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2015 NOAC Recap!
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August 9, 2015
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By Pierce Asaad
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In Tsali News
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This year, the national honor society for Boy Scouts, The Order of the Arrow (OA), celebrated their centennial anniversary. There were activities and events around the country to celebrate 100 years. However, the highlight of the centennial year was the National Order of The Arrow Conference (NOAC), which was held at Michigan State from August 3-8. Tsali Lodge, the local lodge for the Daniel Boone Council, sent a contingent of 27 Arrowmen to attend the NOAC where they would attend training sessions, compete for national titles, meet 15,000 scouts from around the country, and most importantly have a ton of fun!
On Sunday night the group left from Reynolds fire department aboard a large tour bus bound for NOAC. The bus drove all night so that the Arrowmen would arrive early and begin the NOAC adventure. Many people slept all night, while others were far too excited to sleep. We arrived ahead of schedule so we decided to have breakfast at a nearby I hop. After we ate, we drove to Michigan State and checked into our rooms, and went through the orientation. After that is when the fun began. We realized that there were so many things to do, so after lunch we all split up to go do the various activities around the campus. Some of us went to the Hub that day.
The Hub was a huge multi facilitated activity area designed to give Arrowmen the opportunity to experience activities ranging from rock wall climbing to fly fishing; geocaching to live band performances and free giveaways. Some of the most popular activities at the Hub, were airsoft gun shooting, pole climbing, and BMX biking. The person in charge of this massive area, overseeing all various activities was none other than Travis Broadhurst, a member of Tsali, and a past lodge chief and past section chief. We were all very proud of him and enjoyed seeing him every time we visited the Hub.
One of the coolest and most interesting things at NOAC was the Goodman/Edson Observatory (GEO). The GEO was a museum showcasing the history of not only the Founders of the OA and their impact on scouting but also showcasing the evolution of the order and it’s amazing history over the last 100 years. I think one of the coolest things there was an original uniform the belonged to Dr. E. Urner Goodman. Some of the Arrowmen from the lodge even worked there for a bit during the week, serving as docents and teaching others about the important history of the order.
It is well know around the country that Tsali lodge is one of the best lodges when it comes to American Indian Activities. We won several national awards as always. In individual dance, Cole Roberts was a straight dance finalist, Kevin Elliott was a semi-finalist for grass dance, and Rain Libby Bradford was a grand semi-finalist for grass dance. The southern drum team won 3rd place, it was the 4th straight top 3 finish (2006: 3rdplace, 2009: 1st place, 2012: 3rd place, and 2015: 3rd place). The ceremonies team was awarded National Champions for their spectacular regalia. The highlight of the AIA competitions for the lodge was the Historic Group Dance, the team had been practicing the dances for almost a year and all had worked very hard for the NOAC competition. Their hard work and constant dedication won them the award of National Champions. This was the 4th NOAC in a row that the lodge one 1st place and the national title for our group dance (2006, 2009, 2012, and 2015). They blew the judges away with their spectacular performance. When it came time for the judges to give their feedback, after the dance was finished, they were completely speechless, they couldn’t find a single flaw in the dances. One judge even started crying.
All in all, everyone had a great time and learned many things they will use to the better the lodge, and improve their individual leadership. The week was a blast, with all the activities, fellowship, and training the week was over in what seemed like no time. It was by far the highlight of the centennial year. The guys look forward to sharing their experiences at NOAC with their fellow Arrowmen at the upcoming Summer Ordeal and at other scout events.
-Pierce Asaad
2015 Vice-Chief of Administration
On Sunday night the group left from Reynolds fire department aboard a large tour bus bound for NOAC. The bus drove all night so that the Arrowmen would arrive early and begin the NOAC adventure. Many people slept all night, while others were far too excited to sleep. We arrived ahead of schedule so we decided to have breakfast at a nearby I hop. After we ate, we drove to Michigan State and checked into our rooms, and went through the orientation. After that is when the fun began. We realized that there were so many things to do, so after lunch we all split up to go do the various activities around the campus. Some of us went to the Hub that day.
The Hub was a huge multi facilitated activity area designed to give Arrowmen the opportunity to experience activities ranging from rock wall climbing to fly fishing; geocaching to live band performances and free giveaways. Some of the most popular activities at the Hub, were airsoft gun shooting, pole climbing, and BMX biking. The person in charge of this massive area, overseeing all various activities was none other than Travis Broadhurst, a member of Tsali, and a past lodge chief and past section chief. We were all very proud of him and enjoyed seeing him every time we visited the Hub.
One of the coolest and most interesting things at NOAC was the Goodman/Edson Observatory (GEO). The GEO was a museum showcasing the history of not only the Founders of the OA and their impact on scouting but also showcasing the evolution of the order and it’s amazing history over the last 100 years. I think one of the coolest things there was an original uniform the belonged to Dr. E. Urner Goodman. Some of the Arrowmen from the lodge even worked there for a bit during the week, serving as docents and teaching others about the important history of the order.
It is well know around the country that Tsali lodge is one of the best lodges when it comes to American Indian Activities. We won several national awards as always. In individual dance, Cole Roberts was a straight dance finalist, Kevin Elliott was a semi-finalist for grass dance, and Rain Libby Bradford was a grand semi-finalist for grass dance. The southern drum team won 3rd place, it was the 4th straight top 3 finish (2006: 3rdplace, 2009: 1st place, 2012: 3rd place, and 2015: 3rd place). The ceremonies team was awarded National Champions for their spectacular regalia. The highlight of the AIA competitions for the lodge was the Historic Group Dance, the team had been practicing the dances for almost a year and all had worked very hard for the NOAC competition. Their hard work and constant dedication won them the award of National Champions. This was the 4th NOAC in a row that the lodge one 1st place and the national title for our group dance (2006, 2009, 2012, and 2015). They blew the judges away with their spectacular performance. When it came time for the judges to give their feedback, after the dance was finished, they were completely speechless, they couldn’t find a single flaw in the dances. One judge even started crying.
All in all, everyone had a great time and learned many things they will use to the better the lodge, and improve their individual leadership. The week was a blast, with all the activities, fellowship, and training the week was over in what seemed like no time. It was by far the highlight of the centennial year. The guys look forward to sharing their experiences at NOAC with their fellow Arrowmen at the upcoming Summer Ordeal and at other scout events.
-Pierce Asaad
2015 Vice-Chief of Administration
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