Arrowmen,
At NOAC, we shared with you the mission and purpose of the Order of the Arrow. These were approved unanimously by the national OA committee on July 8, 2024. We also adopted a vision statement for the first time in our history as part of this change.
Over the past several years the national committee, under the leadership of Christina Clarke, has examined the OA’s place in Scouting. We gathered input from Arrowmen, the leadership of Scouting America, parents and non-Arrowmen Scouts. Many of you provided input in these discussions—thank you.
Tune in to watch a mid-year update from your Eastern Region Chief, Cam Dalton! Get to know Cam, find out about some of the events he's attended, and learn about what the region's been up to this year!
Order of the Arrow High Adventure is an amazing opportunity available for all Arrowmen. With four different bases and five different treks, the possibilities and adventures are endless. Order of the Arrow High Adventure Northern Tier has two treks to explore, Canadian Odyssey and Wilderness Voyage. Both treks consist of two weeks at Northern Tier. The first week consists of working with Arrowmen nationwide to do trail restoration work. The second week consists of creating your trek through Northern Tier.
Scouting America has recently released new policies regarding Scouts who are between 18 and 20 years old. As a 17 year-old youth transitions into becoming an adult, they are able to continue participating in Scouting America programs while awaiting processing for their adult application and criminal background check. During this transition period, they are still subject to all guidelines listed for adults.
At first, it may seem that Scouting is generally confined to the continental U.S. After all, NOAC is always at a university in the contiguous 48 states and nearly everything else happens there as well. However, the US form of Scouting does have a place in Alaska, Hawaii, the U.S. territories, and even other countries. Just a few months ago, the Gateway Region Training Team went to Japan to facilitate a session of the National Leadership Seminar for the Far East Council.