A contingent of 6 Arrowmen from Crazy Horse Lodge #171 attended the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) in Ames, IA, on the campus of Iowa State University from August 2 through 6, 1998. Three youth, Stuart Vande Venter, Seth Scout, and Levi Littler attended. We missed having Travis Waler with us; he stayed at the side of a very special aunt in her last days. Special thoughts to the family from all the Scouts and Order of the Arrow Brothers in Black Hills Area Council.
Chad Heyen, who assists the Lodge, was in the Shows Staff. Norm and Sharon Bunch were the adults with the contingent. Chad did the opening scene in the Show on Wednesday evening, a plan entitled, "The Admonition" in which Seth and Levi also starred! We had floor seats in the third row - very kewl! Very prestigious!
The new OA logo was unveiled, a new strategy plan for the OA to be Scouting's National Honor Society with increased organization-wide service, not just the focus on camping. The new OA Handbook was issued with some minor changes. No policy changes were made, some additions and modifications were done. The new, revised Leader's Guide will be out later this fall. A new publication, the 1998 National Ideabook, Lodge and Section Program, was made available also at NOAC and will be very useful in the Lodge activities and events. Fund-raisers and planning for the next NOAC are already in motion for the year 2000 in Knoxville, KY. We are limited to a fixed number based on the total number registered in the Lodge with a two youth to one adult radio. Any active registered Lodge member is eligible to apply for NOAC staff and competition is tough! This trip was funded by a fund-raiser of the sale of white NOAC ghost flaps of the recently discontinued flap design with gold mylar NOAC 1998 in the lower right corner. They were available for sale at the Scout Center, at Medicine Mountain, and could be ordered over the internet on our website. A small number remain at this time.
The entire conference was fantastic - cells of training, entertainment, competitions, sports competitions and to enjoy, much patch trading, an entire Founder's Day of a parade, booths with free handouts, food, silk screening on t-shirts we took, entertainment, and much, much more!
We met old friends, made new friends and are determined to take a large group to share the fun in 2000!
