The Winter Camp Era (2003-Present)
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In mid-September of 2002 the council decided that it wanted to start a winter camp and we were selected as having the ability and aptitude to put it on in 2003. With this revelation much work needed to be done and many decisions needed to be made. One of the biggest was that the Middle Tennessee Winter Camp would be a council event (open to all Boy Scouts) but planned, operated and staffed by the Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge. This is why to be a staff member you must be a member of Wa-Hi-Nasa. This was HUGE risk for our lodge.
After much debate on how to create this event, it was decided that a youth and an adult would be sent to observe another Winter Camp in 2002. This was to gather ideas, allow for proper planning and promotion for the 2003 season. So in December of 2002 Tyler Belew and his adviser met at the Circle Ten Council Winter camp at Clements Scout Ranch. This was the closest Winter Camp to Middle Tennessee at the time.
The vision for the Middle Tennessee Winter Camp came out of that trip. Each night Tyler and his adviser would sit over dinner and say I really like this idea, but I do not like this at all. Then using the combined summer camp experience they both sat and talked through if this idea or that idea was even feasible. One of these ideas was could we have the staff prepare the food and serve it for all the participants. Seeing that Circle Ten had over 1,000 youth participants, food was prepared by each individual troop. To this day this is one of the distinguishing attributes of the Middle Tennessee Winter Camp.
One big theme the first leadership team was very passionate about was that the Middle Tennessee Council Winter Camp was not to be Boxwell Summer Camp, and was not to be a merit badge factory. Thus the idea for morning merit badges that were not offered at summer camp, afternoon activities (troop games that developed teamwork and leadership), and evening programs came about. This program became something that was different from the normal summer camp program, promoting advancement, troop identity, teamwork and fun.
One feature of that first year was that two afternoon activities were selected in secret to allow the winner to receive a puzzle piece. Not only did they receive the wooden piece but they were allowed to go first in the dinner line. At the end of the week all 6 puzzle piece winners were allowed to compete for the center locking piece of the puzzle. The winning troop was allowed to have an intact replica of the puzzle to display in their troops meeting room until the next year.
The Middle Tennessee Winter Camp hosted by the Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge has several very unique features. A fully volunteer staff, adult merit badge councilors who are passionate about their topics, the staff preparing and serving all meals and a unique program concept. With these in place the initial Winter Camp drew over 300 people and set the tone for all Winter Camps to follow, including a few Winter Camps in other councils. As this tradition has been passed on to every Winter Camp chairman and adviser the attendance grew steadily because of the quality and uniqueness. In 2011, Winter Camp grew to the point that a cap in registration was necessary at 1,000 participants to ensure quality training in the merit badge program. Celebrating the 10th year of Winter Camp in 2012, a new program was added to at the newly acquired Latimer High Adventure Reservation. This allowed for older scouts that had been to Winter Camp before have a high adventure outlet.
The Middle Tennessee Winter Camp hosted by the Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge has become of the largest service projects that Wa-Hi-Nasa has ever accomplished and in the words of one member has “changed the landscape of our lodge.”
We can never forget that our lodge is much more than Winter Camp though. While Winter camp did take a lot of planning and a lot of attention during 2003 there were still many other things that our lodge accomplished. Our lodge still had two Ordeals that inducted a combined 300 new members, still trained our members at OAU, still had fun at the Fall Fellowship and still offered Brotherhood to over 50% of those who were eligible to go through.
Directly after the success of the first Winter Camp our lodge hit the road running. OAU was scheduled to be held at the Smyrna National Guard Armory, like it had been for the previous 4 years. With only one week before the event the base itself was put on high alert. This meant that all non-military personal were not allowed on base, and we lost the location for OAU. The leadership was highly divided about what to do with the event itself for that year. The lodge instead of meeting at the Guard Armory meet at Boxwell and had a one day FUN day. The day was spent in fun and fellowship activities for those who attended.
Most of the lodge was looking to NOAC in 2004. The lodge not only attended the conference with over 80 lodge members with the contingent and on staff. This party saw our lodge member Clay Capp presented the OA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, for his service as the 2002 OA National Chief. These Arrowmen were energized for the order by being able to have fun and fellowship with their fellow Arrowmen from around the nation.
As the lodge continued to deliver our program many things continued to stay the same. Planning for the next Winter Camp began almost immediately after the first event came to a close. The lodge went to conclave in 2004 and again won the Quest for the Golden Arrow. We continued to use the Spring and Fall Ordeal to not only prepare camp for the summer camp season but to also provide meaningful service to the camp.
It was during this camping season that another tragedy befell the lodge. Jared Willis was serving the lodge as it’s secretary and while he was on his way to work as a lifeguard at the YMCA one morning had a fatal car accident. Jared was a former chapter officer in the Hermitage District (Wewoapisak Chapter) and a Brotherhood member of our lodge.
As the year round out we saw an increase in the attendance of Winter Camp and plans began for the next year. One of the biggest questions was what do we do with the lodge training program. Rebuilding from the challenge of losing the guard base, OAU turned to one of the local high school in Nashville and shortened the program to a one day event. With the event held at the University School of Nashville, the program was able to restart and rebuild.
The lodge also continued to also look at Boxwell for ways to make lasting improvements to the reservation. The lodge decided to build a Gateway to High Adventure Area (the area including COPE, the climbing tower, the pool, the shotgun range, and the High Adventure Building). This gateway was a feat of construction and welding. The construction began in the early spring and lasted until the dedication of the “Josh Sain Gateway to High Adventure” was dedicated at the Winter Banquet.
With so many projects going on in our lodge it was a wonder that when it came to conclave in 2005, there was much gusto. Well not to worry our lodge again showed very strongly in both publications and the field events. We again prevailed in the Quest for the Golden Eagle, though there was very strong completion. This conclave also saw the election of two of our own as section officers. Peter Capp, our sitting Lodge Chief was elected as Section Chief and our sitting Lodge Treasurer Roderick McDaniels was elected as Section Secretary. This caused quite a stir with two Lodge offices now open.
The lodge also decided during this time that we were not only to be a force of service to our council, but also needed to use all of our strengths to help the council and Scouting in Middle Tennessee. For many years our lodge has been a financially strong and the lodge made a commitment to help build the Beaman Curb Center at the Jet Potter Scout Service Center in Nashville. The lodge made a commitment over 5 year that we were later recognized with being a “Trailblazer.” The lodge is one of only five that was recognized with this distinction. This group was honored by having their names affixed to the wall of the Beaman Curb Center.
With 2006 around the corner attention again turned to rejuvenating the lodge with a trip to NOAC. The lodge took one of the smaller contingents to Michigan State with only 30 members, the change for this conference was that we had a much larger group of staff members serve at this conference. The 2006 conclave also saw the election of Roderick McDaniels as Section Chief but came in second for the Quest for the Golden Arrow.
The lodge continued to develop new generations of young people and adults. Then in 2007 our council announced the purchase of a new reservation. A new place to have the OA put their stamp on. Even from the announcement of the property in the November 2007 Flying Eagle, the property was talked about an unknown use for Arrowmen. The next February our lodge created Arrowcorps 111 to give service to the budding camp. The first major project was that of building the Bee Creek Trail. Though building this trail took almost two years, Arrowcorps 111 was about much more. These crews not only built trails but also helped with the BMX trail and other service projects like clearing the area that is now tent city. The participants would receive for 12 hours of service during 2008 a woven lodge flap and in 2009 forward they received a standard embroidered flap.
Then in 2008 the lodge celebrated it’s 70th anniversary. This year turned out to be a year of service. The lodge recommitted to serving the Scouting program with providing a service crew to each of the four fall Cub and Family weekends. The lodge also staffed a service corps for the 2008 National Leadership Training Conference that was held at Opryland Hotel. The service continued with participation in the national service project ArrowCorps5 by sending a crew of 22 members to the Mark Twain National Forest service site, and having several people on staff for four of the five project sites. The year concluded by having over 15 crews and 2,000 hours of service was given to Latimer boasting over a half of a mile of the Bee Creek Trail completed.
The lodge lost one of the truly iconic figures at the end of 2008. Howard B. Olson passed away at the age of 80. Mr. Olson was more than an elder statesman in the lodge, he was the measure of quality and the in many ways the voice of reason. He was a trusted confident and always a source of sage advise. He was a teacher and mentor. Mr. Olson could best be described our lodges’. An influence like this will always be missed.
As 2009 began the lodge was in full swing of all the things that we do. training our members at OAU, giving service to our council (ie Ordeals, Summer Camp Kick-off, Cub and Families), having fellowship (conclave, Fall Fellowship), and inspiring our members (NOAC). Toward the end of this year the lodge was recognized with the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for an organization. This was the compilation of only a fraction of the volunteer hours that our lodge produces every year. This award was for compilation of over one thousand hours in a single year. Many of our advisers at this time were tapped for service outside of our lodge, at conclave Carl Head was named the new Section Adviser, May saw Craig Salazar named to the National OA committee and in November he was named a Vice-Chairman, at NOAC Ian Romaine was presented the DSA, and after NOAC Ray Capp was announced as the new Chairman of the national Order of the Arrow committee.
One of the ways that our lodge celebrated the Centennial of Scouting was to host the Section Conclave. Being our turn in the rotation of lodges within the section to host the conclave, the attendance of conclaves at Boxwell are generally the largest in the section rotation because of the central location of Boxwell with in our section. The central location along with the draw of being the Centennial anniversary of Scouting meant that conclave saw one of the largest attendance in any recent memory. Conclave saw over 750 Arrowmen at Boxwell and 256 members of our lodge came out to help run the conclave and Win the Quest for the Golden Arrow. The 2010 National Chief Brad Lichota was also able to spend the weekend with us at Conclave.
As the Centennial of Scouting continued so did the service of our lodge. The lodge helped out at the Council Jamboree by being a driving force behind the jamboree arena show along with the traditional Jamboree Service corps. This year also the lodge was recognized with the Whitney M. Young Award. This award is given for individual and organizations demonstrating involvement in the development and implementation of Scouting opportunities for youth from rural or low-income urban backgrounds. Our lodge is considered to be the first lodge in the country to be recognized with this award. Then as 2011 came around our lodge was again recognized for the work that we performed in 2010 with the E. Urner Goodman Camp Award. This award was due to the camp promotion effort by the lodge to helped bring about a 10% increase in participation at our summer camp.
The lodge went to Conclave in 2011 and not only took home the Quest for the Golden Arrow but also saw the election of Matt Brown as the Section Vice Chief. Later that year the national OA committee created the Legacy Fellowship as a way to raise the national OA endowment and all the programs that it supports. Programs like the OA Trail Crew at Philmont, the OA Wilderness Voyage and the OA Canadian Odyssey at Northern Tier, and the OA Ocean Adventure. Our lodge again led the nation to have the lodge honor four Arrowmen with this fellowship. We would again show our leadership in the nation the next year by presenting the arguable the first Fellowship to a youth member along with two other Arrowmen.
As the lodge continued to grow, our eyes turned to what we could do at Latimer. The lodge would spend a lot of time in 2012 at Latimer Scout Reservation. The first ceremony held at Latimer was held at OAU, behind the corporate cabin next to the new Lake Joe Long. The Vigil class was also inducted at Latimer that year at the Fall Fellowship. Conclave saw the election of Matt Brown as the Section Chief while also winning the Quest.
Every national conference is a special event. NOAC is always an important event for our lodge as it has the effect of energizing and invigorating our youth. The youth leaders that come back from NOAC have always had a spirit for what our Order can be. The spark for the next generation of youth leaders are also began at NOAC. There is just something special about seeing people from all over the nation are doing basically the same things and having the same trouble. Our contingent had 76 members and over 25 members on staff. This is from time to time made more special by seeing our people receive national recognition. Ron Turpin, long time Section Staff Adviser, was recognized as the 14th person from our lodge to be awarded the OA Distinguished Service Award. A new challenge at this conference was the Munziee challenge. This event our lodge ended the event with the highest score at the conference.
Another first for our lodge was the recognition of a friend of our lodge and Order with Red Arrow Award. This award was created in 1967 to recognize non-members who display outstanding service to the Order. Our lodge has had several non-members that we have recognized over the years, several include Anne Minton, Kathy Ross, and Ashley Durham. Each of these were employees of our council office that significantly impacted our lodge program. What we have never seen is a non-member recognized at a national level. Jeanette Lord was recognized at the 2012 NOAC with the Red Arrow Award. Jeanette’s service can best exemplified by a responses from the 1999 Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge Chief Brad Goodwin. “During my term as a lodge chief (98-99) I could always rely on Jeanette to assist in any way she could. Her level of commitment to my success often seemed higher than some of our Arrowmen. She typed and assembled countless letters, LEC packets, and other materials for me and for the lodge. She always enthusiastically assisted me, and she never seemed bothered to do it. I can remember having meetings where she would have agendas prepared, driving directions ready and meals prepared for whoever was attending, and all of this was done with perfection and a smile. I was more effective as a lodge leader due to her assistance, and the lodge has benefited for many years from all the behind the scene work by Jeanette Lord.”
The lodge continues to find new ways to serve Scouting and the Community. An early opportunity was that of distributing card to turn the Titans stadium pink for a Breast cancer awareness event. The next opportunity came in the fall of 2012 as the lodge was tasked with organizing Scouts from Middle Tennessee to be greeters at the Tennessee Titans home games. Then Winter Camp grew to the point that the camp at Boxwell had to be capped at 1,000 participants, so the lodge opened up a second camp for older scouts and more Venturing activities at Latimer.
Then in December of 2012, our lodge member Matt Brown went to the OA National Planning meeting as the SR-6 Section Chief and was elected as the 2013 OA national Chief. During his time as National Chief Matt would visit the White House, serve on an international delegation of Scouting to the Republic of Georgia, and serve as the voice of the National Jamboree shows.
As our lodge continues to grow, we continue to build upon what those before us have established, their success and failures. We always strive to continue to be an integral part of our council’s program and partner with the council to fulfill the Mission and the Purpose of the Order. We have a great foundation and look forward to see where our lodge can go in the future.