The Order of the Arrow is Scouting’s National Honor Society. It recognizes those who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives and, through that recognition, cause others to conduct themselves in a way that warrants similar recognition, to promote camping, to develop leaders, and to crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others.
Each Scouts BSA troop, Venturing crew and Sea Scout ship with qualified Scouts is urged to hold an election not later than December 16, 2023. The date and place of the election are selected by you, as unit leader.
If you have no one who is eligible, please email and include your unit number.
Youth Membership Qualifications
1. Be a registered member of the Boy Scouts of America.
2. At the time of their election, youth must be under the age of 21, hold the Scouts BSA First Class rank, the Venturing Discovery Award, or the Sea Scout Ordinary rank or higher, and following approval by the scoutmaster, crew advisor or Sea Scout skipper, be elected by the youth members of their unit.
3. The youth must have experienced 15 nights of camping while registered with a troop, crew or ship within the two years immediately prior to the election. The 15 nights must include one, but no more than one, long-term camp consisting of at least five consecutive nights of overnight camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of the Boy Scouts of America. Only five nights of the long-term camp may be credited toward the 15-night camping requirement; the balance of the camping (10 nights) must be overnight, weekend, or other short-term camps of, at most, three nights each. Ship nights may be counted as camping for Sea Scouts.
4. Assistant scoutmasters who are 18, 19 or 20 years old are also considered to be youth members for the purpose of OA elections. All requirements shown above must be met for a young assistant scoutmaster to be eligible for election.
Prior to your unit’s election, the unit leader must certify the nominee’s Scout spirit and youth membership qualifications. Voting for youth candidates will be based on their spirit of brotherhood, cheerfulness (no matter how tiresome their duties), and a willingness to give unselfish and wholehearted service to others at all times.
To schedule an Order of the Arrow election for your unit, please click here:
Schedule Election
Your election should be held at a regularly scheduled unit meeting or camping experience. Every effort should be made to have 100 percent attendance of both youth and adults at this meeting. An election team from the Order of the Arrow will be on hand to conduct the election.
Please observe youth protection guidelines when emailing any youth.
If you have any questions, please contact our election coordinators listed below.
Yours in Scouting,
Khang Doan (Youth)
Ohlone Chapter, Yerba Buena Lodge