OA Conclave 2008

A week ago, I attended the Totanha Nakaha Lodge's Mustang chapter conclave and it was one of the most educational experiences I've had in scouting.

I've been an ordeal member for a couple years, being selected as an adult and doing the Ordeal before either son was elected. When I was selected, I told the OA folks that I would not be doing any scouting activities until at least one of my sons was also involved in the activity. The next year, my son was elected and went through the Ordeal.

This year, my son and I both completed the Brotherhood requirements together so we now have the middle sash with the red bar on each end. It was pretty tough for an old dog like me to get through all the requirements, but I did! And, I got a lot more out of watching the ordeal ceremony and recalling the names and meanings of so many bits and pieces in the dialog. The time I spent memorizing information was well spent - I can almost pronounce some of the words now.

I strongly support the goals of the OA, such as promoting camping and cheerful service among scouts. The Brotherhood ceremony was very impressive and I appreciate all the work the scouts put into it. I could also follow along much more since I understood the general structure and meaning of the strange words.

My youngest son was just elected into the OA this year but could not do the Ordeal yet. He is planning to complete it at the spring conclave. We now have 10 scouts of the troop in the OA and I'm encouraging them to promote its goals into the troop more this year. Two of the OA members are taking responsibility to present Leave No Trace camping concepts to the troop so that is a great step in the right direction. There has also been a lot of talk about 'servant leadership' instead of just leadership, so there is another step forward.

I hope the OA is strong in your neck of the woods. If you're not very familiar with it, take some time to learn about it and promote it to your scouts, especially those that are moving along quickly and could use something more to challenge them and broaden their scouting experience.

Scout On