Congratulations to the 2015 OA National Service Award Recipients

Eight stand-out lodges across Scouting Nation have been chosen to receive the National Service Award. Selected by the National Committee of the Order of the Arrow, these lodges were honored based on the service of their members in their local councils in 2015. As the Order of the Arrow blog explains, these lodges truly represent the “Brotherhood of Cheerful Service.”

What Is the National Service Award?

The National Service Award was established in 1999 by former National Vice Chief Ryan Miske to recognize lodges in each region that have performed outstanding service to their council. The National Service Award is always presented the year following the service being recognized. Two lodges per region are granted the National Service Award each year.

To be considered for the National Service Award, the National Service Award Petition must be submitted along with the lodge recharter application. A lodge must also have achieved at least the Bronze level of Journey to Excellence in the same year the National Service Award Petition is submitted. A sub-committee of the National Order of the Arrow committee makes the selection of recipients.

The National Service Award petition requires lodges to submit information on current lodge membership, a detailed description of the largest and most meaningful service project the lodge has completed for its council, and a record of all service performed by the lodge for the council since the last recharter process. Service for this award is defined as any project that has directly benefited the Scouting program in the council.

2015 Recipients

The 2015 recipients will be recognized at the 2016 National Meeting in San Diego, CA, so if you plan to attend, feel free to give a shout out to these honorable lodges:

Central Region

• Agaming Maangogwan Lodge
  Water and Woods Council #782
  Flint, MI
• Michigamea Lodge
  Calumet Council #152
  Munster, IN

Northeast Region

• Lowanne Nimat Lodge
  Longhouse Council #373
  Syracuse, NY
• Octoraro Lodge
  Chester County Council #539
  West Chester, PA

Southern Region

• Mikanakawa Lodge
  Circle Ten Council #571
  Dallas, TX
• O-Shot-Caw Lodge
  South Florida Council #84
  Miami Lakes, FL

Western Region

• Cahuilla Lodge
  California Inland Empire Council #45
  Redlands, CA
• Wiatava Lodge
  Orange County Council #39
  Santa Ana, CA

Congratulations to these outstanding lodges for their incredible service to communities across the U.S. To learn more about the Order of the Arrow National Service Award and see the complete list of winners since 1999, check out the OA’s National Service Award page. Extend warm wishes to the Arrowmen in the comments below!