It Starts With Us - Living the theme at the 2015 NOAC
By Donnie Stephens
In December, leaders from around the nation gathered at the 2014 Order of the
Arrow National Planning Meeting with one goal in mind: to plan the largest event
that the Order has ever imagined. The planning began by announcing the theme for
the 2015 NOAC: It Starts With Us.
Conceived from the idea that each one of us has the power to change the course
of events through small acts of service, the theme serves as a reminder that the
Order of tomorrow rests within each of our hands. But what exactly does this all
mean? Each committee within the conference leadership team is hard at work
devising plans to integrate this theme into every aspect of our centennial
conference. Here are some ways that you can expect to experience our theme—It
Starts With Us—at the 2015 National Order of the Arrow Conference:
- Making it come to life with shows: Guests will experience an amazing theatrical experience each night of the conference. From speeches by the Order’s top leaders to the feature thematic presentation on the closing night of the conference, each show will make the conference theme come to life in a number of unique ways.
- Learning about it through training: An important aspect of each NOAC is training. Guests will have the opportunity to attend a number of sessions on ceremonies, communications, outdoor skills and everything in between. By far the most significant training experience at the 2015 NOAC will be the keynote thematic session. This session is intended to ignite the minds of our Order’s numberless leaders across every lodge in the nation and inspire Arrowmen to take control and shape our second century.
- Reflecting on it with your lodges: Each night of the conference, lodge contingents will be provided with prompts to help them facilitate discussion surrounding the theme: It Starts With Us. These discussions will be a time for your lodge to reflect on that day at the conference, bond together in fellowship and understand the importance of each of its members in shaping the next century of our Order.
- Celebrating it in centennial style: One fact sets this conference apart from the rest: it is happening one hundred years following the birth of our Order on Treasure Island Scout Reservation in 1915. We’re pulling out all the stops to ensure that our centennial year, and our powerful theme accompanying it, is celebrated justly. One of the many ways this will be done is through the centennial fire, at which each lodge will present a piece of firewood to be burned symbolically. This act itself brings our theme to life in a very unique way—it portrays how each of us can build upon the fire lit one hundred years ago and allow it to burn even brighter.
Taken together, this theme--and the programs planned to support it--echo the
belief of our founders that every young man can commit his life to the service
of others, and in doing so, change the world. The possibilities at conference
are endless, but the opportunity to continue that impact beyond the closing of
our conference on August 8th lies with each of you.
What will you do to commit your life to service? How will you shape the Order of
the future?
The answers to these questions can be found by grasping the 2015 NOAC experience
to the fullest. Our second century starts with us, and I can’t wait to begin
this journey with you at our 2015 National Order of the Arrow Conference!
Last revised on April 9, 2015