Honors & Awards

The Vigil Honor is a high mark of distinction and recognition reserved for those Arrowmen who, by reason of exceptional service, personal effort, and unselfish interest, have made distinguished contributions beyond the immediate responsibilities of their position or office to one or more of the following:

• The Lodge
• TheOrder of the Arrow
• Scouting Community
• A Scout Camp

Under no circumstances should tenure in Scouting or the Order of the Arrow be considered as reason enough for a Vigil Honor recommendation.” (For a complete explanation of the meaning and selection criteria, refer to “Vigil Honor” in the Order of the Arrow Handbook.)

You may either print and fill out the Vigil Honor Nomination then mail it to the address on the nomination, or type the information into the nomination and email it to [email protected].

Each section of the nomination is required and must be completed fully. Those submitting the nomination should feel free to request information from the Lodge officers, Advisors, along with Chapter, Unit & District leadership to complete the nomination as needed.

Nominations must be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to the Atlanta Area Council Volunteer Service Center no later than July 31.

Questions? Contact Vigil Honor Committee Chairman: @ [email protected]

NOTE:  Please download and fill out the form within Adobe Acrobat, not inside your web browser.  The form is completely fillable including the ability to add a photo of the nominee.  Save the file and submit it as requested.

Introduced at the 1981 National Order of the Arrow Conference, the Founder’s Award recognizes Arrowmen who have given outstanding service to their lodge. The award is reserved for an Arrowman who demonstrates that he or she personifies the spirit of selfless service, as advocated by founder E. Urner Goodman and cofounder Carroll A. Edson.

The Founder’s Award is the highest award the Lodge can bestow upon a member. The criteria is for “those who best exemplify in their everyday life the true meaning of the OA: the basic ideals of Brotherhood, Cheerfulness and Service.”

Lodges may petition the national Order of the Arrow committee to present between two and four awards annually, depending on the number of members in the lodge. If the lodge presents more than one award, at least one must be awarded to a youth under the age of 21.Please watch this short video for a full explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSlAL6JgQMA

Nominations must be received no later than July 31  at the AAC Volunteer Service Center. Please mark envelopes Attn: Matt Rendahl & Egwa Tawa Dee – Founder’s     Additional questions should be sent to : [email protected] 

The James E. West Fellowship recognizes a contribution of at least $1000 to the council’s endowment fund. Each year the Lodge will raise these funds to honor one lodge member by contributing to the council endowment fund in that member’s name who will then receive the James E. West Fellowship recognition items at the lodge annual banquet. This recognition will primarily be given for a “lifetime” of service to the Lodge, the Order of the Arrow, and Scouting.

Form must be received no later than July 31 at the AAC Volunteer Service Center. Please mark envelopes Attn: Matt Rendahl & Egwa Tawa Dee – James E. West Fellowship.    Additional questions should be sent to: [email protected]

As the primary platform where the Scouting program is delivered to youth, the unit is the most vital and important level of the BSA for the Order of the Arrow to support. The Order of the Arrow Unit of Excellence Award seeks to identify those units, and the leaders within them, who excel at incorporating the OA into their annual planning. This award is intended to provide a tool for lodges to recognize, incentivize, and operationalize unit-level participation in Order of the Arrow programs.

The OA Unit of Excellence Award criteria recognize units that invite the lodge to:

• Conduct quality unit elections;
• Participate in lodge events and meetings; and
• Operate a complete OA Unit Representative program.

Units must complete all the requirements listed on the form on the next page during the applicable calendar year to be eligible for the Order of the Arrow Unit of Excellence Award and submit the application to the Lodge before the December 30th deadline. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. The Lodge Unit Relations Committee will verify the membership information in the application against the unit’s record in LodgeMaster. If the application is approved, the Lodge will order the OA Unit of Excellence Award Streamer from the Order of the Arrow Office in Irving Texas. Because the streamers are custom made, the national office normally sends out the OA Unit of Excellence Awards in May of the following year. The qualifying unit must order the individual awards from the OA National Office using the forms available on the Lodge website. The Lodge will normally announce the units that have qualified for the award in January. After the Lodge receives the streamers, the unit will be notified when it will be presented to the unit.

Email application to [email protected].