Greetings brothers, and welcome to the 2012 National Order of the Arrow Conference! You are in for a week of fun and excitement that you will never forget. It all begins here, at this very moment. There is so much to do and be excited for! Look forward to the numerous events and activities that will be taking place over the course of NOAC. With all that is scheduled, it will be hard to see it all!
Each night we will showcase a main event after the day’s activities. Kicking off NOAC will be Monday night’s opening show, “United, We Stand,” and will be presented in the Breslin Student Events Center from 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm. Tuesday will feature “SRVNT-LDR 101” and Wednesday night’s show is “The NESA@NOAC 100th Anniversary Celebration.” The one and only HoDag is Thursday’s main event at Munn Field –if you have never been to HoDag, do not miss it! Friday is Founder’s Day, the day when we honor the men who founded the Order of the Arrow, and who made it possible for us to be here at Michigan State University. That night will conclude NOAC with the closing show, “Human Sacrifices,” back in the Breslin Student Events Center. Every event, both during the day and at night will be unique and will offer you a chance to better yourself as an Arrowman. These next few days will go quickly, so grasp the opportunities at hand; do not let time rob you of the great experiences to be had. Chances like these do not pass our way often.
The training seminars held at NOAC are also one-of-a-kind. The best OA trainers from across the nation are here to pass on their knowledge to you. Bring your pen and paper and jot down ideas for back home. One of the main reasons of NOAC, other than to have fun, is to communicate with other lodges. Take advantage of this opportunity to gather new ideas and strategies for your own lodge. There may be a new event or program another lodge has that would be beneficial to yours, and your lodge may be doing something well that another lodge could improve upon.
For those of you whose journey has already led you to previous NOACs, we hope that you will always continue to learn from the lives of your fellow brothers and experience the grandeur of NOAC. However, never cease to let these chances pass you by, where you can make a difference in the life of a fellow scout – that is why we are all here!
It is vital that we always remember those who have come before us, for we are their legacy. As this great organization of ours prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary, we realize how wonderful a heritage was left us by our Founders. E. Urner Goodman spoke of a poem in his 1965 NOAC address, written by Robert Louis Stevenson titled “Where Go the Boats?” The poem tells of boats set out on a river by a child and where they would come to shore. Its final stanza reads:
“Away down the river
A hundred miles or more
Other little children
Will bring my boats to shore.”
Goodman’s parting words were, “And you, my brothers, will bring my boat to shore.” This NOAC, as well as the next NOAC in 2015, is important, but not as important as the next generation of Arrowmen or the next century of Scouting and the OA. Will we pass on the legacy that was entrusted to us and has been watched over so well for almost one hundred years? As we descend on 2015 let us begin to understand our true duty as Arrowmen and, together, carry the Order through the next one hundred years. For, united, we leave a legacy.
