The election season in our section is rapidly coming to a close. While our chapter and lodge leaders wrap up this election season, I pray that my last statement, regarding the elections process, has proved and continues to prove useful. That being said, I also want to stress the ripening of the election season into the induction season, particularly that now is the time to really push candidates to register for and attend their inductions. This endeavor, however, often proves difficult to succeed in, with induction numbers sometimes being more or less unimpacted by these attempts at bolstering Ordeal induction. So what can be done? What can lodges and chapters do to enable an increase in induction rate?
Meditation 1: The Call
I have found that the answer to these questions is actually pretty simple: give the candidates a reason to attend their induction. This means that chapters and lodges need to make efforts to create personal connections with candidates in order to provide them with a sense of belonging even before their induction. In my home chapter, Four Winds, of Wauna La-Mon’tay, my chapter adviser, the illustrious William Norton, encouraged the chapter officers to call the youth candidates in our chapter to not just encourage them to attend their induction, but to make a connection with them, to promise them a friendly face in the OA. Candidates not only feel more comfortable going to their induction knowing that they will know someone there, but they appreciate knowing they are wanted in our organization and are more likely to engage in and thrive in it knowing that.
Meditation 2: The Party
Beyond calls, chapters can also encourage induction attendance by offering a great first OA experience as a candidate. That’s right, the call-out is very important! More specifically, the call-out “after party” is very important. Think of it as a simple mixer wherein current chapter members meet and have fun with candidates. Offer some food (possibly Krispy Kreme donuts), some drinks, and some games to provide candidates with a fun, laid-back first experience with the OA. At this call-out “after party”, chapter leaders can also take the opportunity to introduce themselves and directly encourage induction attendance to the candidates – “There’s more where this great event came from!” It is my firm belief that this can be a decisive event for a candidate, especially one who is anxious about their induction and unsure what the OA is like.
Meditation 3: The Tragically Underutilized OA Rep
Of course, direct outreach from the chapters to the candidates is not always necessary. One of the most underutilized people in our organization is the Order of the Arrow Representative. OA Reps should ultimately serve as the friendly face in the OA for candidates. There is, however, a large problem that I often see when utilizing OA Reps: the list of OA Reps is odiously out of date. These unit roles can be rather difficult to keep updated in LodgeMaster, so many entries in our beloved database for OA Reps end up being quite outdated. I wonder, is there a time when the chapter would be in direct contact with a unit, such that they could get the name and contact information of the unit’s current OA Rep? Yes, bravissimo, the unit election! Chapters ought to take care to keep the list of OA Reps updated so that they can call on them to promote OA events, including inductions, to the members of their unit. Incidentally, this endeavor can very well serve the chapter and the lodge better in the future because it is another means of promotion for any and all events in those organizations. So, please, bring OA Reps back!
There is, I think, much more to be said on how one gets a candidate to the induction, but I hope these meditations give you some ideas and are helpful in your endeavors to get candidates to their inductions. But what comes next, after the candidate is inducted? How do we keep him engaged and active in the OA? Thus, we arrive at the meditations on activation in the next and final set of Meditations on Membership!
Yours in Brotherhood,
Reece Lewallen
2025-2026 Section G16 Secretary