Summer Chief Program at Rainey Mountain
Greetings, Fellow Wearers of the Arrow!
I hope this finds you well and not too exhausted from another great Pre-Camp Fellowship. Welcome to all of our new Ordeal members! We welcome you to Mowogo Lodge. And congratulations to our new Brotherhood and Vigil Honor members! Thank you all for your part in preparing Rainey Mountain for another successful summer camp season. Thank you for your part in making that happen and in supporting the Lodge with your work. It is very much appreciated. Your support and efforts for the summer camp program at Rainey Mountain is also very much appreciated and has in many ways set Mowogo Lodge up for success as we move forward in our support of the outdoor programs of Northeast Georgia Council.
Our trading post and name-tag operations have been very popular for those that have attended Rainey Mountain for summer camp. In 2019, Mowogo Lodge first opened the Scouting Museum of Northeast Georgia for those campers to enjoy and to be inspired by our history. We did not open the museum in 2020 due to the public health concern of recent years. As we were still coming out of that concern in early 2021, we did not plan to re-open operations as we did not know what the summer would hold for summer camp. During the 2021 camp season, we received communication asking about the lodge and the Order of the Arrow presence during summer camp and requests for the museum be open for campers and guests and quick arrangements were made to make that happen to meet that demand.
In studying how to best meet the demand for a presence from the Lodge and the Order of the Arrow as an integrated part of the overall summer camp program at Rainey Mountain, we have been working with the camp administration over this past year. As a result, 2022 will be the inauguration of the “Summer Chief” program sponsored by Mowogo Lodge and administered by the Summer Camp Administration. This has been a great partnership and we are excited to start this new program. This program fulfills the purpose of the Order of the Arrow to support Scout camping and in addition to Mowogo Lodge’s continued support of our council programs, facilities, and properties.
We are proud to have our own Brother Patrick McNair, current Mowogo Lodge Vice Chief of Indian Affairs, serve as our first Summer Chief at Rainey Mountain in 2022. We are also excited to have Jacob Taylor who will work with Patrick and serve in this role when Patrick will be away this summer. Jacob is a former Lodge Chief (2020) from the Bob White Lodge of the Georgia-Carolina Council who is also serving on the Rainey Mountain Camp Staff. These brothers will serve as points of contact concerning Order of the Arrow programs and inquiries during camp. As of now, Wednesdays of each week during the summer camp season will provide focus on the Order of the Arrow.
Here are some of the highlights of Summer Chief responsibilities:
As a first and to meet the demand that has been expressed to the camp administration in recent years, Ordeal Candidate elections will be offered to those troops that request these be done during their summer camp experience. Units from other councils may participate in this program with required approval of the home lodge and council. Current members of Mowogo Lodge attending with their respective troops will be encouraged to assist and support in conducting these elections.
The camp program will include five area campfires each week. At the introduction of each campfire program will be a brief program about the Order of the Arrow and Mowogo Lodge. Members of the Order serving on the Camp Staff will also be a part of this program coordinated by the Summer Chief(s).
A social activity is being planned with details being fleshed out as the camp administration begins their planning and preparations for the 2022 season over the next weeks. This will also be coordinated by the Summer Chief(s).
The Scouting Museum of Northeast Georgia will again be open for campers and guests to enjoy this summer. Each Chapter of Mowogo Lodge has accepted the responsibility of providing members to serve as Docents to guide visitors through the displays, answer questions, and as representatives of Mowogo Lodge. Below are the Chapters and the week of Summer Camp each will serve:
Summer Camp Week Date (Wednesdays) Chapter
Week 1 June 8 Yona-Hi
Week 2 June 15 Lau-in-nih
Week 3 June 22 Jutaculla
Week 4 June 29 Canantutlaga
Week 5 July 6 Ani-Gatogewi
Week 6 July 13 Machque
Week 7 July 20 Japeechen
We are excited for the Summer Chief program. I have always believed that the summer camp program is the most important part of the annual troop program as Scouting was first born in a long-term encampment when Lord Baden-Powell applied his experiential ideas on Brownsea Island in 1907. Dr. E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson developed the idea of recognizing campers who they thought best exemplified the ideals of Scouting during summer camp at the Treasure Island Scout Reservation in 1915 that has become what today is the Order of the Arrow. To be able to enhance the summer camp program at Rainey Mountain provides a personal sense of gratification for me. Serving as a member of the Camp Staff and of Mowogo Lodge as a youth were the most important and formative experiences in my Scouting career.
We would like to thank all of those that have and continue to serve Mowogo Lodge at Summer Camp: Brother John Hanes who serves as our Lodge Trading Post Adviser, Brother Mike Hyde who provides custom name tags for campers, and Brother Kevin Jones who serves as our Lodge Memorabilia Adviser and all others that support these operations. We would also like to thank the Northeast Georgia Council staff and administration, our own Phil Nichols (Lodge Staff Adviser and Council Program Director) as well as the Rainey Mountain Camp Administration led by the outstanding Brandon Parham (Camp Director) who provides superior quality to our programs at Rainey Mountain. They’re support continues to make our lodge and council programs reach for excellence. And a special thanks to our Lodge Chief, Jacob Ball, for his leadership in bringing the Summer Chief program to life and to Patrick McNair and Jacob Taylor for being the first to execute it! We continue to enjoy outstanding youth leadership and we do not take that for granted.
If you will be participating in the Summer Camp program at Rainey Mountain this summer or serving as a member of the Camp Staff, please seek out Patrick McNair and Jacob Taylor to see if you can help them increase the awareness of the Order of the Arrow and Mowogo Lodge.
Thanks, again, for all you do to serve the youth we all serve.
Yours in Brotherhood, Cheerfulness, and Service!
Rusty Royston
Lodge Adviser, Mowogo Lodge, Northeast Georgia Council, BSA
