With the induction season having begun in our section last weekend at Camp Meriwether, I could not help but consider for a moment the world a new Arrowman lives in: they have their chapter, their lodge, and their fellow Arrowmen in their unit. These three parties are really the only influences they have on whether or not they will be active in the Order of the Arrow.
So what is not on this list? What could be considered superfluous to a new Arrowman’s interest or commitment to the Order of the Arrow?
You are actively looking at it. To my dear friends who keep the section and its functions going, I’m sorry, gentlemen, but I have to tell the truth. Let me be clear, stating that the sections are superfluous to a new Arrowman’s experience does not criticize the ability or competence of section leaders; instead, it criticizes the foundation of what sections are. They are, in their root form, a stepping stone between the lodge and the national organization. The game of section governance, therefore, is a selfish one, focused on self promotion. What does this structure not leave room for? Making an impact on Arrowmen.
We can agree that making an impact is most effective when there is prolonged exposure between the impactor and impactée. Unfortunately, this is not an option for sections. Our section, for example, is too large to organize any effective, regular events throughout the year (which is why we section officers find ourselves resigned to conclave, despite our dear wish to gather the section together more often). Our section is in such a state that it can only make an impact en masse one weekend a year, and let’s not kid ourselves that this is a very impactful event to every Arrowman, nor that the section officers can realistically try to impact a great deal of people at conclave. With a goal of 450 people this year, there are simply too many people to address in too little time.
That is not to say the section does not impact anyone, it certainly does. First, there are the people who work on section committees: comms team members, conclave vice chiefs, etc. However, the experience of working in our section is quite unlike any the lodges have due to our section’s scale. So, this is a very small group of people learning skills that are difficult to apply to a smaller, more impactful organization like a chapter or lodge, thus making the greater impact of working on section committees unfortunately minute. However, the section is also a wonderful tool to motivate people to excel in their chapters and lodges in order to get a section position. In this way, ideally, the section makes a larger impact vicariously through the people who would lead it. This cannot always be the case though, and it happens somewhat often that, unfortunately, people who have not worked to improve their chapter and/or lodge become section officers; thus, the aforementioned indirect impact of a section is lost.
There is one rather sure-fire way that sections can make a great impact on the Arrowman, however: reaching a hand to lodges and chapters and helping them to improve themselves. Yes, this is still an indirect impact, but you, dear reader, have no doubt figured out by now that a direct, meaningful, large-scale impact from a section is a near impossibility. So, the section’s only option is to shed its “let them eat cake” mentality, and step in to help improve lodges and chapters. If these smaller, yet more directly impactful organizations can become better suited to attract and engage Arrowmen with the help of the section, then the section would have made perhaps the greatest impact it could have on the Arrowman.
So let this be our resolution, Anson, Hannah, and, you, dear reader, who I am sure share my frustrations: let us aid our lodges and chapters more directly, so as to maximize their functions, thereby maximizing the impact that Section G16 has on its wonderful and gifted populace.