Brothers,

Brothers, I am very excited about the upcoming months of 2017. We have diligently been working on several major initiatives, among them the rollout of a new website and a new and exciting format for our Lodge newsletter, The Tom-Tom. I do apologize for the delays in getting our newsletter published in a timely manner; I know we have inconvenienced many of our Brothers. Change does sometimes come at a cost, but we are back on track to get all of our communications efforts on a more sound footing and back to a more regular publishing schedule.

Of course, the most important aspect of a comprehensive communications plan, besides the obvious tools and infrastructure, is the people and the commitment to providing good quality articles for all to enjoy and be informed. This is where we need our Lodge members to step up and help provide our understaffed and hardworking communications team with articles, pictures, fun stories or happenings around the council or campfires as well as provide creative topics, news and games and good clean fun to post on our website, newsletter and all our various social media sites. Reach out to our communications team and offer your assistance in their efforts to make us the best and most informed Lodge in the nation. 

Amongst the other changes you will be seeing this year is a recommitment to our founding principles and a refocused effort on our primary mission to fulfill our purpose as an iatrical part of the Boy Scouts of America. Our two most important tenants after providing positive youth leadership opportunities, is service to our units and the promotion of camping and responsible outdoor adventure and environmental stewardship. We will be undertaking and renewing this responsibility by investing in our Troop Representative program and offering unwavering support, leadership and service to our unit Scouts and Leaders, to create an active and meaningful OA presence in every unit. We will also be investing our time, resources and funds in the promotion of camping, responsible outdoor adventure, and environmental stewardship as essential components of every Scout’s experience, in the unit, year-round and in Summer Camp. We will start by rolling our an enhanced and extended version of the Southern Regions “We Support Camping” initiative, by providing camp scholarships to our Cub Scouts, Troops and partnering with our Council’s Scoutreach program to ensure every unit has a camping program and that every scout wishing to go to camp can have access and means to go camping and attend Summer camp. This will not be an easy journey and we will need your help in making this a success. If you are committed to the values that Scouting and the Order of the Arrow represent, I look forward to speaking with you and discussing ways we can make this journey together. As we announced at the fall fellowship, we are nearly halfway towards our financial goals and commitments to build a new Lodge Shelter at Camp T. Brady Saunders in preparation for our 100th anniversary in 2019. Other than the OA program itself, which turned 100 years old in 2015, we will be only the second lodge to reach this milepost. We are well underway to getting the planning started and celebrating by dedicating a new Nawakwa Lodge shelter. Look for the upcoming announcement for our fundraising efforts which will feature a series of limited edition collector patch & flap gift sets for varying donation levels from Lodge members. We greatly appreciate your generous support in helping bring this worthy project to a successful completion. As always, our Lodge continues its journey to excellence by improving our program, membership and funding. 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 build a lasting legacy for the next generations of brothers. Be sure to volunteer to help at one of the upcoming events; your service is greatly needed!! I’m looking forward to seeing our members at the upcoming service weekend and Trail Crew projects.

In Brotherhood,

Michael W. Lynch

Nawakwa Lodge Adviser