NOAC 2015: 100 years in the making
When even the smallest drop of water touches the vast ocean, it creates a ripple that extends outward infinitely. As more drops fall into the massive body of water, their ripples join together to form enormous waves, large enough to impact anything in their path. The most powerful waves that crash onto the shore began as the tiniest drop of water from the sky.
The Order of the Arrow gathers this week to celebrate the first 100 years of its existence. In the 100 hours that each guest will have at this week’s conference, they’ll reflect on the first 100 years, but also ask: what comes next? What do even the first 100 days of the next century look like?
Over the 100 hours of this conference, each guest will be challenged to create tomorrow with action today. Each person’s actions, or inactions, define what tomorrow looks like. Creating the kind of world we want begins today, and it starts with us.
The conference theme is the glue that holds all the different conference programming together. A guest will see the theme pop up in ways both subtle (such as the consistent visual branding of the conference) and explicit (like the theme show on Friday evening). Since this conference’s theme is so personal, the conference planning committee has developed three special programs unique to the 2015 conference to help every guest determine what starts with them:
Spark!
Spark! is the conference-wide game at NOAC. At registration, every guest will be given a Spark device, which they can use to check-in at activities throughout the conference, and meet other Arrowmen. Checking in or meeting other Arrowmen will award points and patches (achievements) in the Spark game. Best of all, meeting other Arrowmen will allow guests to immediately swap contact information and keep in touch after the conference! Guests should sign into their Spark! account and set up their information as soon as possible.
The Secret to Ruling the World
Each conference guest will receive a ticket for admission to The Secret to Ruling the World, a 90-minute session offered in Wharton Hall. This session will share the secrets of the rich, powerful and famous with each conference guest, and position all 15,000 Arrowmen at NOAC to emerge at the end of the conference ready to lead the world into a next century of service.
Evening Reflections
Lodge contingents are asked to gather for a few minutes every evening following the show to reflect together on the day and how they will improve their lodges and Scouting program after the conference. Each day, the contingent leaders will receive an e-mail from the NOAC communications team with instructions, and some topics for consideration as a group. These reflections will only take 20 minutes or so each evening.
The theme of this conference is audacious. The “it” is ambiguous, because it is entirely up to each guest to determine what “it” is. The leadership of the Order of the Arrow dares every person: create tomorrow with action today. Dare to do the right thing. August 8 will arrive faster than any one person thinks, but what that day looks like is still within our control: it starts with us.