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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.
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Brothers, Ordeal is coming upon us and we are one again looking for Elangomats to assist with the Ordeal. This is a great experience, and if you are working on your first year Arrowman award this is something that helps in meeting those requirments. So if you have any questions about your responsibilities, or you are interested in being an Elangomat please contact Tim K, or myself. In Brotherhood Jacob Jansen
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As the year draws to a close most people are begining to settle down for the holidays, however the Lodge is still running ahead. At this years winter camp the Lodge will be having an OA show which will be held at closing camp fire, after the show there will be an OA cracker barrel. Please bring your sash to the show to support the lodge, and keep your sash on to get into the cracker barrel (which will be open to OA members). I look forward to seeing everyone at winter camp and make sure you have a enjoyable and safe holiday season. In Cheerful Service Jacob Jansen Osceola Lodge Chief
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As the year comes to a close, excitement is in the air. For the first time in about 3 years, Osceola Lodge is on the verge of earning Quality Lodge status. At the time of this writing following our Winter Fellowship, we have met or exceeded our goals and the requirements for the recognition in all areas except for positive growth. Positive growth is determined by the number of dues-paying members. We are short of this goal by about 40 Arrowmen. The deadline for achieving this goal is December 15th. If you are one of those individuals who did not pay dues last year, please help us earn Quality Lodge by following through and paying them as soon as possible. Online registration is as easy as navigating to http://www.swflcouncilbsa.org/Registration/CampaignDetail.asp?orgkey=347&activitykey=618358 and having your credit card handy. Won't you please come forward and help us out? In Brotherhood, Mac Aldrich, Lodge Adviser
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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
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A great opportunity has come for you to help and have fun. Four Corps is the section's version of Arrow Corps 5, and Osceola Lodge is proud to be giving out scholarships to help you attend. The scholarships are available to the first ten members of the lodge wanting to attend FourCorps. You need to do a couple of things though... 1) Be active in the lodge (dues paid). 2) Be in good physical condition. Current health information via the health form will be collected prior to the event. 3) Submit a Four Corps application (available at the Section 4 web site: http://www.sections-4.org/FourCorps%202010/ (Note: Please disregard the instructions at the bottom of the form. DO NOT SUBMIT THE APPLICATION ONLINE NOR SEND IT TO GULF STREAM COUNCIL. Send the application form along with your $50 deposit to the Southwest Florida service center, 1801 Boy Scout Drive, Ft. Myers, FL 33907. Postmarks will be used to identify the order in which the applications were received.) This event is going to be a blast and the lodge is wanting to help you get there, so make sure you apply today.
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Winter Fellowship will be held at Camp Flying Eagle, November 20th - 22nd. The theme for the weekend will revolve around the Olympics, so come prepared to participate in the winter games and go home with the gold. We will also be recognizing our lodge's newest Vigil honorees and holding our end of the year banquet. Registration is currently open. Those who register by November 5th pay only $20.00. After the 5th, but prior to the 'drop dead' deadline of November 12th, the cost bumps up to $25.00, so don't procrastinate! The easiest method to register is via the online registration located at http://www.swflcouncilbsa.org/registration/calendardetail.asp?ActivityKey=623656. You may also pay your dues online. Those considering sealing the ties of Brotherhood during this event need to bring an extra $13 to pay for the new sash that will be received as part of the ceremony. This fee will, by necessity, be collected at the time of the event. This OA event is for members in good standing (2009 dues have been paid). If you are unsure if your dues are current, email gus564OA@earthlink.net. The LEC will meet Sunday afternoon immediately following camp cleanup. I look forward to seeing you! Mac Aldrich Osceola Lodge Adviser
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Section Seminars are coming and we want you to attend. They will be taking place on Nov. 13-15 at Camp La-No-Che, hosted by Tipisa Lodge. Many great things will be taught during the seminars and many great times will be had after them. Please, if you have any interest in growing your knowledge of the Order, or you want to go camping for a weekend sign up today.
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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
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Fall Fellowships Location has been changed. It will now be held at Camp Flying Eagle instead of Miles due to hunting season. Nothing else has been changed other than the location, so I hope to see you all in your Togas on the 11th at Camp Flying Eagle.
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Brothers, We have the first event of the new year coming up Sept. 11-13, Fall Fellowship. To keep with the back into school theme there will be a frat house enviroment, all the fun of a frat house, but with a Osceola twist. We encourage wearing Toga's and other related clothing. Make sure you hurry your registrations in by Aug. 27 to get the early discount of $20 after the 27th prices then move to $25, brotherhood conversion pay $13 at the event for the sash. Hope to see all of you on the 11th at Osceola U
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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!
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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!
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What a great weekend! 120 candidates successfully completed the Ordeal and became our newest members. The projects they worked on side-by-side with their soon to be brother Arrowmen included setting up 70 wall tents in Seminole, scraping down and repainting the storage tank at the water plant, electrical work at the boat island, and constructing a concrete erosion control rip rap on both sides of the bridge. The clans who built the rock wall even incorporated OA symbolism into it. After lunch, a memorial tree-planting service was held for Phil Squicharinni who passed away last summer. Skip Johnson led the service that was attended by all. Several individuals spoke and everyone learned more about a very special man. At the conclusion of the service, the clans continued their day of service by setting up more tents and picking up litter around the property. Arrowmen had opportunities to work on Native American crafts, throw "hawks, and watch a chainsaw woodcarving demonstration. 46 Arrowmen sealed their ties of Brotherhood on Saturday afternoon providing our lodge a good margin toward meeting our Brotherhood conversion rate. Thank you to everyone who stepped up to the challenge and joined the ranks of Brotherhood. This is a milestone in our lodge's history. The Ordeal ceremonies were divided between two ring sites and both teams conducted two separate ceremonies apiece. The ceremonies were held on time and everyone was able to arrive at the dining hall in time for the feast. The feast incorporated a new spin on welcoming the new members which (with some minor modifications) we hope to make a tradition at future Ordeal weekends. During the feast, the new Brotherhood members were introduced and the Elangomats were recognized for their service with a special patch created just for them. Mr. Steve Rees who was unable to complete his Vigil at the Winter Fellowship, followed through this weekend and was recognized for his accomplishments. On Sunday morning, a brief, but notable Scouts' Own Service was led by Nick Betancourt and the Jump-Start, Lodge Meeting and Chapter meetings were held before gathering for the song and dismissal. Lodge elections were held resulting in new leadership for the coming year. Those elected will be inducted at the Summer Fellowship in June. The results of the election are in a separate article. A big thanks to the Lodge leadership team for a great weekend! To see some photos from the weekend, visit http://gallery.me.com/mac_aldrich. The 2009 Ordeal photo galleries are password protected (osceola/lodge). If you took any photos, please feel free to add to any of the galleries.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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