OA Leadership

In the Order of the Arrow, there is ample opportunity for you to grow as a leader. Join a committee or run for a chapter or lodge office! Believe it or not, there are even opportunities past the lodge level. Read on to learn about the breakdown of the OA, as well as only some of the leadership opportunities each provides.

Chapters

If a lodge has chapters, generally there is one chapter created for each district of the council. Chapters help execute the program of the lodge on a community level. Each chapter has its own officers and advisers, the officers being elected by the youth Arrowmen OA members within the chapter, and the advisers being appointed by the Scout executive often with the consultation of the lodge adviser and district executive(s). Echockotee Lodge has four chapters (see here).

Chapters provide the ability to have meetings closer to home, and meetings and events can be scheduled to coincide with the district events. The chapter is central to providing quality unit visits for camping promotion, and unit elections.

Lodges

At the local level, lodges exist to serve Scouting America councils and individual units. The key leaders in the lodge are the youth lodge chief, volunteer adult lodge adviser, and professional staff adviser. The lodge chief presides over the Lodge Executive Committee, which is responsible for executing the annual program of the lodge. While each lodge is different, the Lodge Executive Committee typically consists of one or more vice chiefs, a secretary, and a treasurer, as well as chapter and operating committee chairmen who are responsible for various aspects of the lodge’s program. View the Echockotee Lodge officers and advisers here, and the Echockotee Lodge committees here.

The OA lodge helps the local council provide a quality Scouting program through recognition of Scouting spirit and performance, development of youth leadership and service, promotion of Scout camping and outdoor programs, and enhancement of membership tenure.

Sections

An Order of the Arrow section consists of lodges within a geographic vicinity. For instance, Echockotee Lodge is located in Section E5, which makes up more-or-less the state of Florida. Once every year, representatives of lodges in the section come together for an event called Section Conference to share in fellowship, skills, competition, and training.

A section is lead by three youth officers: the Section Chief, Section Vice Chief, and Section Secretary, who are advised by an adult Section Adviser and professional Section Staff Adviser. These leaders play a crucial part in supporting lodges within the section as well as planning the Section Conference (other sections often call their gathering a "conclave"). The section may lead training seminars, promote national programs of emphasis, and provide resources to local lodges. The section chief presides over the Council of Chiefs, attended by delegates of each member lodge.

Each year, the approximately forty elected section chiefs are invited to a national planning meeting. The section chiefs elect the new national officers and form the conference committee for the following year’s national program of emphasis, such as the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) or Operation Arrow at National Jamborees, which is held under the guidance of the National Order of the Arrow Committee.

Regions

The Order of the Arrow is organized in two geographic regions: the Eastern and Gateway regions. Each region is led by a youth region chief, a volunteer region chairman, and a professional region staff adviser. The key three are, at the discretion of the region chairman, also supported by a region OA committee consisting of youth and adult volunteers. The region leadership team helps execute the national program on a more local level, implements the National Leadership Seminar (NLS) and Developing Youth Leadership Conference (DYLC), provides its member sections with resources, and facilitates communication between local organizations and the national OA committee.

National

At the national level, the Order of the Arrow is governed by the National Order of the Arrow Committee. The national committee sets program policy, directs the national program of the Order, and broadly manages the organization above the local lodge level. The committee is composed of the national chief and national vice chief (and their immediate predecessors), who are elected annually at the National Planning Meeting; the current and immediate past region chiefs, if appointed by the chairman; the volunteer chairman, who is appointed annually by the Chief Scout Executive; other volunteer members, as appointed by the chairman; and two staff members, the director of the Order of the Arrow and the associate director.

The national chief, national vice chief, and the two region chiefs are youth Arrowmen (under 21) that serve as members of the National Order of the Arrow Committee, providing the opinion of youth on national OA policy. They also serve as the presiding officers for the national OA event. They are advised in their responsibilities by the national committee chairman and national director of the Order of the Arrow. 

Within the national leadership, there are many committees both youth and adult Arrowmen can join. The National Communications Committee manages the national social media accounts, publications, design, and website; the Training Committee helps design and promote various trainings to offer at national, section, and lodge events; the Technology Committee works on strengthening various aspects of the national technology infrastruture and supports the website team; the OA Thrive committee is the OA's national consulting program for lodges, helping them improve various aspects of their lodge to help them increase membership and engagement. If you are interested in serving on a national committee, click here for more information

 

To learn more about the Order of the Arrow, visit www.oa-bsa.org.