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Cosmic Connection: Learn your Mayan Horoscope

Published on July 30, 2012 by in Monday, NOAC

Are you having your birthday during NOAC? If so, you were born under the Mayan of Pop!

If you are looking to find what’s written in the stars for you at NOAC, you could consult the Mayan Haab calendar – the same calendar the Mesoamericans used to keep track of the stars. Use your birthday to find what sign you are, and see if these hints help you make the most of your NOAC experience.

Ch’en: Jan 2 to Jan 21 – Black Sky and Moon. You are people of the night.

Yax: Jan 22 to Feb 10 – Green Storm. You tend to bring harmony to others.

Sac: Feb 11 to March 2 – White Storm. You prefer the daytime hours.

Keh: March 3 to March 22 – Red Storm. You have an affinity for nature and natural balance.

Mak: March 23 to April 11 – Enclosed, Covered. You are mysterious and few people can understand you, including yourself.

K’ank’in: April 12 to May 1 – Earth. You are people of the earth.

Muwan: May 2 to May 21– Owl. You have an affinity for fire and water.

Pax: May 22 to June 10 – Puma. You are natural leaders.

Kayab: June 11 to June 30 – Turtle. You have a natural affinity for finding deeper meaning in everyday occurrences.

Kumk’u: July 1 to July 20 – Conch over Maize. You often see opposite perspectives clearly and honor what both perspectives offer.

Wayeb: July 21 to July 25 – the Missing Days (a short, 5-day month). You are the anomaly, like the Mesoamerican “leap year” that happens every year.

Pop: July 26 to Aug 14 – Chief. You are drawn toward power.

Wo: Aug 15 to Sep 3 – Black Sky. You gain wisdom from the hours after dusk and before the dawn.

Sip: Sep 4 to Sep 23 – Deer. You have gifts of grace and nobleness.

Sotz: Sep 24 to Oct 13 – Bat and Fish. You are at home in the air and on the water.

Sec: Oct 14 to Nov 2 – Sky and Earth. Your head is in the clouds, but your feet are on the ground – you give good, grounded opinions.

Xul: Nov 3 to Nov 22 – Dog. You are very loyal.

Yaxk’in: Nov 23 to Dec 12 – New Sun. You are a natural healer.

Mol: Dec 13 to Jan 1 – Water. You are said to be able to make the rains come.

 

 

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Visit the OA Center for History and Preservation

Published on July 29, 2012 by in Monday, NOAC
The OA Center for History and Preservation

Among the many historical items on display in the Museum is E. Urner Goodman’s national committee sash.

Come and experience OA history as you never have before.  As part of this year’s activities at NOAC, the OA Museum will be back bigger and better and located in one of the only air conditioned venues at NOAC – the MSU Student Union. As part of the Special Events activities, the Center for History and Preservation (the Museum) will have several areas of participation for you and your lodge to enjoy.

The activities within the Museum include:

  • National OA History presented in an exciting experiential format, including the Original Induction Experience, Treasure Island, the Brotherhood Barn Theater, Lodge/Local History, the Art Gallery (with Joseph Csatari original paintings)
  • A special Eagle Medal display celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first Eagle Scout.
  • The Lodge History Competition, a dynamic display of local histories
  • The Handicraft Lodge, where you can make a “medicine bag” with a bit of ceremonial earth from the original ceremonial grounds on Treasure Island
  • Training sessions on Preservation Basics (conducted by the curator of the National BSA Museum), Behind the Scenes at the Museum, Lodge Historian Workshop, and How to use the OA Digital Archive
  • Live, interactive interviews of “seasoned” Arrowmen, some “second generation” leaders, and other experts in OA history
  • Digital archiving of OA historical records and memorabilia
  • A museum store where you can pick up limited edition endowment and other conference memorabilia

The OA Center for History and Preservation hopes your lodge will be part of these events at NOAC.  Should you wish to help us at the Museum and be a docent, stop by the Museum on Monday from 4:30 PM to 5:00 PM or Tuesday morning from 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM.  The Museum will be open 1 PM to 5 PM Tuesday – Thursday and 9 AM to Noon on Friday.  In addition we will be open 8 PM to 10 PM on the evening on Thursday for “Night at the Museum.” You can also see a special Traveling Museum at special events and meals around NOAC. Come join us for an amazing experience of OA history!

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Johnny Rehm, your friendly short guy

Published on July 29, 2012 by in Monday, NOAC

Fun fact: John Rehm did not plan on running for National Chief until shortly before the National Planning Meeting in December 2011.

“I think the defining factor was the big ‘what if’ question. It was my second year as a section chief and I swore I would never run for a third term, so this was going to be the end of my years as a youth officer. I figured if I won, sweet, and if not, it meant I could finally go back and focus on just my lodge for awhile, helping out where needed,” he says.

If you were to ask him now what made him run, he would tell you about a conversation that he had two years ago with a camper at Camp Karoondinha’s Trail to Eagle first-year camper program. “[The scout] knew very little about the OA and my involvement in it, but he told me how much he enjoyed taking Trail to Eagle and that I inspired him to help more with his troop and doing chores at home. It was just something about that conversation that convinced me to just go for it,” he says.

When John was elected, he was shocked and, probably more importantly, in a state of disbelief, saying that “It honestly didn’t hit me that I was chief until the May [BSA Annual] Meeting in Orlando, Florida.”

A sophomore at Susquehanna University majoring in Public Relations, John hopes to get involved in Public Affairs, or go to graduate school, preferably at Columbia University or the University of Pennsylvania. John’s average day usually begins by reporting for work at 7:30 AM in the IT office at school. After brunch and a quick nap, he’s off to classes until the late afternoon, when he goes back to work for an hour. Then comes some club meetings, followed by homework, until he finally calls it a night at around 11 PM.

A member of Woapeu Sisilija Lodge in Susquehanna Council, John joined Scouting like most Scouts do—through the Cub Scout program, primarily through the support of his parents. Back then, John was playing baseball, too, and started to dislike both Cub Scouts (for the excessive arts and crafts programs) and baseball (because of the other players). “My parents told me that I had to choose which one,” he says, “and since the baseball uniform didn’t fit as well I chose Cub Scouts. Sort of embarrassing but that was the defining factor.”

After flirting with the idea of quitting Cub Scouts, he was convinced by an adult leader to join Troop 623 of Susquehanna Council, and he wound up ascending to Eagle Scout, while on the way serving as Patrol Leader, Troop Guide, and Senior Patrol Leader. In the OA, he served as Activities Chairman, then as Lodge Chief and as a two-term Section Chief. By far, his favorite thing about Scouting has been the fact that the participants have been so varied. “The fact that guys from all across the country who may be star athletes, theater majors, or trying to find out their place in the world, can have a common interest binding them together,” he says, “where normally they may never even to talk to one another.”

John finds keeping himself organized about meetings and emails are the most challenging part of his job as National Chief; but meeting Arrowmen on the road at lodge events, National Leadership Seminars, or on OA High Adventure trips (John participated in an OA Wilderness Voyage trek this past June at Northern Tier) makes everything worthwhile.

After NOAC, John will go back to school and go back to serving on the National Order of the Arrow Committee and on the National Committee of the BSA. He’ll also be helping at various National Leadership Seminars and visiting lodge events until his replacement is elected at the 2012 National Planning Meeting. But John tells us that he only wants to be remembered for one thing.

“I want to be remembered as Johnny Rehm,” he says, “the friendly short guy.”

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