Redwood Empire Council ORCA Lodge No. 194 Boy Scouts of America  

Spring Issue Volume 23 Issue 1

Spring Ordeal

Written by Ordeal Master Tyler W.

Mark your calendars because the spring ordeal dates have been set. Join us on Friday June 10th through Sunday June 12 as we participate in our first ordeal of the second century of the Order Of The Arrow. This will take place at camp Tamarancho in on top of mount Tamalpais. The ordeals have been growing in the recent past and your help is need to make this ordeal a spectacular one. This is a great opportunity to help our newly elected candidates become Arrowmen. You can register online hereExternal Link. I look forward to seeing you all there.
 
Implementing Outdoor Ethics in the Redwood Empire Council

 Written by Father Nayture, Mr. Nay

 

The Spring Leave No Trace Trainer course was conducted at the Bull Frog Pond camp ground within the Austin Creek State Recreation Area. Those attending were properly prepared for 50 mile and hour winds, heavy rain that seemed to be going sideways, followed by thunder and lightning. The training provided many new LNT Trainers for the units. Many lessons were learned. The buffalo stew cooked and provided by “Mother Nayture” Karen Nay helped everyone stay warm.

 

 

The Tread Trainer course was conducted at the Redwood Empire Council conference room. One of the highlights of the course was the presentation by Brenton Corns of 4XFar Adventures on being properly prepared to go off road in a 4 wheel drive vehicle. All the participants are now better prepared to share the Tread Lightly message.

 

 

Orca Lodge supported many activities at the Pomo District Camporee, “The Council Rises Up”. One of the stations was the Jedi “Outdoor Ethics” Academy. Chapter Chief Tyler W. with the assistance of Tommy, Justin, and Jordan became Jedi Masters. They challenged the participants to speak the Outdoor Ethics principles as “Yoda” would. The participants then had to sort various items by the length of time they took to decompose.

  

 

Innovation Award

Written by Lodge Chief Brendan S.

For over three years now, Orca Lodge has performed hundreds (if not thousands) of hours worth of trainings in Outdoor Ethics. We have established ourselves as the biggest contributor of Leave No Trace training hours in Northern California. These accomplishments alone are more than noteworthy, but just wait because here’s one more:

Orca Lodge received the OA Innovation Award which was established to recognize chapters and lodges for developing creative and innovative solutions to challenges faced during the implementation of their annual program plans. Two awards in each Region are presented annually; this year we were recognized for our pioneering work in Outdoor Ethics advocacy all across Area 3. It brings with it recognition from National and a major donation to the council endowment. But more importantly, it show just how successful you have been at educating scouts and scouters alike.

Congratulations to all of our hard working trainers, and of course to our own Bill Nay, aka “Father Nayture” who has been so instrumental to this program. The lodge, the council, and the area are all indebted to you. Keep up the good work Orca, people in some pretty high places are taking note, and they’re liking what they see.

Thank you to Keith Schoenthal (Council Commissioner) & John Carriger (Council President) for representing Orca Lodge at the BSA National Annual Meeting to accept this award on behalf of the Lodge.

OA Service Grant

One of the four fold purposes of the Order of the Arrow is "to crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others." It is with this spirit of cheerful service to others that the Order proudly offers the matching service grant programExternal Link.

For several years, the National Order of the Arrow Committee has provided matching service award grants for a limited number of projects submitted by application to the national office. Orca Lodge has been selected to receive a service grant in 2016 to help the Redwood Empire Council develop a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) MakerLab program.

Specifically we are working to help fund the purchase of a 3D printer for use in the MakerLab that the Council is in the process of setting up.  This will be used to enhance STEM education both in Scouting, and in the general youth community in Sonoma County.

We are launching a fundraiser patch to help support the matching funds required for this grant.  In addition to incorporating the themes of STEM into the patch, this patch will also honor Matt Dukeman, former Lodge Chief of Orca Lodge who recently succeeded Clyde Mayer as National Director of the Order of the Arrow.  These patches will run $10 and will be available for pre-order on the Council website in the next couple of weeks.

Leave No Trace Master Educator Course

Written by Father Nayture, Mr. Nay

Orca Lodge will host the LNT Master Educator course at Camp Noyo from July 30th to August 5th.  The Leave No Trace (LNT) Master Educator Course is designed for individuals (18 and over) who will be teaching LNT Trainer Courses and LNT Awareness Workshops. The Master Educator course covers the full Master Educator curriculum and supplements scouting unique experiences to prepare the individual for a variety of outdoor environments. The Course includes planning, logistics, equipment, managing groups in the field, meals, risk management, and teaching tips for each LNT principle. Through classroom discussions, lectures, and a field experience, this course covers the seven LNT Principles and Outdoor Ethics, as well as giving the participants tools and techniques for engaging scouts of all ages. This experience will prepare you to be a top-level LNT resource for your Unit, District, and Council.

You may register for the course online here.

Unit Elections

Written by Lodge Chief Brendan S.

On May the 19th, members of Orca Lodge sat down to get in touch with all of our prospective arrowmen. However those candidates didn’t spring out of thin air. Over the past five months the lodge has completed twenty-two unit elections spread throughout the Redwood Empire Council. Now, we have almost sixty new candidates, that we hope to induct in the coming months. This was only possible thanks to the support of all of the members who volunteered their time to make presentations and officiate elections. Each of the following Arrowmen completed four or more separate visitations, and deserve our praise:  

Erik C.  Donna L.  Jason K.  Brett C.  Tyler W.  Mark A.  Mike B.  

For some units in the Council, 2016 will be the first year their members will go to summer camp, and our lodge wants to make sure they have all the information needed to have a successful and exciting experience. So this year, we complimented our usual election procedure with camp promotions of our local destinations, like Royaneh, Wente, and Noyo. The LEC hopes that as we continue to reach more units, the lodge will enable more scouts to go to camp.

And, when it comes to reaching units, Miwok district was a massive success this year. Thirteen of our candidates are from the Miwok district, and if we can harness these potential members, Orca Lodge may have an active Miwok chapter for the first time in years. Thank you all for your continued support of the Lodge, I can’t wait to see you all at Ordeal.

Orca 2016 Leadership

Lodge Leadership

Chapter Leadership

Lodge Chief
chief [at] orca194.org
Brendan S.
Allohak Chief
allohakchief [at] orca194.org
Gordon H.
Lodge Vice Chief
vicechief [at] orca194.org
Tommy A.
Allohak Vice-Chief
allohakvicechief [at] orca194.org
Colin F.
Lodge Secretary
secretary [at] orca194.org
Jake S.
Allohak Secretary
allohaksecretary [at] orca194.org
Indigo F.
Lodge Treasurer
treasurer [at] orca194.org
Gordon H.
Allohak Adviser
allohakadviser [at] orca194.org
Leif Farr
Lodge Adviser
adviser [at] orca194.org
Jason Kracht
Miwok Adviser
miwokadviser [at] orca194.org
Donna Lake
Lodge Associate Adviser
associateadviser [at] orca194.org
Mike Bell
Wonk-A-Tonk Chief
wonkatonkchief [at] orca194.org
Tyler W.
Lodge Associate Adviser

Mark Abel
Wonk-A-Tonk Vice Chief
wonkatonkvicechief [at] orca194.org
Stephen S.
Lodge Staff Adviser
staffadviser [at] orca194.org
Daniel Hemphill
Wonk-A-Tonk Secretary
wonkatonksecretary [at] orca194.org
Erik C.

orca194.orgExternal Link
www.redwoodbsa.org/oaExternal Link

Wonk-A-Tonk Adviser
wonkatonkadviser [at] orca194.org
Kevin Bleibaum
     

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.
We will email all four issues.
We welcome all submissions, both articles as well as photographs.
Sending articles and digital photos via email is highly encouraged.
All photos welcomed.