Fellow Arrowmen,
We are half way through the 2021 Summer Camp season and that means Fall Reunion is right around the corner. Fall Reunion will be August 13-15 at Saukenauk Scout Reservation. This Reunion, those who were elected as candidates for induction will have the opportunity to become Ordeal members of the Order of the Arrow. Registration is now open at blackhawklodge.org.
Officer Elections & Chairman Opportunity
Lodge elections will take place on the 15th of August (the Sunday of Fall Reunion). This means each and every arrowmen have the opportunity to join and serve the lodge on a leadership level. Below, there is a list of elected positions and possible Committee Chairmanships. If you have no experience in the area of the position, that is is perfectly fine. When I joined the Lodge Executive Committee as the River Valley Chapter Chief, I was clueless on what I was doing. Overtime I have learned skills used to preform not only my position duties, but others as well. The Order of the Arrow is a organization in which the more you put into, the more you get out of it. Fill out and officer application online today!
Leadership Responsibility
Elected Positions
Lodge Chief: Works to make sure that Mississippi Valley Council has a high quality, year around Order of the Arrow program
Vice Chief of Program: Works with the Committee Chairmen to assist them in preforming their duties
Vice Chief of Operations: Works with the Chapter Chiefs to preform and organize unit visits, crossovers, and other duties
Secretary: Organize and produce a newsletter, as well as assist with organization of events
Treasure: Manages and tracts spending of monies as well as over sees the monies at events
River Valley Chapter Chief: Over sees and organizes unit elections and visit. Plan Chapter meetings and service projects. (Must be from the following counties: Hancock, Clark, Lee, and Van Buren)
Eagle Ridge Chapter Chief: Over sees and organizes unit elections and visit. Plan Chapter meetings and service projects. (Must be from the following counties: Adams, Pike, Brown, and Schuyler)
Shoquoquon Chapter Chief: Over sees and organizes unit elections and visit. Plan Chapter meetings and service projects. (Must be from the following counties: Henderson, Des Moines, Henry, and Louisa)
Chairmanship Positions
Inductions Chairmen: Oversee and run all induction teams and other processes (elangomat & nemats )
Ceremonies Chairmen: Organize ceremony teams and oversees practices and preparation for ceremonies
Merchandise Chairmen: Oversees Lodge swag and trading post, controls the selection of new merchandise
Service Chairmen: Organizes service projects for works days and induction event
Activities Chairmen: Leads the planning of activities during events and plans activation event
Public Relations Chairmen: Runs social media accounts and assist in event promotion along with picture taking
Section Conclave
The 2021 Section C-3B Conclave will be taking place October 15-17 at Camp Illinek in Springfield, Illinois. The theme this year is Pirates of the Caribbean. To go along with this theme, each lodge has been asked to design a Lodge Pirate Flag. Instead of having the Lodge Executive Committee work to design a flag, we have decided to leave it up to the youth of the Lodge to make a design. The size of the fag will be 3 x 5 feet. Those who would like to submit a design can contact Jadon Schreacke by email (which is seen below). All designs need to be summited prior to September 16, 2021.
The Lodge executive Committee will then vote on the designs and choose one to represent the Lodge at Section Conclave. The arrowmen who created the selected design will receive a prize for creating the flag. Registration for Section Conclave will be coming out shortly along with more details.
Lodge Calendar Update
Be sure to check out an updated Lodge calendar at blackhawklodge.org
Lodge Dues
After spending my last month or so at camp on staff for Scouts BSA Camp and National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT), I have seen that there are many opportunities of Cheerful Service awaiting our Lodge to give back to Packs, Troops, and both Camps. To support the Lodge in giving back to the Council, I ask that you pay your dues (preferably sooner than later). By keeping your dues up to date, you are keeping yourself in the know. A portion of the funds will be used to provide service projects which will help maintain and improve both of Mississippi valley Council's camps: Camp Eastman and Saukenauk Scout Reservation.
Membership is what determines how many arrowmen the Lodge is able to recognize with Vigil Honor (the ratio is 1:50).
To check your dues visit blackhawklodge.org. If your dues are not up to date, you can pay them either online or at your local scout shop.
System Updates
Lodgemaster is the program that Lodges across the nation uses as their center data base. As time goes on, this program is constantly updating, changing, and making improvements. A new feature this year is an Inductions Portal. The Inductions Portal has a feature where it sends out Emails for the Lodge. Over the next year, you may continue to receive emails from this system.
If there are any questions feel free to get in contact with Jason or I through email or phone.
Yours in Brotherhood,
Jadon Schreacke | Lodge Chief Jason Vallone | Lodge Adviser
P: (217) 617-9857 P: (641) 799-2034
