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NOAC 2009 Training is filled with plenty of new opportunities to train the Arrowmen of today and those who will be chosen to lead into tomorrow. This year our theme is The Power of One, and the Training Committee is working to incorporate this theme into all the sessions. Here’s a taste of what we have cooking for the first-of-its-kind signature theme session for this summer’s main event:
“History proves all things of value start with one person who acts to better the world around him. You have that power, The Power of One, and this signature training session for NOAC 2009. Discover your power and your responsibility to use that power. This session will challenge you to IMAGINE how you can make a difference, BELIEVE that you have the power to effect change and learn to LEAD through SERVICE to change your life and the world around you. What is your greatest fear? Who, what, how do I impact? What makes a difference? What difference does it make? How do I succeed? What is success? What is the Power? Am I the One? Find the answers to these questions and others. Join us and discover your 'Power of One.'”
Our stride is fueled by new formats and new styles. We are moving to new session lengths and times. Participants have over 100 classes to choose from as they fill their two (2) 75-minute sessions each morning (Sunday through Tuesday) from 7 of our 8 different schools! The schools include:
- Leadership – A school on Leading those you Serve
- Nuts & Bolts – A school geared towards the basics of Lodge Operation
- Planning – A school that features courses to help you plan for everything that could come your way as leaders in the Order of the Arrow
- Service – A school aimed towards our basic purpose…cheerful service
- OA Traditions – A school providing rich OA history to the young and old
- Tools – A school providing you the items you need to fill your leadership tool box
- Vision – A school aimed to provide you with the higher purpose of the Order
Our 8th School will take place in the afternoons on Sunday and Monday. The School of Innovations will be introducing afternoon symposiums and workshops to give you hands-on experience in the new technologies and leadership methods that are continuing to shape your lodge as we speak. Features will include a Leadership Symposium, Media Blitz, The ONE Film Festival and a National Events Promotion Workshop.
In our pursuit to deliver cutting edge programs, the Training Committee is rolling out a new concept designed with ArrowCorps5 in mind. The Arrowmen Conservation School (ACS) is a new training opportunity to provide the technical and management skills needed to run a successful outdoor service project. The ACS is limited to 150 lucky participants. The school will provide youth outdoor leadership training, wilderness engineering (trail building, the 5-steps of conservation, etc.) and a very adept advising track for the adults. We are proud to support this great new opportunity that will give YOU the POWER to make difference in the nature that surrounds you back home!
Again, the Training Committee is STOKED about the great opportunities we have for you, provided by nothing short of the BEST trainers in the country. Come on down to this NOAC and discover how you can use your POWER to be the ONE to make a difference!
Do you have an interest in making movies? Ever wanted to share your interest with someone else? Want to have your video on the screen at NOAC? If you answered "yes" to any of these three questions, then the NOAC Short Film Competition is for you. Join Arrowmen from around the country in this exciting competition to vie for the best NOAC short film. For more information, please visit http://www.noacshowsfest.com. We hope to see your film!
Once again, the OA Center for History invites participants to assist in showcasing lodge history through competition in the Lodge Historical Display and Lodge Oral Presentation Symposium which will be showcased in the NOAC Museum. This Conference’s OA Center for History seeks to be the most informative, engaging and inspirational ever.
Lodge historical displays should be a learning experience for those viewing them and should demonstrate originality and creativity. A combination of memorabilia including lodge histories (clips or full handouts) pictures, drawings, descriptions, patches and other memorabilia is expected.
The oral presentations give Arrowmen an opportunity to share their lodge's living history with others, give meaning and life to the static display, and gain confidence through public speaking.
Your display and presentation should be focused on the central theme of the conference, The Power of One. Therefore you should highlight key figure or figures from your lodge history and place particular emphasis on how an individual can have an impact. One possible consideration might be to recognize those “founders” of the lodge or those who have received notable lodge awards, such as the Founder’s Award or Vigil Honor.
Both lodge displays and lodge oral presentations are a big draw for the OA Center for History, so we encourage you to put forth your best effort. You may submit a display for both competitions or just the Lodge Historical Display competition.
To participate, register your lodge directly with the OA Center for History at NOACMuseum@gmail.com. Please include your lodge name as well as lodge contingent contact information. Once your lodge is registered, communication will come directly from the OA Center for History regarding confirmation and competition details.
Go to class, check. Do homework, check. Run an EMS service… check. That’s the average to-do list for Michael Pandya. Michael—a former lodge chief and section vice chief from Nakona Lodge in Texas—is a student at Rice University and works with the EMS service. “I got started with the EMS service as a freshman,” Michael says, “I took a course, really liked it and got really involved.”
He got so involved that he became Captain by the time he was 21. As Captain, he oversees all of the daily operations including staffing and equipment maintenance, the service’s educational program, which certifies students at the EMT-Basic and Intermediate levels, and anything else that comes with keeping Rice University safe. The service includes 30 staff members and provides state-licensed first responder support for the students, faculty and staff of Rice University.
Michael isn’t the only student on the staff, however. The staff is made up entirely of undergraduate students. “Our program is pretty unique in that they place a lot of trust in students with patient care,” he says. Staff members are on call for twelve hours shifts, during which they attend class and proceed through their day as usual and respond to calls as needed. Because the service doesn’t have an ambulance, staff members respond in vehicles ranging from an SUV to a bike to their own two feet. Despite their sometimes low-tech modes of transportation, their average call time is just three minutes—something Michael is proud of. “We provide comparable service—if not better service—than other EMS services in our area.”
Supervisors like Michael are assigned to work a 24-hour shift, which requires him to keep his radio and pager on at all times. “Sometimes it can be really busy and others really slow,” he says. “You can go three days without a call and then the next day is absolutely busy.” Although he enjoys the adrenaline that comes with the job, he doesn’t enjoy the paperwork that follows each call.
And how does he manage to run an EMS service and stay involved in Scouting? “I learned a long time ago that sleep is optional,” he says. Michael says sometimes he has to spend spurts of time on Scouting and focus on his EMS duties at other times. No matter what he’s doing, he’s always working.
In the future, Michael would like to attend medical school and maybe specialize in emergency medicine. But in the short-term, he has no plans to leave the EMS service. “I want to keep riding on an ambulance for a long time.” Whatever Michael does, he’ll use The Power of One…will you?
This metal cast belt buckle features the NOAC 2009 logo. Its dimensions are approximately 3" x 2"; it’s designed to fit the traditional 1.5" leather belt. The NOAC 2009 logo will not be released until the event; that’s why the 2007 NCLS is pictured here in the illustration.
You can order a NOAC 2009 Belt Buckle at http://tradingpost.oa-bsa.org/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=2009-14
Beginning April 1, NOAC 2009 delegates will be able to log-on to the registration website and select their preferences for training, afternoon activities, competitions, and other NOAC activities. Have a sneak peak at the program for NOAC by going to the program page of the NOAC website at http://event.oabsa.org/events/n2009/committees/
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." - Mark Twain
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