Kimo

If they were chosen to become members when they were Boy Scouts in their youth, they are members of OA for life which entitles them to wear the red and white ribbon with the little silver arrow hanging from their pocket button.

To be entitled to also wear a Lodge flap one must be a current member of a Lodge with dues paid up for that year. You can only belong to the Lodge of the Council through which you are registered - each Council has one Lodge - and you are then entitled to wear the flap of that Lodge. If you were inducted into one Lodge as a youth and later moved to another Council, you would need to become a member of the Lodge of that Council where you are now registered and you would wear the flap of that Lodge in which you are currently a dues paying member.

I think you have made the best choice - the Cub neckerchief will be an example for your Cubs and give your Pack more of an esprit de corps. By all means, be sure to wear your Lodge's flap and your membership emblem (the silver arrow on the red/white ribbon that hangs on your right pocket flap) if you are a brother in good standing and a member of a Lodge. You are supposed to be wearing these two insignia as part of your regular uniform. You can also use them to start a conversation with your Cubs about the OA and inspire them to become brothers one day.

Hi John - yes, you are correct. I should have added a bit more information when I said "so long as he is a registered member of the BSA". You need to have your dues in Scouting current and you may then joint the Lodge that belongs to the Council in which your Scouter registration is active. You may not join a Lodge in a different Council.

Beaded sashes are not permitted. If someone is wearing one they are out of uniform and their lodge brothers should have a word with them.

If you insist on wearing one there are patterns for them on the internet, and also there are internet stores that sell completed ones - some of them with the legend beaded into the backs as well. I think these ready-made ones are made in China. Again, though, they are not authorized OA sashes. It is like the black ones or other styles that are being commercially sold over the internet and outside of the OA.

One other way for an adult to be a member is that once a scout becomes a member, he is an OA member for life so long as he is a registered member of the BSA.

I think your OA election team needs someone to talk to them. As Region 7 Voyageur said, all boys who are in good standing with dues paid are eligible to vote whether they have one week or several years in the troop. As was mentioned, you could set either the vote or the cross-over such that you do not have scouts who are so new they have no way of knowing any of the eligible boys, or even better, set the election so that the new members have a chance to meet the eligible boys and interact with them for a few months so that the newer scouts can start out in the troop being full members. I have found that it does not take very long for boys to gauge each other and that the newer ones tend not to get caught up in the popularity contest issue since they have not been around long enough to get caught in it. If you start out by giving the new scouts some real responsibility I find they tend to rise to the expectations you set for them. Conversely if you have a lack of trust and expectationn in them, they tend to sink to that level. Just have a talk with the whole troop as to what you expect several weeks in advance of the vote as to the importance of what they will be doing and how you will count on them to make informed judgments.

I second John-in-KC's point. It really is the duty of a Scoutmaster to instill the sense of honesty and fairness in the majority of his troop over the years that will result in OA elections that are reasonable though not always predictable in the eyes of the Scoutmaster. One of the whole points of both scouting and the OA is to create leadership skills and other good personal qualities in boys that will last them throughout their lifetimes. If someone is not being elected and they truly deserve to be then the Scoutmaster should see that as a call to increase their efforts. On the other hand if a Scoutmaster is trying to make sure everyone gets elected then perhaps the Scoutmaster should ease up a bit. In the case at hand it sounds a bit complicated - is the reason the Scoutmaster pressing because the scout is a SN scout or because he is every bit as good of a scout as the others who are chosen? From what I read it sounds like it may not be a clear case, especially in terms of the SN scout being disruptive and unhelpful to others at times and the points raised by Meamemg in his post should be considered. OA is not and should not be something that goes to every boy on their 13th or 14th birthday just because they turned that age.

Go to the website and find the upcoming pow wows in your state. These are gatherings of tribes from the local area and sometimes regional or national areas. Pow wows are always very open to all visitors so long as you are respectful of the traditions and the native Americans who go to them to celebrate their cultural heritage. Most of the participants are eager to share their culture with others if you ask them and show them you want to learn. Most also have selling areas set up where you can buy things - either completed regalia or simply the materials to make your own. Many of the participants buy things there to make their own regalia. Here is a link to the pow wow calendar website: http://www.powwows.com/calendar/displaymonth.php

Tapping out is a thing of the past and I also lament its passing out of the mysteries of the Order. Back in dinosaur days when I was tapped out, I went through many tapping out ceremonies where I wasn't chosen. Participating in these ceremonies were expected of the entire troop as a way for the entire troop to honor those who were tapped out. The entire troop voted secretly as to who they thought were deserving and they were the ones who were later tapped out at the ceremony. I think the problem is our society has changed over time and there is a great deal of "instant gratification" and "me" mentality of kids. Of course not all scouts are like that, but too many are. The comment that if a scout does not know in advance that there is something in it for them they may not show up is a reflection of this. I try to instill a more selfless sense into the scouts in my troop when I can. I know it may be seen as old fashioned among some people, but then in many ways so is scouting and the Order and in my opinion this is not a bad thing in any way. Think about the meaning of W.W.W.

Kimo