History Panel - Youth Leadership

As part of the National Order of the Arrow Historical Preservation project to preserve the heritage of our Order, the committee is interviewing key leaders that have influenced and lived our past. The committee's main objective is to record our history while those that know it best are still able to share their experiences and memories. The History Panel held on Tuesday afternoon focused on the involvment of youth leaders in our Order and the importance of youth leadership. The Panel of distinguished guests included: Ryan Miske, a past National Vice Chief; Brad Haddock, a past National Chief and the current National OA Committee Chairman; Clay Capp, a past National Chief; and Mike Hoffman, a past national Vice Chief and current National OA Committee member.

The panel focused on Youth Leadership in the Order of the Arrow, and how the youth leadership has changed and evolved over the past 50 years in the Order . They discussed how the National OA Committee has emphasized youth more and more in the past 30 years. They shared stories from their own experiences as national officers, and how the involvement of the national officers and youth leadership has changed to include more youth in the decision process. The involvment of youth leaders of the OA with the Boy Scouts of America has also increased over the past 20 years or so, as the National Chief and other officers have begun to actively represent the Scouting movement. The National Chief not only represents the Boy Scouts of America at world Scouting activities and symposiums, but is also the key youth to deliver the "Report to the Nation". Since 1917, the BSA has sent a youth delegation to Washington, D.C., to present this report to the President, Speaker of the House, Senate Majority Leader, and the Director of the CIA.

The panel also discussed the history behind the national officers, and how they used to serve two year terms. They spoke of how the National OA Committee wanted to give more youth the opportunity to serve as a national officer, so they then began to switch over to a one year term in the mid-1970's. The National Chief and Vice Chief are often invited to serve another year on the National Order of the Arrow Committee as the immediate past officers. In 2000, the four Region Chiefs were invited to serve on the National OA Committee as representatives from their regions. The national officers have also had larger roles in the national Boy Scouting organization, sitting on several sub-committees of the National Committee of the Boy Scouts of America.

Overall, youth leadership has been a focus of the Order of the Arrow. The OA has the best youth leadership training in the Boy Scouts of America, and will continue to develop the skills, knowledge and leadership of the youth in the Order of the Arrow. The OA is truly a youth led organization.

Revised 8/4/04.