Lodge Adviser Minute:
Brothers, as I write my first Lodge Adviser minute, I am still reflecting on the privilege of being part of this great lodge, now a centennial lodge ending its first hundred years and embarking on another.
We are certainly ending the centennial year in fine fashion by hosting a historical Conclave, having built a new OA Pavilion, and with an upcoming Fall Fellowship where our centennial celebration continues. It’s great to relish in past accomplishments because they reflect our history. But now we need to focus on our future. Even with a great past, we cannot lose sight of moving forward to a brighter future. Our challenges remain the same. The focus of effective funding, increasing membership and delivering a great program for our members.
As your new Lodge Adviser, I am humbled by the opportunity to serve this lodge and to each of you individually. I have found it to be a daunting task with great responsibility. I have appreciated all of the kind words of support and encouragement I have received from many of you. I can assure you that I will do my best not to let you down. I am excited to have the opportunity working with each of you as we continue our journey welcoming another century of scouting. It is awesome referring to our lodge as a Centennial Lodge. How many lodges can boast that accolade?
So what has been recently accomplished?
We completed our Summer Service Weekend with 189 members attending. Summer tends to be light, but after experiencing record numbers attending Conclave from our lodge, I could not help being a little disappointed. However, much-needed service was done in camp putting up tents in preparation for Summer Camp. In the process, we proudly inducted 33 new members as Arrowmen, converted another 17 Ordeal members to Brotherhood, and 3 new Vigil members were recognized.
So what is in store for the rest of the year?
Our new OA Pavilion is taking shape. The slab of concrete was in plain view at our Summer Service Weekend. By this publication, surely we will see more progress on a daily basis. With the blessings of good weather, we should see our pavilion completed by August with a formal dedication made by the Fall Service Weekend in September. No one will be more excited than our very own past Lodge Adviser, Michael Lynch for this will be his lasting legacy. Michael has led this effort from its inception. Many thanks for all of his dedicated hours seeing this through to fruition.
Chapters should be busy readying their election teams in time to begin our unit elections scheduled from October 1 through February 15. We have asked our units to start early and get on their Chapter’s calendar and schedule their election and visit from the Chapter. Even if a unit does not have eligible candidates for an election, it is still imperative to schedule a unit visit by their Chapter.
Our next scheduled event is our Fall Service Weekend scheduled for September 13 – 15. We hope all our members will consider registering for this last service weekend of the year. Our dinner plans will focus on the dedication of the Mack T. Ruffin Leadership Training Center. We also need your help readying our camp for the winter. We also encourage any of those eligible to complete their Ordeal as well as current Ordeal members eligible for Brotherhood membership. Please do not forget that effective immediately, the waiting period between induction and eligibility for Brotherhood membership has been reduced from 10 months to only 6 months. Finally, our last big event for the year will be our Fall Fellowship where we will spend our weekend celebrating our Centennial Year. Many plans are being made to make this a fun and memorable event. You really do not want to miss the celebration. How many Centennial Celebrations do you have the opportunity to be a part of in your lifetime? No work, only fun and fellowship will be allowed.
Yours in Brotherhood,
Gary Gibbs
Nawakwa Lodge 3 Adviser