Chapter Meeting Ideas

[SR540Beaver]

As I said in QuekolisChief's thread, I am a newly minted Chapter Adviser who is trying to revive our Chapter. One of the things that has not happened in years is a regularly scheduled Chapter meeting. Our "Chapter meetings" were actually ceremony team meetings at the previous Adviser's house and those were not advertised to the Chapter members. We are reinstituting regular Chapter meetings to be held at the same time and place as our monthly District Roundtable. I know it will be slow going, but my intent and desire is to get the OA youth in our district to take an interest in OA beyond wearing a patch. Here is my problem. Since we have not had Chapter meetings in the recent or even distant past, I have no model to go by. I need to know what you do at your Chapter meetings......from beginning to end. Do you have an expectation that the youth be in uniform or not? Do you do the pledge and the admonition? Oath and Law? How long do they typically last? What do you do? HELP!!!

[Eagle92]

Beav,

Check out some of the links I gave 'Chief. Soem of the things we did were

pool parties Christmas Parties Member/Candidate QnA and Social

Guitar Hero Nite Chapter Fellowship and workday

Military base tour

 

Hope it helps.

[Crew21_Adv]

SR540Beaver,

 

Greetings!

 

 

Here is what my Chapter has done.

 

We began having Chapter meetings on Roundtable night.

 

We know that most youth Arrowmen don't drive, so they would rely upon the parents going to Roundtable at the same time.

 

My Chapter recognizes that not all Arrowmen get the word, many youth email address are temporary and/or their parents delete the email without reminding them of a Chapter meeting.

 

That being said, we know that Chapter meetings will be regular and small business will be done. As long as our Chief gets a newsletter out to the Chapter, the word will get out. With 5-7 Arrowmen sitting in a Chapter meeting, we consider this a huge success.

 

We have an Arrowman act as the Guardian at the door. All Arrowmen, adult and youth, have to give the admonition to enter (or they may be escorted inside the meeting as we do have guest on ocassions). We open with the OA Pledge, usually we have to break out our cards and read them, but we do it still.

 

One of the advisors usually brings beef jerky and rootbeer, (food makes a good bribe/reward for attendance).

 

In one of the online manuals www.oa-bsa.org, there is an actual sample Chapter meeting agenda. We use this as our agenda, but it takes minutes for our youth Arrowmen to move thru the agenda.

 

So with the excess time, we do a read thru of our Chapter Call Out Ceremony and Arrow of Light Ceremony. Then we go into a Brotherhood Conversion Study and Quiz.

 

Twice a "school calendar" year we have a Chapter Fellowship (in addition to the Lodge events). First is a 1/2 work-service day and 1/2 video game day at the local campsite. The second is a 1/2 video game evening with a limited Ordeal Q&A with the most recently called out candidates. (Between Spring Camporee and Spring Ordeal weekend).

 

My Chapter is not the model OA Chapter sitting in the middle of the Mid-West. But we are very proud to have a meager but enduring attendance, a few Chapter Arrowman socials, Brotherhood conversions and fun events.

 

SR540, Good Luck in getting your Chapter energized! and Let us know what works for you!

 

 

Scouting Forever and Venture On!

Crew21 Adv