Texting Brandon: A Legacy of Leadership

The closing show of NOAC 2006 spoke directly to the reasons why the Order of the Arrow exists, and why it will continue to be an amazing organization.  A young man named Brandon received an anonymous text message telling him to be at a certain place, at a specific time. He goes because he "had no reason not to."  The day turned out to be an interesting one for this young Eagle Scout and Arrowman.

Brandon finds himself confronted by challenges throughout the day and he rises to meet each of them. He observes an old homeless man being harassed by a pair of teenage boys and comes to his aid. Most people would not have been willing to put themselves out there for someone they did not know. Brandon also runs into a woman who recently lost her daughter to a drunk driver. She had attended the trial of the man who killed her daughter, and had told him she forgave him, because she knew that being angry and hating him would do no good and his family would suffer much as she did. The final challenge was an unusual one. Brandon witnesses a store being robbed and the thieves offer to let him take some of their ill gotten goods. He refuses, and immediately goes to find a police officer.

The encounter with the thieves and police officer turned out to be a test designed by a group of friends with whom Brandon was acquainted.  They are members of a group that lead not only Brandon's High School, but the entire community. He was being tested to see whether he would make a suitable member of their organization--the Brand Boys. The Brand Boys choose to lead by example and to build a "brand" for themselves by their action.  Don't wait to find yourself, create yourself in the way you want people to perceive yourself.  With the successful outcome of all of the challenges.  They decide that he is an excellent candidate for their secret group and welcome him as the newest member.

Brandon was tested in order to discover more about himself, and the person he was becoming. He faced difficult problems, and prevailed, much as our Order has throughout the years. There have been times of turmoil in our history, and we have always come through. Brotherhood, Cheerfulness and Service are not just words, but a legacy left to us by brothers who have blazed the trail that members walk today, leaving all Arrowmen the obligation of doing the same for generations of brothers to come.