Brothers,

Welcome to the start of the 2016 Lodge year.  First and foremost, Congratulations to the Lodge Officers and all Lodge members on earning another gold lodge Journey to Excellence rating for 2015!!!  Well done!  

We are looking forward to kicking everything off in a few weeks as we gather once again in cheerful service for our Spring Service weekend where we will welcome our new brothers.  The Lodge officers, advisers and the entire Lodge Executive Committee have been very busy since we last gathered at the Fall Fellowship, preparing for this years activities.  We are very excited to be working on making our Lodge even better this year.

We are also looking forward to a very busy spring and summer session with several National and Southern Region activities; National Leadership Seminar (NLS) providing leadership training for our future lodge leaders and advisers;  Prism, a National OA sponsored event where members of the Lodge will experience all of the adventure of the Scott Summit Center at the Summit Bechtel Reserve, and participate in the inaugural rededication ceremony at the Summit Circle. The Summit Circle is the original ceremony circle relocated from Treasure Island, which has been combined with custom engraved rocks donated by lodges in 2015 to form a new national ceremony grounds that connects all Arrowmen across our 100-year history; and finally, NEXT: A New Century, will be unlike anything the OA has ever seen. Youth leaders and key adults from across the nation will gather at Indiana University to learn, grow and be inspired to be the driving force behind the Order’s second century

This is just a small sampling of the excitement we will experience this year as a Lodge and as brothers is this exceptional brotherhood of cheerful service, along with all the fun, service and excitement our Lodge leadership and all of the committees are planning for the upcoming service weekends, Trail Crew at Albright Scout Reservation, Conclave 2016 and this years Fall Fellowship. It is shaping up to be another great year!

As always, our Lodge continues its journey to excellance by improving our program and membership.  This is only possible because we are able to stand firmly on the solid foundations our brothers before us have provided through their unselfish dedication, hard work and cheerful spirit… our future is bright because of this legacy and I look forward to working with each of you in the years ahead to ensure we continue to build a lasting legacy for the next generations of brothers.  Hope to see everyone at the spring service weekend, so go to the Lodge website and register today!!  Don’t forget to add in your 2016 Lodge dues, too!

In Brotherhood,

Michael W. Lynch

Nawakwa Lodge Adviser