National OA Committee Edition
Participants at the National Order of the Arrow Conference are given the opportunity to meet and question members of the National Order of the Arrow Committee at the "Meet the Man" sessions. The National Committee members who participated in sessions at the 2004 NOAC were:
1. Brad Haddock - Chairman
2. Mathew Walker - Vice-Chairman, National Events
3. Glenn T. Ault, M.D. - Vice-Chairman, Finance
4. Thomas E. Reddin - Vice-Chairman, Region & Section Operations
5. Michael G. Hoffman - Vice-Chairman, Leadership Development
6. Alberto Mounz II - Sustaining Member-at-Large
Some of the questions asked included:
1. Question to Thomas E. Reddin:
What does a lodge have to do to be recognized for service by the National Committee of the OA?
Replied: Every year two lodges per region receive the National Service Award. These are based on the project and number of hours of service.
2. Question to the panel:
Why did the National OA Committee switch to using council numbers instead of keeping lodge numbers?
Replied: Lodge numbers at one time had a historical value. However, when some lodges merged, they were able to choose whatever number was open. This resulted in lodge numbers no longer having the original historical values. Also, having a lodge number separate from the council number caused some confusion. For example, when a lodge is recognized as Wah-Sha-She Lodge 42, Ozark Trails Council #306, people have to know both the 42 and the 306. The rest of the BSA uses just the council number to identify councils. Since lodges are part of their council, national can just use the council number to also represent the lodge within it. Individual lodges can continue to use the lodge number on patches or any other memorabilia, but you will use the council number when registering for events like NOAC, rechartering, and so on. Unless you have the same number for both your lodge number and council number, you will not use your lodge number on national forms. When national recognizes a lodge, they will use the council number.
3. Question to Matt Walker:
What personal goal do you have in Scouting or the OA?
Replied: To see my youngest son receive his Eagle Scout award.
4. Question to Brad Haddock:
How do you get appointed to the National Order of the Arrow Committee?
Replied: There are two ways in which you can be appointed to the National Order of the Arrow Committee. One is to be selected as a Region OA Chairman, who in turn automatically gets appointed to the National OACommittee. The other is to be appointed by the National Boy Scout Committee. All members, including me, are appointed to serve for a year at a time.
5. Question to the panel:
What future national events are planned for the OA?
Replied: In 2006, of course, is the National Order of the Arrow Conference at East Lansing, Michigan. This will be the first time NOAC will be held at Michigan State University. They have 17,000 beds available, so we could have up to 10,000 - 11,000 participants at this conference. That would make the 2006 NOAC the biggest NOAC ever. Then in 2007, we will be holding a "summit" in Indiana, near the Hoosier National Forest, to look at the new strategic plan and to plan for the HUGE national service project the next year. In 2008, we are planning to have the large national service projects in five different locations across the country.
Revised 8/4/2004
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