| Order of the Arrow | Boy Scouts of America | Southwest Florida Council | ||
 |
||||
| Home About the Order Calendar Officers Committee News Chapters New Members Brotherhood |
| High Adventure Chief's Corner Photo Gallery Resources Trading Post Mailing Lists Links Contact |
Home / Announcements
Welcome to Osceola Lodge #564's official website. Osceola Lodge is the Order of the Arrow lodge of Southwest Florida Council,
serving Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hendry, Lee, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties. Please use the navigation buttons above to view our site. If you
have any questions, comments or suggestions, please use the "Contact" button to send us an e-mail.
Here you'll find the latest announcements for our lodge. Be sure to check back often to see the latest updates.
 |
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
On Monday, June 28th, the statistics for all of the FourCorps projects were released. Eighty kestrel nesting boxes were constructed, 37 concrete pads were poured which will be used to install bear-proof food storage boxes at the Lake Dorr Campground, 5100 native plants at 13 sites along 10 miles of power line were planted to block illegal motor vehicle access, and much more. To see the complete list of project accomplishments, please visit the Section 4S website: http://www.sections-4.org/. FourCorps... Service and More!
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
The largest OA service project since ArrowCorps5, Four Corps 2010, organized by Section 4 was a monumental success. Over 125 Arrowmen converged on the Ocala National Forest on Sunday, June 13th to assist the Florida Forestry Division with a number of projects throughout the forest. These projects ranged from planting over 5,000 myrtle oaks, palmettos, and other vegetation along sections of powerline areas that had been destroyed by irresponsible recreational visitors to the construction of a fence around an ancient Native American burial mound. Other projects included the removal of non-native invasive plant species in the Juniper Springs and Pittman areas; planting of grasses and shrubs under the Juniper bridge to encourage the movement of wildlife; planting of Maidencane in wetland areas; removal of garbage and debris from forest roads; construction of Kestrel nesting boxes; and the construction of a fire ring at the River Forest campground which the participants used as their base camp. Osceola Lodge was well-represented with Mac Aldrich (OT) and Tom Birch (HT) as adult leaders and drivers. Youth participants included: Thomas Birch (HT), Kenny Dibiase (TM), Danny Garren (HT), Joseph Harrell (HT), James Kisacky (OT), Tim Kujawa (YH), Josh Lovett (YH), Elliott Starkey (TM), and Evan Starkey (TM). Section Chief, Sean Ferrier, was on staff. Many thanks to the staff leadership: Ken Knaeble, David Pate, Ken Griffin, Elam Patterson, Richard Fore, David Weda, and Matt Hall. Visit http://gallery.me.com/mac_aldrich#100610 to see a gallery of photos taken during the event.
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
Effective May 14th that payments at the Early Registration rate for any event must be received at the Council Service Center by the early registration cut-off date. Should you decide to mail your payment in, please do so enough in advance so that the payment is received by the early registration cut-off date. If payment is not received at the Council Service Center by the cut-off date, the participant will be charged the regular fee irregardless of when the registration was made. For example, if the Summer Fellowship payment is mailed the day before the cut-off and not received until 2 days after the cutoff an additional $5 will be charged to the participant. Anyone who has already registered but not yet paid for the 2010 Summer Fellowship will not be affected by this change but anyone registering for the event after today (5/13/10) will be.
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
Effective May 12th the credit cards accepted and convenience fee charged for using a credit card have changed. A 2.8% convenience fee will be charged on all credit card transactions. This includes face to face transactions at the Council Service Center, telephone transactions, and on-line transactions. In addition, only MasterCard and Discover credit cards are now accepted.
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
The Lodge was asked to set up the Road Kill Grille at the Powell Family Reunion the weekend of April 23-25. The event was held on the Big Cypress Seminole reservation in South Florida 17 miles north of I-75 on Snake Road near the Ah-Tha-Thi-Ki Museum. Over 1500 Scouts and Scouters participated in the council camporee celebrating the 100th anniversary of Boy Scouts of America. Under the supervision of Justine Gonzales, several members of the lodge including Tyler Lucas, Devin Kuehn, Craig Johnson, Jacob Derums, and Mr. James Ullery served up burgers, hot dogs, nachos, soft drinks, and snacks throughout the weekend. While the final tally has not yet been made, all indications are that the venue was quite successful. A big 'Thank You!' to all who helped make the grille a huge success.
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
Fifty-seven members of Osceola Lodge converged on Flaming Arrow Scout Reservation outside Lake Wales the evening of Friday, April 16th to participate in the 2010 Section Conference hosted by Seminole Lodge. The check-in procedure went pretty smoothly compared to previous years and everyone was able to get their gear set up in the campsite before heading for the opening show. The show was rather disappointing... 1960s karaoke, really? After suffering through about 45 minutes with the expectation that, surely, something else was going to happen, we joined other lodges exiting the area. Florida Secretary of State, Kurt S. Browning, who happens to be a member of Seminole Lodge, was the guest speaker at both the Vigil Breakfast and V.I.A. Luncheon. His address touched upon all of the positive influences that Boy Scouts, in general, and the O.A., specifically, had on him. Training Seminars were held in the morning and, overall, were very good and informative. I particularly learned a lot at the session on Parliamentary Procedure led by Michael Smith. Following lunch, the Quest Events began and Tyler Long led his band of merry competitors through the challenges of every event: 'Fill the Bucket', 'Spam Toss', 'Mystery Item Bag Relay', 'Frozen T-Shirt', and 'Water Bomb'. The crew also participated in the lodge vs. lodge events: Lodge Ball, Volley Ball, and Ultimate Frisbee. The end result was our lodge taking First Place in both Spam Toss and Fill the Bucket. As reported by Jacob in an earlier article, the ultimate result was winning the Quest and bringing home the Golden Arrow Award which will be on display at the council service center until next year's conference. Mr. Hendricks and I competed in the Adviser Sink-a-Thon and took a hard-fought 2nd Place with Echockotee taking First Place following the formation of an alliance near the end of the event. After supper, the Festival of Feathers took place with many dancers from around the section including some of our own guys. The closing show Saturday evening started off alright with a well-rehearsed play, but was marred by a rain shower which ultimately took down the sound system. It was still drizzling Sunday morning so the Interfaith Worship Service and Section Business meeting was moved under the dining tent (which actually made for a more conducive meeting area since there is no seating at the camp's arena). The major result of the business meeting was our own Sean Ferrier being elected to serve once again as Section Chief. I want to thank all of our lodge members who participated in the conference. You worked together as a team throughout the weekend, trained hard, played/competed hard, and demonstrated SPIRIT everywhere you went. It is because of guys like you that I am proud to proclaim my membership in Osceola Lodge. THANK YOU! (Please see the gallery of photos from the conference elsewhere on the site.)
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
My brothers, This year at section conference we had a wonderful accomplishment, we won the Quest for the Golden Arrow. This is a great achievement to have this wonderful trophy back here in southwest Florida, right where it belongs. My applause goes out the the members of the lodge on contingent, if it wasn't for your hard work and perseverance Osceola wouldn't have made as big of a statement as it did.
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
||||
|
Hello! Some parts of the Lodge website will be going down for a couple of days while we try to get our new website up and running, the website link will be the same ( www.osceola564.org ). I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, if you need to use the contact page please feel free to go to http://osceola564.com/contact.php Yours in Brotherhood, Bowen Bickelhaupt Webmaster
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
Please join me in congratulating our lodge's newest Vigil members: Oisin Dolley (Happy Giant), Jacob Jansen (Eagle Who Runs), James Kisacky (Quiet Director), James Loppe (Cardinal), Tyler Lucas (Skirt Writer), Mark Meador (Happy Worker), Dana Narring (Honored Leader), Alex Plattner (Smiling Gator), and Brian Weller (Patient Teacher). These individuals have all made a positive impact on our lodge and are truly deserving of the honor bestowed upon them. Mac Aldrich, Osceola Lodge Adviser
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
Attention all Ceremonialists, We are in desperate need of a Ceremonies Committee Chairman. This is a very prestigious position that is vital to the function of the lodge. There are a couple of requirements though, 1. You need Ceremonies expirience 2. You need a desire to better the Lodge 3. You need to want to better yourself 4. You need to contact me (Jacob Jansen)for further information. You can follow the links at the top to the contact page. Please help the Lodge out if you are a Ceremonialist who wants to better the Lodge
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
The Lodge delegation to the 2009 NOAC in Indiana returned on Thursday, August 6th with renewed energy and great ideas for the coming year. This year's conference theme was "The Power of One" and this theme was carried throughout all of the activities, training sessions, and shows. Individuals have the power to make changes in the world around them and the 7,000 plus of those in attendance should make a positive difference in communities all over the country in the days and weeks to come. I want to thank everyone in our contingent... adults: Drew Wormington and Dan Wendel; and youth: Cash & Rolf Anthony, Michael Balcom, Sebastian Bickford, Zach Johnson, James Kisacky, Devin Kuehn, Tim Kujawa, James Loppe, Tyler Lucas, and Michael Wendel... for their exemplary behavior and participation during the event. I also want to thank other representatives from Osceola Lodge who served in staff positions: Sean Ferrier, Bill Granger, Skip Johnson, Rick Langford, and Zach Lombardo. To learn more about this year's NOAC, please plan to attend the Fall Fellowship September 11-13 at Camp Miles. A video presentation along with reports from some of the attendees will be made that weekend. NOAC 2012 will be held at Michigan State University. The 100th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow will be celebrated at the 2015 NOAC. Location to be determined. In Brotherhood, Mac Aldrich Osceola Lodge Adviser
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
From National HQ: We are pleased to announce that the 2010 applications for OA Trail Crew, OA Wilderness Voyage and OAWV: Canadian Odyssey, have been posted to the national high adventure website (http://adventure.oa-bsa.org). There will be 9 sessions of each program, including the new Canadian Odyssey Voyage, running from early June through mid-August. The OA Ocean Adventure program is currently in revision to give Arrowmen the opportunity to leave an even greater impact on the areas Sea Base serves, at a lower cost to the participants. Details about the program, as well as the application, will be available later this summer. Each year the OA's High Adventure programs continue to grow in popularity and have been filled to capacity for four straight years. As such we encourage Arrowmen to apply as soon as possible. For more program information including promotional flyers, videos, participant testimonials, newsletter articles, scholarship form templates, website banners, training syllabi and more, visit the resources section of our website. Past participants can share their OAHA experiences by emailing them to OAHighAdventurePromotions@gmail.com.
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
The message below is from Ken Knaebel, Adult Adviser for next year's FourCorps 2010 Section service project. FourCorps will be similar in nature to the ArrowCorps 5 project in which service was delivered to 5 National Forests across the country. Nearly 4000 Arrowmen helped build trails and campsites, remove invasive plants, and many other projects during the summer of 2008. Now, an opportunity to provide service to Ocala National Forest is being put together. The training mentioned in Mr. Knaebel's message will be provided at NOAC but there will also be an opportunity to partake of similar training at next November's Section Seminars. The project, itself, will take place June 13-19, 2010. The host base camp will be Camp LaNoChe. I want to encourage as many of you as possible to consider becoming involved in this event. As more information becomes available, we will keep you posted. Brothers, Planning for the inaugural FourCorps service project in the Ocala National Forest is progressing. In an effort to help make this event successful, I would like to mention some upcoming training and ask for your assistance. At NOAC 2009, a special training called the Arrowmen Conservation School will be offered. Arrowmen Conservation School (ACS), is designed to provide lodge and section-level youth officers with the knowledge and training required to develop and execute a localized ArrowCorps project. ACS will also provide adult advisors with support-related training to assist youth in mobilizing the necessary resources for project planning and execution. This program is built as a follow-up program to supplement the success of ArrowCorps5. In order to attend this training, a 3-man team from each lodge must be registered. The team must consist of two youth and one adult. I strongly encourage you to send a team from your lodge! Arrowmen that have completed the ACS program at NOAC, have attended an OA High Adventure Program, or participated in ArrowCorps5 will have the first opportunity to serve in a leadership role at FourCorps 2010. A similar training is available at the Section Seminars in November at Camp La-No-Che. This training will consist of training in the morning and a hands-on service project in the Ocala National Forest in the afternoon. This training is available to all members and 3-man teams are not required. Arrowmen who choose this training must notify the Section and host lodge in advance. A special form will be available to sign up participants.
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
Are you receiving mailings from the Lodge? Have you moved, changed your telephone number or have a new email address? Is the information that Osceola Lodge has on record for you inaccurate? Then you need to provide the updated information to the Lodge. Information you provide to the Southwest Florida Council office is not given to the Lodge. The database containing information on Arrowmen is different than the one the council maintains in ScoutNet. It is important that when you move or your contact information changes, you provide the new information to your unit, the Southwest Florida Council office, and Osceola Lodge. Follow this link to the page on the Council's website and then click on the logo at the bottom of that page to update your info: http://www.swflcouncilbsa.org/openrosters/ViewOrgPageLink.asp?LinkKey=29666&orgkey=347
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
Attention all members! A new method for keeping up on your dues has been added. You may now pay your lodge dues online by linking to http://www.swflcouncilbsa.org/Registration/CampaignDetail.asp?orgkey=347&activitykey=618358 Follow the easy steps provided and have your credit card handy. Now you can keep your dues up-to-date even if you are unable to attend an event and you don't have to worry about catching someone at the council service center during business hours... the online method is available 24/7!
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
Elections were held during the Lodge Meeting at the 2009 Ordeal Weekend on Sunday, March 8th. Several Arrowmen submitted letters requesting candidacy. As per the Lodge's voting rules, each chapter was allotted ten votes to divvy up between the candidates however they saw fit. The results of the election: Lodge Chief: Jacob Jansen Vice-Chief Administration: Devin Kuehn Vice-Chief Program: Tyler Lucas Secretary: Jacob Fisher Treasurer: Bill Tracy Historian: Ricky Sdrenka Congratulations to all!
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
Existing text ARTICLE IV- Lodge Officers Section C- election of Lodge officers Item 4. A simple majority of votes cast shall be required for election. If no person receives a majority of the votes cast, the person receiving the fewest votes shall be removed from the ballot and another vote will be taken. In the event of a tie, there shall be one re-vote. If there remains a tie after the re-vote the lodge officers only will then vote for that office. Proposed amendment Item 4. A simple majority of votes cast shall be required for election. If no person receives a majority of the votes cast, the person receiving the fewest votes shall be removed from the ballot and another vote will be taken. In the event of a tie, each candidate shall give a second speech, then there shall be one re-vote. If there remains a tie after the re-vote an individual ballot will be cast, with each member present receiving one vote. If no candidate receives a majority of individual ballots the Lodge Executive Committee (with more than 50% of its voting members present) will then vote for that office.
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
Our Lodge has recently created its very own group on Facebook. if you have a facebook acount look us up and join the group this will give everyone a more interactive chance to get involved with what our Lodge is doing.
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
The updated version of the Elangomat handbook is now available online. This guide offers invaluble information to anyone interested in serving as an Elangomat. You can find it in the induction's folder on the resources page. The password is our admonition.
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
