Cheerful service is one of the core values of the Order of the Arrow, and Withlacoochee Lodge was sure to fulfill that purpose with the service it provided to Camp Osborn following two recent natural disasters. In January 2017, during a NYLT staff development weekend, Camp Osborn was hit with an extremely powerful wind storm. Just two weeks later, it was hit again during the Withlacoochee Lodge Banquet, this time by a tornado. Following the disastrous events, Withlacoochee Lodge was ready to serve. The lodge handled and coordinated the basic clean-up, including clearing the roads from debris and sorting the various supplies in the program area around camp, as well as the serving of meals to the Scouts and Scouters who came out to help with the recovery effort.
The lodge created the Facebook page ‘Rebuilding Camp Osborn Together’ to document the process. Withlacoochee Lodge Chief Jonathan L. was excited to see Camp Osborn get rebuilt and demonstrate how the lodge’s service could impact his council. After rebuilding, Camp Osborn was hit by Hurricane Matthew in September 2018, but Jonathan says that the Hurricane did not impact Camp Osborn or its structures as much as the other storms. Withlacoochee Lodge embodied the core principle of the OA and stands as a leading example of cheerful service at the council level.
