Brothers and Fellow Connoisseurs of Classiness:

The time has come to register for the Classy Country Club Conclave! The weekend of May 17-19, 2013, hundreds of your fellow brothers will descend upon Beaumont Scout Reservation in Northeastern Ohio for the classiest Order of the Arrow event you will ever attend! Arrowmen from six lodges will come together for a weekend of fellowship, fun, games, competitions, in-depth training and shows, all based on our Classy Country Club theme.

Many Arrowmen from across the lodges have been working for months to plan a fantastic weekend no one should miss out on! If you have never attended a Conclave before, the Classy Country Club Conclave will be a great time to see what it's all about since this will be a unique experience. A special feature of this year's conclave will be the demonstration of the revised brotherhood ceremony, open to all Brotherhood and Vigil Honor members. This demonstration offers a special opportunity for Arrowmen to provide feedback on the revised ceremony.

If you've been to a Conclave before, then you know you will not want to miss out on this classy weekend! The cost to attend Conclave is $38.00 if you register and pay prior to March 15th; registration fees increase as Conclave approaches. If you are ready to register or would like additional information, visit http://conclave.oa-c4a.org/. The registration process takes only a few minutes and then you will set to attend conclave!

Remember, you want to register as soon as possible; this weekend is not one you want to miss! At the Classy Country Club Conclave: BE PREPARED...TO BE CLASSY!

Yours in Brotherhood,

Ricky Angeletti	Matt Bernotas	Blaine Lott
Section Chief	Section Vice Chief	Section Secretary

Conclave 2012 has come to a close for this year. 163 Arrowmen gathered at Fort Steuben Scout Reservation for a weekend of fun, food and fellowship. 

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Congratulations to our 2012-2013 Section C-4A Leadership Team:

• Section Chief - Ricky Angeletti, Marnoc Lodge
• Section Vice Chief - Matt Bernotas, Portage Lodge
• Section Secretary - Blaine Lott, Marnoc Lodge
• Section Adviser - Sean McCabe, Onondaga Lodge
• Section Staff Adviser - Jim Shimko, Marnoc Lodge
• Section Associate Adviser - Barry Smith, Marnoc Lodge
• Section Associate Adviser - Zach Thuring, Onondaga Lodge

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Several awards were presented at Conclave. Congratulations to all award recipients. 

Section Chief's Award (Presented by Mitch Andrews):

• Terri Andrews, Wapashuwi Lodge
• Ricky Angeletti, Marnoc Lodge
• Sean McCabe, Onondaga Lodge
• Jon Reisdorf, Sipp-O Lodge

 Outstanding Lodge Award: 

• Marnoc Lodge

 Lodge Spirit Award: 

• Portage Lodge

 Man/Mile Award: 

• Onondaga Lodge

 Lodge Chief of the Year: 

• Matt Bernotas, Portage Lodge

 Brotherhood Ceremony Competition: 

• Portage Lodge

At the February 2012 Central Region Board Meeting, Ray Czech, former Section Adviser, was named a Silver Antelope recipient. He will be presented the award at the BSA National Meeting in May. The Arrowmen of the Section wish to congratulate Ray on this tremendous honor.

The Silver Antelope Award is the regional-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America and recognizes outstanding service to young people within one of the four regions of the BSA. The award is made by the National Court of Honor and the recipient must be a registered adult member of the Boy Scouts of America.

Congratulations to Section C-4A for an outstanding 2011. Here are just a few highlights:

• 10% of our lodge's members attended Conclave
• Onondaga, Wapashuwi, Marnoc, Sipp-O, and Portage all earned Quality Lodge
• Highest Retention and Brotherhood Conversion percentages in the Central Region
• Ranked 5th out of 50 sections across the nation

Through a generous gift by an anonymous benefactor, Section C-4A was able to offer two scholarships to NOAC 2012. The winners were selected for their response to the prompt, "What does the Order of the Arrow mean to me?" Please help us congratulate our scholarship recipients:

• Joshua Cleland (Portage Lodge)
  

  To me, the Order of the Arrow is glue. It is an organization which bonds all of Scouting into a single, cohesive unit. It ties together several different troops together into one large group. The Order of the Arrow also uses the combined power of all of the different troops to support many different activities such as campouts, service projects, and social gatherings. This fulfills the three key ideals of the Order of the Arrow: friendship, fellowship, and service. It also spreads these ideals throughout all of Scouting. The Order of the Arrow is also key in advancing Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.

  Participation in our lodge and section campouts has promoted the friendship aspect of the Order of the Arrow. I have made several friends outside of my own troop through the Order of the Arrow. These are lifelong friends that I know I can count on throughout my life. How else could I have been able to answer Star Wars quotes and also have a fun time with my friends? I also have had fun doing other activities such as our annual Christmas parties.

  Our service activities fill me with a sense of accomplishment and pride. This is another opportunity to bond in fellowship as we work along with one another to make a positive difference in my community. I will never forget the fun of sliding down a slope in the Lorain County Metro parks, which was being used as a dumping ground for the neighborhood sitting at the top of the ravine. I will also cherish our cleaning duties at the Christmas lights at the Metro Parks as well.

  One of my chapter's best moments was our Wuliken Weekend Fall Camporee. After our hard work and time spent well, we accomplished this campout. Speaking as the immediate past chapter chief of our chapter, I would say that this campout was a success because we were able to overcome flaws, and still accomplish our goal to have a lot fun and promote scouting to the cub scouts as well as older scouts. We certainly put on a good show and taught the Webelos what Boy Scouts is really about.

  All of these things, together, bring us to the friendship part. These different opportunities that I have seen fulfill this part. Throughout my entire scouting career these things will always stay in my mind. This was all because of the Order of the Arrow.

• David Ross Jr. (Wapashuwi Lodge)
  

  The Order of the Arrow to me means leadership, responsibility and honor. Personally, I believe that if it wasn't for the order I would probably not be the same person. I more than likely would be a slacker. Someone who tries to have everything handed to me instead of working for it.

  The order shows leadership to me because all members in the order take it upon themselves to get the task done instead of sitting back and waiting for others to do it. Since being accepted in the Order of the Arrow I myself and others around me have seen the improvement in my leadership skills my responsibility and taking charge when others sit back and wait for someone else to overcome the obstacle. Leadership is a great quality of life and I would like to keep building that skill.

  Also responsibility is a major factor in being part of this great organization. Responsibility is a key skill in life. It shows that others can depend on you and come to you with questions and know they can get the answer to that question from me. I believe that my being accepted into the OA has given me a learning experience that I would not have had if my brothers did not elect me. Within my troop many of the scouts are just how I have described above. But as I look at myself now and then I can honestly say I was just like them. I was the one that would say I don't know how to do that even when I did. Or while they are already doing that so why should do it. That is one of the major things I've learned since being a part of the Order of the Arrow.

  Another big part of being in the Order of the Arrow is it's a great honor. There is a saying "The few, the proud, the OA" and it's very true. When I was accepted into the OA I was ecstatic with excitement. I was honored when I found out that I could be a part of this great organization. Ever since that day I made it through my Ordeal, I have tried to go to every OA event I could I would also like to include NOAC on my list of events. Thank you for considering me for the scholarship.

After several months of development the new section website has launched. While it is still in development, if you have any feedback please . Your comments are valuable as we work to make the site beneifical for you.