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Fellow Arrowmen,
I am pleased to announce that the 2010 applications for OA Trail Crew, OA Wilderness Voyage, and OAWV: Canadian Odyssey, have been posted to the high adventure website, http://www.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 2010. The OA Ocean Adventure program is currently being revised 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. Many of you on this list serve in leadership capacities within your lodge and section. I hope that I can count on all of you to help spread the news about our 2010 application release by putting articles in your lodge & section newsletters, posting the information and applications on your websites, sending an email to your lodge distribution lists and using the promotional resources our team provides at all your OA functions.
We promote OA High Adventure so vigorously because we firmly believe that the experiences of our participants can be life changing and inspiring. At the bottom of this article I have copied a letter we received from the father of a past OAHA participant. I hope this letter will help show you the power of these programs and that you will help us fill them for a fifth straight year.
Thanks for all you do.
In WWW,
Ryan Braddy
OA High Adventure Promotion
Cell: 865-254-9102
Email:
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"Proud doesn't begin to describe my feelings when my son related stories of his OA Trail Crew adventure. In a short two weeks he had an experience that literally transformed his life.
Rob has always been serious about Scouting. He loves camping and the outdoors. After election into the Order of the Arrow, Rob wouldn't miss a service project or a Lodge meeting. Applying for OA Trail Crew was the next natural step in cheerful service and high adventure.
During his trek, his mother worried constantly. I even became concerned when he didn't call after finishing the work week and leaving for the trek.
Finally the call came and a tired –but happy- voice said “had a great time, will tell you about it when I get home, bye."
The ride home from the airport was something I'll always remember. The car had the strong odor of clothes that had been worn for a week of strenuous activity. His uniform was wrinkled after the long flight. His face looked like someone who had been in the sun too long. But his broad smile wouldn't quit and his voice was filled with the excitement of someone who had been to the moon and back!
He told me of the work week and how difficult it was – yet how much he enjoyed it. They had moved boulders, cut trees and shoveled dirt. They built a small section of trail that would be used for many years to come and they were felt a great sense of accomplishment. They slid down snow on shovels, watched fireworks on top of Baldy and experienced the beauty of the Philmont backcountry on a trek that was unique to their crew. He spoke of the quiet time they had for reflection. In that time he was able to recognize his own strengths and weaknesses. As he spoke, the increase in maturity and self-confidence was unmistakable. He had grown from a Boy Scout into a young man – who understood more about life and knew himself better than before.
I didn't think anything could top the Philmont experience until this last summer when he returned for a second OA High Adventure with Wilderness Voyage at Northern Tier. His return home was déjà vu – the same broad smile, the same excitement about building a trail, the same smelly clothes. The trek experience was different, but the spiritual growth and increased confidence were unmistakable.
If there's ever any question about the value of these programs or if there' s any question if we should encourage more young men to participate, consider my son who says -without hesitation- that OA High Adventure was THE BEST times of his life!"
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