This weekend I was able to attend the Santee Lodge fall fellowship and get two more nights under the stars at Camp Coker. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing old friends and having lots of conversations about Scouting and catching up with people. The lodge inducted over 30 new members with Brotherhood and Vigil ceremonies also taking place.
The Scout Executive has recently announced he is stepping down but fiscally everything is on a sound footing so nobody seemed too worried. A search committee is already being formed and I got to talk to some people involved. Like many councils membership decline is the #1 concern but luckily the finances are solid.
Saturday night I was able to give a brief overview of some of our traditions to the new members including the story behind our totem and some of the symbology in our patches. I was able to make an audio recording of the talk and I'll try and spin that up next week as a feature on www.CarolinaOA.com.
On eBay I have 187 live auctions focused on OA with a bunch of vintage issues ending tonight. This week now that I've got the antique mall booth sorted and fall fellowship in the rear view mirror I need to buckle down and focus on listing.
I am hoping to sign up and attend NOAC with the Santee guys. They have a lot of adults but so far very few youth (sound familiar?) so that will be my only stumbling block. I was glad to see some interest in patch collecting at the fellowship and with luck the 4th edition of the Patch Collectors Guide to Santee Lodge 116 will be out next month to help keep that alive.
