Logan Greene wants to connect with every Arrowman in the Boy Scouts of America. Greene, 19, was elected 2016 Central Region Chief at the National Planning Meeting in December, has a big vision for the Order of the Arrow in its second century.
“We’ve really come a long way since the beginning of the OA,” Greene says. “So now that our centennial celebration is pretty much over, you think for a second where you want the OA to go.”
Logan’s been thinking about what he sees in the OA’s future; As a member of the Central Region’s ArrowTour road crew last summer, he had the opportunity to travel the midwest and meet Arrowmen from all walks of life. That has played greatly into how he sees his job for this year. “Looking back on that past summer and this role,” Logan recounts, “they really, in my mind, correlate quite a bit. It was a unique experience to get that sense of what people want from their national and regional leadership.”
So what did he learn? To sum it up: he wants to create a lot more of those experiences. Logan wants to dispel the idea that the OA and its group of national officers is “an elitist organization, and all that fun stuff.” He’s making it a priority to get out there and reach as many people as possible. Wimachtendienk -brotherhood- is the word that Logan has taken to heart.
“We all share the same principles and the oath, Brotherhood of Cheerful Service, but we start with brotherhood. One of the big things with this upcoming year that we have to do is we just have to get out and have that conversation.”
Logan is excited about two big events, NEXT: A New Century and Prism, that he had the opportunity to help plan at the National Planning Meeting. He’s trying to find as many ways as possible to listen to and work with Arrowmen from around the country. “Where do they want to see the OA?” Logan asks. “How can we as national officers follow through?”
The NEXT Factor is one way our national officers are brainstorming for the OA’s future at NEXT. An idea partially parodying TV show Shark Tank, the NEXT Factor will give Arrowmen the opportunity to present their own new and innovative ideas about where the OA can go. “People are going to have an opportunity to come and talk to the region chiefs and we’ll be there just to listen and work with you guys,” Logan says.
Logan is trying to reach out in other ways as well. Recently, he has been tweeting from the @OACentralChief account and he has a goal of making that feed his own. “One thing I’ve actually done, in contrast to previous years, is utilizing [the Twitter account],” Logan says. He’s been updating the internet on almost everything he does for the OA.
Logan is excited about engaging as many members of the Central Region as possible in a way that he wouldn’t be able to otherwise. If you send him a note or ask a question, Logan says he’ll be sure to respond and toss you one of those new Twitter hearts.
What’s the point of this whole campaign? Logan really just wants to “find that common ground” and relate to as many of his peers as he can. “Whether we both like football or we both like flying (Logan is working on a triple major in aviation), there’s something that all of us share. With that common ground, it gives us a way to understand each other. We’re bringing people together.”
“I’m not just some person that people view a national officer to be,” Logan says, and that much is clear. After a summer on the road and an exciting couple of days spent laying out the next year of service, Logan is ready to lead the Central Region of the Order of the Arrow into a century that will be bigger and better than anything that any of us have experienced before. It started last December with Logan Greene, and he wants more than anything to continue it with you.