Wow, does time fly!!! It seems like just yesterday that I was elected Section Chief, but somehow almost a year has already passed. I would like to start off and say, it was great to see all of you at your lodge's banquets. I can now honestly say now that I have visited all eight lodges during my term. I am also pleased to announce that a section officer was in attendance at every lodge banquet. But with Winter Banquet season behind us we are now onto planning Section Conclave. I will be the first to tell you that the conclave leadership team this year is the best of the best. These youth and adults are beyond qualified and ready to bring you the best conclave yet! But here is where we need your help. I am asking that you go to your home troop and promote conclave. I'm sure many of you have been to a conclave and are very eager to attend again, but why not share this great experience with another Arrowmen from your troop. I challenge you to personally invite the scouts from your troop to conclave. Conclave is a experience of a lifetime and I hope to allow 400 Arrowmen across the Chicagoland area to enjoy the experience this April. I hope to see you and the Arrowmen from your troop there.

Yours in Brotherhood,

Pat WIlson

First of all I would like to express how impressed I am with all of our lodges!!! So far I have had the pleasure to visit seven out of the eight lodges in our section and I have been left speechless. The quality of leadership and program you guys are putting on is the top of the top. The leadership in each of the lodges is making things happen and making them happen flawlessly and I could not be more proud to represent such a great group of lodges.

But with the summer having come and gone, fellowships already have happening it is time to start planning for the upcoming winter season. Most people think that the winter is the slow season of scouting but looking at the sections calendar of events for all the lodges, it just gets busier. Our lodges are striving to be the best they can be and work hard year round to put on a quality program to best serve the 7500 arrowmen of the great Section C-7.

The section leadership has also been hard at work planning numerous events and programs for our lodges. The first weekend of October we hosted the second Lodge Chief Summit which proved a great success as all of the newly elected chiefs had the opportunity to network and share their ideas to other lodges and more importantly get ideas to bring back to their own lodge. It was great to see these leaders talking about something they are all very passionate about. The next event the section has is right around the corner in November, we will be hosting the Fall Council of Chiefs which is a great way for arrowmen across the Chicagoland area to come bond and help the initial planning for conclave.

The big project the section is focused on this year is the Area 7 Camp Promotions Initiative. The section is working on producing an area wide Where to Go Camping Guide with all the council camp grounds as well as local state and national parks. We are hoping with this project to increase scout camping by 5% in the upcoming years. We will be distributing a DVD with the guide on it to every troop and pack with in the area at no cost to the local councils or lodges.

This fall is a great chance for all arrowmen to make a difference, if you are newly inducted arrowmen, join a committee; if you are a lodge chief, find a way to leave your legacy this year. The opportunities are endless, all you need to do is act. Allowat Sakima said "He alone is worthy to wear the Arrow who will continue faithfully to serve his fellowman." I hope see you all at the November COC!!!

Yours in Brotherhood,

Pat WIlson

Summer is quickly approaching and although many see it as the “off season,” our Arrowmen have numerous opportunities to serve. This summer:

• Arrowmen have the historic opportunity to be the first ones to visit the BSA’s brand-new Bechtel Summit—the BSA’s newest High Adventure base—and put the first shovels in the ground to kick off the $400 million development effort, working on getting it ready for the 2013 National Jamboree.
• In August, Indian Summer—a national event focused on the OA’s ceremonies, inductions, and Native American customs and traditions, will be in full swing at Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina.
• Also throughout the summer there will be OA High Adventure trips going on—what better way to spend your summer than attending OA Ocean Adventure at Florida Sea Base, OA Trail Crew at Philmont, or Wilderness Voyage and Canadian Odyssey at Northern Tier, all at a fraction of the cost of what non-OA members pay!

This summer is a great chance for you to experience a national event before the 2012 NOAC at Michigan State. But be sure to mark your calendar for July 30 to August 4, as NOAC will be THE place to be! For those of you who have never been, NOAC is a Conclave on steroids. The amount of fun and fellowship is unbelievable; this is not an event you want to miss. If you had fun at Conclave this is the event to be at.

Next, I would like to thank everyone who attended this year’s conclave in order to help make it such a great success. I heard from numerous Arrowmen that “It was the best Conclave EVER!!!” So I’d like to give a special thank you to all scouts who had a part in planning this year’s Conclave, as it was truly amazing. I hope to see each and every one of you at next year conclave because we are striving to make it that much better.

Finally, I’d encourage you to take this year to “Serve Strong”; get involved with your Chapter or Lodge, and try something new. The Order of the Arrow is truly a leadership builder which will help you for the rest of your life. The friendships and memories that come from this program are priceless, so be sure to make the most of it. Remember what Mark Twain once said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Yours in Leadership and Service,

Pat Wilson

With the start of the new year, it is a great time to take advantage of the opportunities that you have presented to you. As a section, we have had a very successful past 8 months. We have embraced the opportunities to meet new people, build relationships, and learn new and interesting things from each other. We now have the opportunity to invite and include all of our brothers to participate Section activities. The Section conclave is a wonderful opportunity to for any Arrowmen to come out and enjoy a huge weekend of brotherhood, cheerfulness, and fellowship. We have an awesome conclave planned, but without arrowmen to share the experience, all of that hard work is lost. The more people that experience this conclave, the more fun it will be!! I encourage you to bring any of your brothers to join Section C-7 at this year’s Conclave. The summer of 2011 is very busy for the Order of the Arrow. With programs like SummitCorps, Indian Summer, Trail Crew, Ocean Adventure, Wilderness Voyage, and Canadian Odyssey; there is a huge opportunity for you to gain some life long memories and experiences. The Order of the Arrow is a Brotherhood of Cheerful Service that provides you with endless opportunities for you to gain new friendships, valuable memories, and amazing experiences. I challenge you to take advantage of as many of these opportunities as possible. I look forward to seeing all of you at the Conclave!

Yours in Brotherhood,

Mike Stanbary