Spe-Le-Yai Lodge is off to Another Great Start
Sunday April 20, 2008 7:08 pm PDT
In February, the Lodge held its annual Vigil Dinner and conducted a Vigil Induction for two of its members, Carol Olen and Manuel Sibrian. Also in February, members of the Tribe of Tahquitz attended our Lodge Meeting to encourage our members to start a Dance Team. In March, the Lodge participated in the W4A Conclave at Forest Lawn Scout Reservation. We were in charge of providing the sports activities, which was very challenging given the low temperature. At the Conclave our former Lodge Chief Manuel Sibrian was elected Section Vice-Chief. We had 20 of our members register for this annual activity. Next year our Lodge is the host lodge in March of 2009. In late April, the Lodge supported outdoor program by providing service at the Cub Scout Rocket Academy at CVO. Not only was one of our members the chair of this event, David Potter, but we also manned the Kitchen, worked in the Trading Post, and ran the campfire program. We also provided an Arrow of Light Ceremony during the campfire. The following weekend the Lodge held its annual Spring Service Weekend and Ordeal. We provided a great deal of service to CVO and inducted over 20 new members into our Lodge. Because Spe-Le-Yai is the host lodge for the next Conclave, we will be hosting all the Section Meetings for the coming year. The first Section Meeting will be held at the Council Office the first Saturday in June and will include a tour of our Council’s Scout Museum.
During the summer of 2008, six of our members will be participating in ArrowCorp5. The Order of the Arrow has had a long-standing interest in coordinating a national service project, utilizing the infrastructure and leadership established over many years of success at the Boy Scouts of America's high adventure bases. Working closely together, the United States Forest Service and the OA have chosen five project sites, spread across America that will be the focus of our combined efforts. ArrowCorps 5 (pronounced Arrow Corps Five) will provide an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for each participant to set an example of leadership in service to those who treasure our national forests. Our lodge members will travel to Shasta-Trinity National Forest the second week of July. The ArrowCorps5 Shasta-Trinity National Forest Project (ASTP) is located in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest an hour drive through 60 miles of magnificent country side north of Redding, California. The California/Oregon border is another 60 miles north. Interstate 5 (I5), a major north-south highway, bisects the project into east and west sections, with the city of Mt. Shasta, at an elevation of about 3600 feet, being at about the center of the entire project elements. The ASTP consists of several elements of work on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), feeder trails to the PCT, illegal dump site clean-up, and fuel reduction. The purpose of the project is to provide much needed assistance to the National Forest with trail maintenance and clean-up that otherwise would not be done. The projects will require a range of abilities that should be sufficient to provide all participants with a satisfying experience, while rendering a service to the forest and future visitors. We will be making a stop in Sacramento to visit the state capital and other historic sites and the following day drive up to Shasta for our orientation and distribution to our various work sites on the trail.
