreme Chief of the Fire Todd Wordel [email protected] Council Staff Adviser Chris Kangas [email protected]

www.winnebagobsa.org/oa