Latest News & Updates
Winter Banquet Recognitions
The 2010 Illini Lodge Winter Banquet provided a plethora of accolades to arrowmen from throughout the Prairielands Council. All new Ordeal, Brotherhood, and Vigil members received a hardy round of applause. For spirited service over the 2009 year, the Ken Fredrick Award was presented to Carson Lewis of T6 Urbana and Susan Coller of T103 Mahomet. The Founder’s Award was conferred upon Nathan Lee of Crew 729 Tuscola and Robert Sloan of Troop 390 Danville for their long tenure of dedication to the Order. Past Lodge Advisor Tony Martin was granted the James E. West Fellowship from Illini Lodge for his leadership and service. A black sash was bestowed upon the Ceremonialist of the Year - Will Provin of T 29 in Gibson City. Outgoing Lodge Chief Nathan Lee received an Order of the Arrow figurine for his year in office. Congratulations to all Illini Lodge members for helping to achieve the National Quality Lodge status for 2009.
Get Real Green!
Green is a popular color as friends of the eco-system become the heroes of the planet. As a part of the recycle the globe scenario, T-Rep’s have been reportedly becoming extremely valuable within the OA realm. There have been more sightings of these wonderful enviro-pals throughout the lodge. Each troop needs to have a Troop Representative to help save worldwide resources. Talk to your SM about being a T-Rep and get your Green Shirt for promoting woodland attendance at Camp Robert Drake.
Get the Plan!
Vice-Chief of Administration Robert Sloan has created the ultimate guide for all things that are Illini Lodge. Be sure to get your hands on the 2010 edition of the Illini Lodge Plan Book. This guide to the local organization of the Brotherhood of Cheerful Service is a great resource for all arrowmen to be familiar with their involvement with the Order of the Arrow. The plan book details the history of the lodge, the goals for the upcoming year, and the people involved with the various segments of lodge administration. Get with the plan!
Get on the Illini List!
For all your up-to-date news on your local Order of the Arrow business, look to www.illinilodge55.com for news articles, lodge forms, chiefly ideas, and service opportunities. Be sure to get your name into Lodge Clerk Susan Coller at susan dot coller at scouting dot org to get regular lodge updates on fast-breaking happenings of the arrow. Keep up-to-date with your links to the lodge.
Get to the Lodge Meeting in March!
Illini Lodge invites all arrowmen to attend the March Lodge Meeting on Sunday, March 7TH in Auditorium B at the Provena Covenant Medical Center, 1400 W. Park St. in Urbana. Important issues for the summer preparations, service projects and the upcoming Spring Fellowship will be discussed this Sunday. Please encourage arrowmen from your troop to attend the meeting.
Get on the TRAIL in March!
Enjoy a beautiful morning along the banks of the Salt Fork River, hiking the Onaquispassippi Trail with all your Scouting buddies. From 9:00 until 12:00 noon on the Two Severoni of Two-Tentington all arrowmen and their special guests are invited to Get On their hiking boots and Get On the Onaquispasippi Trail! See the spectacular views around camp. Add to your springtime calendar of fun events – the TRAIL TROMP is hiking on to your calendar on Saturday, MARCH 27th. Walk the Onaquispassippi Trail and uncover secrets of camping past and prizes for our leaders of tomorrow. TROMP IT!
Carson Lewis Inducted as the New Lodge Chief
Congratulations to Carson Lewis of Troop 6 in Urbana on his induction as Illini Lodge Chief for the 2009-10 year. One of Carson’s first official duties was to conduct the Induction ceremony for the new Prairielands Council President and the Executive Board on January 25th. The next big event is the Troop Visit Training on January 31st. As a part of his objectives for the upcoming lodge year, the new chief has defined three achievements for 2010.
Carson’s goals for his year in office are to:
Important Elections for Troops
Whether you plan to conduct the election on your own or bring in assistance from your chapter, it is important to designate the date of your election and announce it to the unit as early as possible. Please inform your Scouts early about the date of your OA election, in order for Scouts with the 2nd Class rank to focus on completion of the eligibility requirements. Under the Order of the Arrow link on the Prairielands Council website are the forms and procedures for the successful completion of troop/team elections in the lodge. All troop/team leaders should review their materials to prepare for the election requirements. Contact your OA chapter leadership, if you need assistance in conducting the election in your troop/team. Chapter Chiefs are ready to help your troop conduct a successful Order of the Arrow election. Each of the four top arrowmen has been trained in election procedures and is available to assist your own arrowmen in guiding the process. All of the forms are available through the Illini Lodge website: http://www.illinilodge55.com/
Job of the Chapter Chief
The main role of the chapter chief is to serve as a liaison between the troops in the chapter and the lodge. The most critical role in this duty is to assist in the Unit Election procedures throughout the chapter. It is vital to the health of Illini Lodge that new members are elected each spring in a fashion that will inspire increased participation in Scouting as an arrowman. Please help improve the quality of Order of the Arrow operations by supporting your chapter chief this spring. The Chapter Chiefs for 2010 are as follows:
Illini Alex Kaper, T 103 Mahomet kapes6 at gmail dot com Indian Trails Will Provin, T 29 Gibson City will_provin at hotmail dot com Many Streams Tyler Hoagland, T 272 Veedersburg seniorhoagyjr at gmail dot com Okaw Ryan Rodgers, T 490, Monticello jrogers at insightbb dot com
Centennial Celebratory Fellowship
The entertaining history of the Boy Scout of America will excite Illini arrowmen at the Spring Fellowship on May 14-16, 2010 at Camp Robert Drake. The Brotherhood of Cheerful Fun will celebrate old-school style at our favorite camp with themed activities, special events, and all kinds of traditional cooking. The Saturday night supper show will provide a fanciful feast, accompanied by BSA everything. Additional events will include Brotherhood ceremonies, after-hours crackerbarrels, service preparations for the summer season, and chapter activity competitions.
SCOUTMASTERS’ NOTE: This is the last event for elected candidates from 2009 to participate in their Ordeal ceremony. Please follow up with any outstanding candidates to remind them of this deadline.
OA Tool Time Service
Spring cleaning begins on Saturday, March 20th at 9:00 am at the north end of the Tin Shed at Camp Robert Drake near Oakwood, IL. All Scouts, Scouters, and parents are welcome to help prepare camp for all the fabulous activities in 2010. Primary projects will focus on clearing campsites and removing brush, brambles, and leaves from program areas. Basic cleaning will be needed in the cabins and buildings. If you have construction talents, additional projects will be available by contacting Mike Graham at mike.graham@scouting.org All Tool Time participants should bring their own equipment if possible, but some rakes, brooms, and loppers are available. A lunch will be served at 12:15 and a recognition distribution will be conducted at the end of the day at 3:00 pm. Additional service days are planned for April 17th and May 9th.
Best Training Event Known to Man
The National Leadership Seminar is a weekend training program focusing on leadership development. The NLS discusses how these skills can be applied in your role in the OA and in other aspects of your life. This training session is one of the best management sessions any Scout is able to take anywhere. This is a great chance for Scouts to go to the “best training ever”. The courses will be
If you are interested in attending the National Leadership Seminar, please contact Lodge Advisor Butch Price at illini55advisor at yahoo dot com for details.
February 26-28, 2010 Geneva Center, Rochester, IN April 23-25, 2010 High Ridge, MO (near St. Louis)