On September 9-11, 2022, the first-ever conclave for Section G16 was held at Powerland Heritage Park near Salem, OR. Over 300 Arrowmen from across the section gathered for a weekend of training, fun, and fellowship.
Friday night kicked off with the opening show followed by a special VIA Gathering – a special fellowship event for new Arrowmen inducted into the Order of the Arrow in the past year.
On Saturday morning, Arrowmen attended training sessions covering a wide-range of topics from Dutch Oven cooking using a propane stove and wildland firefighting to communication resources and ceremonies. Everyone was able to find something interesting and learn something new to take back to their unit, chapter, or lodge.
Saturday afternoon was filled with activities and competitions. From tomahawks to popcorn, Mario Kart to 9-Square, there were plenty of fun and entertaining activities and games led by some amazing volunteers. When it got too hot outside, shaved ice came to the rescue.
This year’s conclave-wide game, Pathfinder Trail, utilized the conclave mobile app to complete achievements and earn points by completing tasks and scanning QR codes. A special scavenger hunt and the Conclave Spirit Award were also tracked through the app. While there were some technical challenges with the system, the game and the app unified many parts of conclave together.
Arrowmen “Bid High and Bid Often” throughout Saturday afternoon in the silent auction and on Saturday night in the live auction. This year’s auction raised over $13,000 for the section. Funds raised through the auction help offset conclave costs and fund year-round section operations.
On Saturday evening, everyone gathered for the closing show which featured promotions for upcoming lodge events, a keynote address from National Chief of the Order of the Arrow Timothy Reiss, and various award presentations. Mike Johnson or Tsisqan Lodge and Dan Hunker of Wauna La-Mon’ty Lodge were formally presented the Silver Antelope Award for their outstanding service at the National Service Territory level. The section also awarded three Arrow of Honor awards this year. Congratulations to outgoing section vice chief Ryo Takei, section chief Benjamin Flores, and the first-ever Gateway Region Chief Dirk Smelser on receiving the award for their exceptional service to the section.
The show came to a close with installing the newly elected section officers who will serve the section for the 2022-2023 year. Benjamin Flores of Wauna La-Mon’tay Lodge was reelected to serve as section chief, Jackson McCullough of Tsisqan Lodge was elected section vice chief and Jack Lewy of Wauna La-Mon’tay Lodge as section secretary.
Thank you to the outgoing officers for an amazing year and congratulations to the new leaders.
Section G16 would like to gave a big thank you to our amazing host, Powerland Heritage Park, who were very accommodating of our event and supportive of our success. Thank you to the host lodge committee and service corps for organizing and managing much of the logistics and facilities for the weekend.
Thank you to everyone who made this year’s conclave a success. Join us next year at Rogue Community College in Grants Pass on September 8-10.
