Fall Issue Volume 22 Issue 3   

Written by Lodge Adviser Mr. Kracht

 The 100^th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow is winding to a close.  What have you done to celebrate this milestone?  Orca Lodge will be hosting its annual Lodge Dinner on November 7 to celebrate the Centennial, review what we have accomplished this last year, and to honor those who have served the Lodge.

Please join us for this dinner & celebration at Bethlehem Lutheran Church (1300 St. Francis Rd) in Santa Rosa.  The evening will begin with a social hour starting at 5 P.M. Dinner will be served at 6 P.M. After dinner, around 7 P.M., will be when the evening will begin to roll. This is when we hold our yearly youth officer elections, hand out our recognition awards (Silver Flukes, Founders Award, James E. West , etc.) and wind up the evening by announcing our new Vigil Candidates.

In addition, this year we will be honoring the recipients of the OA Centurion Award.  This award was presented on behalf of the National Committee to honor those who have contributed to the Lodge’s legacy over many years.  This award is given during the OA centennial year, to honor the Legacy of the Order of the Arrow.  Our recipients are:

• David Dukeman – for Adult service to Orca Lodge 
• Matthew Dukeman – for Youth service to Orca Lodge
• Steve Fini – for Youth service to Mow-A-Toc Lodge
• Viola “Kitty” Harriman – for Adult service to Mow-A-Toc Lodge
• Jason Kracht – for Adult service to Orca Lodge
• Raymond Leonard – for Youth service to Cabrosha Lodge
• Bruce Mayfield – for Adult service to Orca Lodge
• Martin Webb – for Youth service to Cabrosha Lodge 

We look forward to celebrating with you.

Register here or mail in the below registration form:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Lodge Dinner Registration form - cut and mail today! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Written by Lodge Chief Brendan S.

 This year we had the privilege of holding a joint ordeal with our sister lodge: Achewon Nimat. From what We heard and saw about the event, it was one of our best to date. The LEC began to coordinate with their leadership team in August, to ensure that we would have a robust program for all attendees. By the time September 25 came around, both of our LECs were ready to see our plan put into action.

Our staff and candidates helped prepare the camp for its winter season by assisting with: the takedown of platform tents; clearing run off ditches to reduce the impact of flooding; and organizing the camp storage barn. Together, our lodges were able to provide nearly 450 hours of service to Camp Royaneh, and help ensure its maintenance over its winter hiatus.

As of last year San Francisco Bay Area and Redwood Empire Councils formed the North Coast Camping Alliance as a joint venture to promote inter-council summer camp experiences. Our LEC was excited at the prospects of furthering the ties between our two councils, and has even more excited by the result of this endeavor.

Written by Stephen S.

This year’s NOAC was hosted at Michigan State University in East Lansing Michigan.  As I hope most people know it is the 100th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow and NOAC represented this in every area and station with red and white banners covering every fence and building we used.  The food was served and cooked by the workers at the University and definitely wasn’t 5-star restaurant but was far better than that at most scout camps.  There were so many activities at any given time that it was impossible to try them all so you could either spend about an hour the night before planning your day or you could just wander around and see what interested you.  Some of the activities I participated in were rock wall climbing, a VR simulation, a fighting ring with large poles with pads on either end to hit each other off a platform, and a giant zip line.  NOAC had a show every night except Thursday planned for us and they were amazing.  Arrowmen completely filled the basketball arena, and the shows had to be done "in the round".  I think everyone who went this year had an amazing time and every arrow man should have the opportunity to attend one.

Written by Tyler W.

As most of you know we had our yearly conclave at the end of August and it was a huge success. There were many different trainings that everyone had the chance to take, and an assortment of places for the arrowmen of our lodge to help out with the many components of conclave. This was a very spectacular conclave especially with it being thehundredth year of the Order of the Arrow. The tipi set up went a lot better than it has in years past, so let's get more people to learn how to put up the tipis. I'd like to thank everyone that came and helped out with the event, and the people that helped but weren't able to attend the event. I hope to see all of you at next years conclave.

Elections for our 4 Lodge officers will be held at the 2015 Lodge dinner.  The officers of the Lodge are the Lodge Chief, Lodge Vice-Chief, Lodge Secretary, and Lodge Treasurer. All Lodge officers must be under twenty-one (21) years old during their entire term in office.

If you are interested in running for one of the Lodge Officer positions, please contact Mr. Kracht.  You should also attend the Lodge Executive Committee meeting the afternoon before the Lodge Dinner.

Being a Lodge Officer is a great job, which has a lot of personal reward, but takes commitment to ensuring the success of the Lodge.

Written by the Lodge Adviser, Mr. Kracht 

You still have an opportunity to finish up this award.  The requirements go from July 16, 2014, thru December 2015.  Your service requirements can count throughout this time, even if you were not yet an arrowman.

Starting on the 99th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow's founding, registered members in good standing with the BSA, their local council and their Order of the Arrow lodge will be able to commemorate our organization's centennial by working to complete the Arrowman Service Award. This award, which some are referring to as "the sash patch," will be recognized as one of the few patches that have ever been approved by the national Order of the Arrow committee to be worn on an OA sash.

The purpose of the Arrowman Service Award (ASA) is to encourage Arrowmen to recommit themselves to the ideals of the Order, increase their level of service to their local Unit and Council, and participate in the 100th anniversary celebration of the OA. The award will have three categories of criteria with various requirements that Arrowmen can complete. These include components on personal growth, service to Scouting, and participation in the centennial celebration.

Breakdown of the Three Categories

The category on Personal Growth will challenge both youth (OA members through age 20) and adult (OA members ages 21 and older) Arrowmen to advance their own leadership skills by participating in or staffing a BSA training course. In tandem with "recommitting themselves to the ideals of the Order," this category also encourages each member to seal the bond of Brotherhood membership (if eligible), among other BSA advancement opportunities.

The category on Scout Service advocates for Arrowmen to go above and beyond the traditional call to service and serve in a variety of leadership positions at the Unit, Council, Lodge and National levels. This includes service benefiting the local community, the local BSA council or camp, or public lands such as a National Forest or Park.

The category on Centennial Events correlates with the national Order of the Arrow committee's objective to redouble service and programmatic offerings for the 100th anniversary. The youth and adult Arrowmen requirements for this category are the same, and include attendance at your section's 100th anniversary conclave, your lodge's sponsored 100th anniversary event, an ArrowTour event, and the 2015 National Order of the Arrow Conference.

Logistics and Process for Fulfilling the Award

Arrowmen can commence working on requirements on July 16th, 2014 and continue working towards its completion through December 31st, 2015.  All Arrowmen are encouraged to work towards the fulfillment of the ASA.

Arrowman Service Award Youth and Adult Requirement Cards

Official Publication of the Orca Lodge #194, Order of the Arrow,
Redwood Empire Council, Boy Scouts of America
Publications Adviser ~ Bruce Mayfield
Orca Spouts is a quarterly publication.
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