Foundations of Leadership 2006 Order of the Arrow Annual Report BROTHERHOOD CHEERFULNESS SERVICE Table of Contents Foundations of Leadership Brotherhood 2 Cheerfulness 5 Service 8 The Order’s Leadership 16 The year 2006 can best be described as a time of Brotherhood, Cheerfulness, and Service. Arrowmen around the country stepped up to the challenge to develop new programs, provide unparallel leadership, and give thousands of hours of cheerful service to Scouting and the nation alike. With this energy and spirit, we are proud to present the 2006 Order of the Arrow Annual Report. With nearly 176,000 members, the Order continued to deliver on its commitment to build on its foundation for the future. This report illustrates the hard work of thousands of Arrowmen delivering our High Adventure programs at Philmont, Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base, and the Florida Sea Base, our countless leadership develop- ment opportunities, and our relentless drive to provide service, not only to Scouting, but to our nation. And these only begin to tell the story. With the future clearly in sight, we have developed the National Conservation and Leadership Summit (NCLS) for the summer of 2007 and the ArrowCorps5 service project for the summer of 2008. Offering programs such as these combine our two greatest strengths - our love of the outdoors and our leadership. All of these activ- ities lead us to one place, a stronger Scouting organization. We invite you to go through the next few pages as we reflect on our past, but also look to the future, as we strengthen our commitment to Scouting through Brotherhood, Cheerfulness and Service. Yours in Service, Sean Murray Chris Schildknecht 2006 National Chief 2006 National Vice Chief 1 Brotherhood The foundation of the Order of the Arrow is exemplified by those Arrowmen who live the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as they strive for a life of servant leadership. On this foundation are three pillars: Brotherhood, Cheerfulness, and Service. The first of these pillars is Brotherhood. At the end of 2006: .. 175,753 Boy Scouts, Varsity Team members and adult Scouters were Arrowmen. .. Membership consisted of 102,689 youth mem bers and 73,064 adults. .. 162 councils (53.6%) qualified for National Quality Lodge Recognition. .. 203 councils (66.1%) met the Order's require- ment for eligible members to become Brotherhood. .. 42,012 new members were inducted into Ordeal membership; 17,677, into Brotherhood; and 2,526, were bestowed the highest honor a person can receive by their lodge, the Vigil Honor. 2 Youth Leaders Youth leaders form the main building blocks of our foundation. Through their efforts, success becomes reality. Youth leaders develop their leadership skills at all levels of the Scouting program. Starting in the district, chapter chiefs, and youth leaders serve as camporee chairmen, organize district youth leadership training, serve on camping committees and district committees. In the council, lodge chiefs and other leaders serve on council executive boards and lead council projects, council camping committees, camp- ing advisory boards, and most importantly, council camp staffs. The eight national youth officers in the Order of the Arrow serve on the national OA com- mittee and also provide input to other national BSA committees, including: the national executive board, the national program committee, the national Boy Scout committee, the National Eagle Scout Association committee, the national training task force, and the National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience (NAYLE) task force. To ensure that we also develop leaders on the section level, we conducted 47 section conclaves throughout the coun- try. These events are a mix of training, lodge development, and fellowship. Typically the weekend gatherings include a morning of training sessions, including national training topics and an afternoon of competitions to provide lodge team building, training, and just plain fun. 3 Leadership Development Another building block of our Order is leadership train- ing. One of the goals of the leadership development sub-committee is to expand the virtual “toolbox” of training materials and programs that are available for our lodges. Lodges rely upon www.training.oa-bsa.org and its extensive resources to plan and implement their annual lodge leadership development events. The National Leadership Seminar (NLS) continues to be the cornerstone of the Order’s training programs. In 2006, 15 NLS’s were held throughout the four regions and 873 lodge leaders experi- enced this life-changing program. This training uses the Scouting program to teach, not only lessons of leadership to use in the Scouting program, but also lessons that continue to positively impact and have direct application on the rest of the Arrowman’s life. The regions delivered seven National Lodge Adviser Training Seminars (NLATS) where 172 adult advisers gathered to learn the tools of their trade. These seminars continue to provide a great experience for adult advisers who serve in key positions in their lodges. 4 Cheerfulness The second pillar is Cheerfulness. The 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) best exempli- fied the pillar of cheerfulness. Hosted this year at the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, we saw a record breaking 8,003 Arrowmen in attendance, representing all 307 lodges. The theme "The Legend Lives On" took Arrowmen through a non-stop week of training, fellowship, inspiration, and fun. Arrowmen took advantage of the morning training sessions, and then returned in the afternoon for workshops and roundtables that challenged them to grow in servant leadership. American Indian activities saw substantial increases in individual competi- tion, while the inductions and ceremonies committee reported record numbers of lodge ceremonial teams wishing to refine their skills. 5 While training has always been one of the cornerstones of NOAC, fellowship, inspiration, and fun are the others. Each night was marked with a world-class show or a social event to bring the thou- sands of Arrowmen together in celebration. The opening show set the tone for a remarkable week as Chief Scout Executive Roy Williams inspired us to continue our legacy of service at the Heritage Show on Sunday night. A Hodag was conducted on Tuesday night, complete with root beer and activities. The OA brought together memorabilia of historical importance, while asking each lodge to display some of their own history to allow Arrowmen to gain an appreciation of where they have come from and their traditions. Founders’ Day included a parade with golf carts, the Goodman Games, lodge booths, a specially created NOAC ice cream, and a fireworks display. While hav- ing fun, we still maintained our commitment to service by col- lecting more than 6,000 pounds of food that was donated to the Lansing Area Food Pantry. 6 High adventure opportunities were endless at The Outdoor Adventure Place (TOAP), Extreme High Adventure and the High Adventure EXPO. TOAP had an above ground pool for Scouts to experience SCUBA diving. Kayaking was also available at a nearby lake. There were demonstra- tions at a skate park, and a new slanted climbing wall, and a disability awareness activities area. The culmination of all the high adventure opportunities was the unveiling of our national conserva- tion project - ArrowCorps5 - for 2008 - thus launching the promo- tion for the largest conservation project the Order has ever under- taken. NOAC can best be summed up by the message at the opening show. The legacy of our Order comes in many shapes, sounds and epochs, much like the music presented throughout the show. All Arrowmen were reminded that although they may not quite speak the same lan- guage, they all share the same overall goals and ambitions--to continue the perpetuation of the ideals of our Order: Brotherhood, Cheerfulness and Service. 7 Service The desire to give back or to serve society is what one could call the cornerstone of the Order. This year, lodges from around the nation contributed 1,404,203 hours of service to council camps, Scouting and the community, valued at $7,400,000. Such service is recognized annually by the presentation of the national service award to two lodges in each region. The lodges rec- ognized in 2006 are: Central Region Southern Region Gabe-Shi-Win-Gi-Ji-Kens Lodge O-Shot-Caw Lodge Chief Okemos Council #271 South Florida Council #84 Lansing, Michigan Miami Lakes, Florida Manitous Lodge Mikanakawa Lodge Great Sauk Trail Council #255 Circle Ten Council #571 Ann Arbor, Michigan Dallas, Texas Northeast Region Western Region Unami Lodge Maluhia Lodge Cradle of Liberty Council #525 Maui County Council #102 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wailuku Maui, Hawaii Madockawanda Lodge Tiwahe Lodge Pine Tree Council #218 San Diego-Imperial Council #49 Portland, Maine San Diego, California 8 The national Order of the Arrow committee provided $40,000 in matching service grants to individual lodges to help improve their local camping facilities. The 2006 recipients are: Central Region Tamegonit Lodge, Heart of America Council #307, to reconstruct a critical part of the camp’s scenic trail that will provide access for the disabled to the camp's Cub World. Illini Lodge, Prairielands Council #117, to create a walkway to provide access for those with mobility impairments throughout the central camp area Blue Ox Lodge, Gamehaven Council #299, to convert the basement of Deer Lodge into a health lodge at Gamehaven Scout Reservation. Northeast Region Unami Lodge, Cradle of Liberty Council #525, for massive restoration of Unami Lodge House on Treasure Island due to severe flooding. Madockawanda Lodge, Pine Tree Council #218, to construct an American Indian archery area for its new Cub World camp. Ho-De-No-Sau-Nee Lodge, Greater Niagara Frontier Council #380, to construct an observation Tower at the boat lake and to bring the swimming pool up to county code at Cub Camp Stonehaven.