Mowogo at the 2022 NOAC
Greetings and Salutations, Fellow Wearers of the Arrow!
We hope this finds each of you well as the summer comes to a close. And for those of you who saw that this message was from me: yes, it is a long one, but you are in luck as it is mainly pictures!
This past week Mowogo Lodge participated in the 2022 National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) that was held at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. Yes, it was strange being around all of the orange (especially for this alum of the Red & Black!). It was a week of immersion into the Order of the Arrow and Scouting with Sisters and Brothers from all parts of the country as well as from other nations.
Each day began with training in all aspects of the Order: Ceremonies, Native American culture and traditions, the Ordeal, the Brotherhood, the Vigil Honor, Lodge and Chapter Operations, Membership Growth, and many, many other topics. The afternoons focused on competitions and evaluations in ceremonies, sports, and programs on how the Order touches many lives from many walks of life. The evenings focused all participants on gathering together at arena shows and one night with other members from the Eastern Region of the Order of the Arrow.
And patch trading…well, patch trading happened all the time…24 hours a day (or at least that what it seemed like)!
According to our Lodge Chief Jacob Ball, who served on the Conference Communication Staff, Mowogo Lodge had the 6th largest lodge contingent at NOAC which had more than 6500 participants in total. Section E-6, which is led by our own James Chalmers as Section Chief, had more participants attend the conference than any other Section from around the country.
Prior to arriving at NOAC, the Mowogo Lodge contingent spent some time at the
“Trade-o-ree” https://www.bsator.com/what-is-a-tor/ (click on the link to learn more about Trade-o-rees)
That was also being held in Knoxville just prior to the start of NOAC. Thanks go to Brothers Kevin Jones, Ricky Daniels, and Todd Kelly for their efforts to demonstrate the art and larger scope of the world of patch trading and Scouting memorabilia to our contingent.
Mowogo Lodge fielded teams in the intramural sports of Flag Football, Volleyball, and Ultimate Frisbee. All of our teams showed great effort and sportsmanship in all three. While not reaching the NOAC Conference Championships, each team to reach far into the playoffs and earned the respect of every team they played. Thanks to all of our youth that participated and gave everything they had to every game!
During the arena show on Wednesday, Day 3 of the conference, the show ended with a reminder and special request to remember all who have gone that inspired us in out participation in the Order of the Arrow and passed the torch on to us to carry for others to be guided by. It was a memorable and appropriate way to pay respects to all of the sisters and brothers that have gone before us and that continue to inspire our service.
It was also great to see Mowogo brothers that have moved on including Dawson and Jason Roth as well as Sven Rundman. Time and distance have done nothing to decrease the bond of brotherhood. Always a good feeling!
At the end of 2019, a national program called “Thrive” was introduced as a way to connect lodge leadership with national leadership to both support lodge operations as well as shared ideas from other lodges. Honestly, I was still somewhat new in the role of Lodge Adviser then and was apprehensive about what this program might involve. Not many knew what the program entailed or what the goals were from what I gathered. However, we agreed to participate in the program with an open mind to see if Mowogo Lodge could benefit from the experience. And then the pandemic hit in 2020. The brothers with the Thrive program stayed with us and we met every other week for a few months and then once a month as our work with them came to a close. It was perfect timing as they kept our leadership engaged through a difficult time. We continued to meet through the beginning of 2021 and the Thrive Connect Team served as sounding boards and consultants and I can say they played an important part in the success of our 2021 Spring Induction Event in March of 2021, the largest Ordeal induction event in the country after the beginning of the pandemic.
The lead of the Thrive Connect Team that worked with Mowogo Lodge, Matt Kusche, did a great job in supporting our lodge and our lodge leadership during this time. On Friday, Day 5 of NOAC, Matt sought us out and we finally got to meet him in person. It was one of the highlights of the conference for me as he won me over and relieved my apprehension of how Thrive might impact Mowogo Lodge. I also had the opportunity to meet his father, Kris. Kris stepped down from the role of Lodge Adviser for Kittan Lodge of the Twin Rivers Council in New York state. We spent some time discussing his challenges, our challenges, and our shared challenges in the coming future (we share more with our New York Sisters and Brothers than one might think!). Matt just completed his term as the Director of the OA High Adventure program at the Sea Base in the Florida Keys this summer and will being his final year in his Ph.D. program in Marine Biology. Thank you, Matt, for your continued support and interest in Mowogo Lodge. Please know that your support during a trying and difficult time was needed and appreciated.
The 2022 NOAC was also special for Mowogo Lodge in that we witnessed one of our own be recognized in a national setting for service to the Order of the Arrow beyond the lodge level. Vigil Honor Brother Jason Stribling is a 2022 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award (DSA) given by the National Order of the Arrow Committee. At the arena show on Tuesday, Day 2 at NOAC, all of the 2020 and 2022 DSA recipients were individually recognized and brought before the crowd. Members of our contingent got the chance to congratulate Jason following the show. In addition, Vigil Honor Brother Lane Bridges made a special trip to Knoxville to share the experience with Jason as did Frank Harper, currently serving as the Lodge Adviser of Ini-to Lodge of the Flint River Council. Frank and Jason have been friends and brothers for 30 years working together at the lodge, section, regional, and national levels. Congratulations, again, Jason! Mowogo Lodge and the Northeast Georgia Council are very proud of you and appreciate your service to Scouting and the Order of the Arrow over these many years.
A special thanks to Brotherhood Brother Joseph McGahee who served as the Mowogo Contingent Leader and Vigil Honor Brother Howard Chalmers who served as the Mowogo Contingent Adviser. These brothers prepared our lodge to be well represented at NOAC. Thanks to all of advisers that attended the conference for sharing their time away from their families and work to serve our youth with a special shout out to Ms. Suzi Wiggs for jumping in to serve our female youth participants on short notice. Thanks to all of the Mowogo Lodge members that served the conference in various staff roles and represented our lodge with excellent examples of service and leadership. And thanks to all of you who could be with us but supported Mowogo Lodge to show such a large and important presence at NOAC.
I would like to end this message with something that brought what I believe is part of the essence of Mowogo Lodge. On Thursday, Day 4 of NOAC, Brother Jason Stribling let us know that he might need logistical support in preparing and staffing the Regional/Section Gathering planned for Thursday evening. Once the word went out, Mowogo Lodge contingent members prepared themselves if the call came to serve. As the time for the gathering came closer, Jason let us know that he needed help. Without hesitation, Mowogo Lodge did what it has always done…without question or concern we provided service to help Jason hold a successful event for thousands of Sisters and Brother from the Eastern Region of the Order of the Arrow. Mowogo Lodge is known beyond our lodge for the service we provide our council and our council properties. That same dedication to service was demonstrated at NOAC and was noticed. We can be proud in the knowledge that Mowogo Lodge is ready to serve no matter the setting or place.
Mowogo Lodge had a great 2022 NOAC experience. It is our hope as well as the hope of all those that put on the conference that all participants will take the experience of NOAC and make every lodge better and be examples of service and leadership for all who will follow in the years to come. If you were not able to attend the conference, please reach out to those that did and ask them to share what they learned, I feel confident you will be glad you did.
Well, may be this is a little longer message than I let on at the beginning…but you know me. You’re welcome, Mr. Preves!
Yours in Brotherhood, Cheerfulness, and Service,
Rusty Royston
Lodge Adviser, Mowogo Lodge
Northeast Georgia Council, BSA