First and foremost, communication is key. I’m in constant contact with my lodge advisor, staff, chapter advisors, and scoutmaster. There is not a day that goes by without me sending or receiving a message about something related to our brotherhood or Scouting in general. It may seem like I should only focus on Lodge contacts, but most of us forget that it all starts with our troop. Without the other boys in our troop who knew our true potential, we wouldn’t be in this century long and lasting order.
I’m sure it probably looks easy from another standpoint, seeing your lodge chief stand there watching others as they go on what they’re doing, but in all reality, this may be the only time of rest they get. Lodge chiefs and their staff (Lodge Vice Chief, Secretary, and Treasurer) work tirelessly behind the scenes of literally everything lodge related. If there’s something going on, rest assured we chiefs know about it. It’s almost second nature to me, now that I’m a chief, to ask follow up questions to make sure that things have been completed and done with quality. As a chief, I look for top quality work, whether it be ceremonies or communications. I, like many others, take pride in my lodge and how we run things. If there’s ever something wrong, we get background information, evaluate the situation and take the appropriate action in a timely manner.
Sometimes it can feel like it’s all for nothing, but truthfully I get a thrill from seeing other brothers in our organization working with others, hanging out with them, joking around and doing what we do daily: putting aside our differences and coming together as true brothers.
I had the privilege and honor of meeting a fellow brother, Owen Clapp, during our order’s centennial celebration NOAC. Though we knew each other through the National Communications team for the OA, we had never actually met. At NOAC, we were assigned to be paperboys together to set up the conference, and then realized that we were rooming together. We bonded almost instantly as we spent a vast majority of our time together. I was, and still am, very grateful to have such a respectful, intelligent and outgoing friend and brother.
There are many things that separate us in this brotherhood: religion, race, geography, and more. But the one thing that brings us together is the white piece of fabric we were chosen to wear proudly across our shoulder and chest. The red arrow atop that sash guides us all in the right direction.
