MITIGWA CHIEF HAS BEEN UPDATED - CHECK IT OUT

Fall Fellowship Update

Charles in Charge 

Fall Fellowship was held August 20 - 22 at Camp Mitigwa.  More information will be posted after Lodge Officer Training when the new Vice Chief of Communication has a chance to get up to speed.  For the first time in 4 years, Mitigwa Lodge has a new lodge chief.  Andy DeBoard finally aged out and is now an adult.  We thank Andy for his excellent leadership during his 4 years of being lodge chief.  Charles Abel was elected the new 2010 - 2011 lodge chief. 

At the Annual Business Meeting, Austin Pauling propsed a new Mitigwa Lodge Centennial Award leading up to the 2015 100th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow.  The lodge officers will review this information at Lodge Officer Training on Ausut 28 and will then bring comments to the Lodge Executive Committe Meeting held at the Lodge Leadership Development Conference on October 23.  Please review the document in the link below and forward any comments to mitigwachief@gmail.com.

Centennial Award

Mitigwa Lodge and the Mid-Iowa Council Need Your Help at the Encampment

In order for the council to make our Centennial Celebration an exciting and memorable event for the thousands who will attend, we need lots of volunteer help. Please consider signing up for one or more shifts. This will still allow volunteers to spend time with your unit at the event.  Remember that we're about cheerful service and by having our sashes shown around the event people will know the Order of the Arrow comes through when we're needed.

Please e-mail Lodge Adviser Dave Meisinger at drdave@iastate.edu if you can help with any of the following shifts.  Make sure you include your name, phone number, and district/chapter.  You will be notified by e-mail shortly after August 31 or your assignment.

Changes in Camp Mitigwa Order of Arrow Ordeal Policy

This letter was sent from Lodge Adviser Dave Meisinger to all Scoutmasters in the Mid Iowa Council and is presented here for everyone to view:

Dear Scoutmaster-

We will again see some exciting changes in the Order of the Arrow (OA) for this summer. As you have probably heard, we will be putting the entire Ordeal process for Arrowmen candidates back into the summer camp program with a few changes. This is approved on a trial basis.

As was the case last year, the call out ceremony will be held on Thursday night (parents’ night) at Camp Mitigwa. Immediately following call out, the Lodge Chief will meet with the new candidates and explain to them that they have a choice of either doing their entire Ordeal beginning that night or at either the OA Fall Fellowship in August of 2010 or the OA Spring Conclave in May of 2011. For adults who are called out, they must have additional two-deep leadership with their troop to be able to do the Ordeal process at summer camp. Otherwise, they will be restricted to doing the Ordeal at one of the events.

For those electing to go through their Ordeal at summer camp, they will begin the process immediately after collecting their belongings from their campsite. The Ordeal ceremonies will be held late on Friday afternoon for any Arrowmen wishing to watch. Following the Ordeal ceremony, the new Arrowmen will be recognized at dinner in front of all of that week’s campers in Blank Dining Lodge.

For those troops going out of council this summer, elected OA candidates are permitted to come up to Mitigwa during any of the five weeks of camp to participate in the calling out ceremony. However, they will NOT be permitted to take part in any Ordeal process at summer camp. In fact, any boy wishing to participate in the Ordeal process at summer camp must be a registered camper at summer camp and must be in attendance throughout the full week of camp. The alternative is to participate in the Ordeal process at either Fall Fellowship or Spring Conclave. The dates of those two events are as follows:

Fall Fellowship August 20-22, 2010
Spring Conclave May 13-15, 2011

For those going out of council who want to take advantage of having your Scouts or Scouters participate in the call out ceremony, please email Mitigwa Chief, Andy DeBoard at mitigwachief@gmail.com to let him know of your intentions, the names of the candidates and the week of camp for which you want to have your candidates called out. A form for this purpose can be found on the OA website: www.bsa-ia.org

If you have any boys or adults interested in working on trail crew this summer to help pay for their camping fee, go to the form also on the OA website for more information and for an application.

The cost to newly elected OA candidates is $50 whether they elect to do their Ordeal at summer camp or at one of the OA events in the fall or spring. This will be payable either at summer camp or at the event.

We are very excited about the opportunity to have the Ordeal back in summer camp for the example it offers all Scouts attending camp. We are dedicated to providing a meaningful, high quality and safe experience for the new Arrowmen hoping to join our Brotherhood. If you have any questions about any of this or about anything having to do with the Order of the Arrow, please feel free to email me at drdave@iastate.edu or call me on my cell at (515) 975-3557.
Yours in cheerful service,

David Meisinger
Adviser, Mitigwa Lodge

  Attention Units Going Out of Council
for Summer Camp

 This form was inadvertently left out of your Elections and Promotions packet.  If you want your members elected to the Order of the Arrow called out as part of your summer camp experience, this form needs to be filled out, signed by your Scoutmaster, and returned with a copy of your election form.  Please do not send the original form in case of mail problems.

You will need to present this to the camp staff person in charge of the Order of the Arrow functions at the out of council camp in order for them to include you in their call out.  Some camps may ask you to complete your Ordeal at their camp, but this is not allowed by National Order of the Arrow Rules (Operations Update "05-5", issued May, 2005.)  Members are only allowed to complete their
Ordeal in the Lodge they were elected in.

Please check with your summer camp before attending to ensure they actually offer a call out ceremony.  Not all camps do this.  If your camp doesn't offer this service, you can still have your call out done at Camp Mitigwa on a regular Parents Night.  Contact Andy DeBoard for more information and scheduling.

Going out of Council Document

  MARK YOUR CALENDARS