2016 Order of the Arrow national officers elected

Hunter Jones 2016 OA National Chief
Hunter Jones, 2016 National Chief

Hunter Jones has been elected 2016 National Chief of the Order of the Arrow, the group announced Monday. Jones, a member of the Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge of the Nashville-based Middle Tennessee Council, was elected by his fellow youth Arrowmen at this week’s OA National Planning Meeting near Dallas.

As National Chief, Jones will represent nearly 200,000 Arrowmen — youth and adult members of the OA, Scouting’s National Honor Society — throughout the 2016 calendar year.

Jones joins National Sea Scout Boatswain Edward Campbell and National Venturing President Edward Abraham as the three highest-ranking youth leaders in the Boy Scouts of America.

Tyler Inberg 2016 OA National Vice Chief
Tyler Inberg, 2016 National Vice Chief

Tyler Inberg of the Wauna La-Mon’tay Lodge, part of the Cascade Pacific Council out of Portland, Ore., was elected National Vice Chief and will serve as Jones’ right-hand man throughout 2016.

In late December each year, Order of the Arrow section chiefs from across the country gather to plan the OA’s exciting, service-based program for the following calendar year. But before that planning begins, the section chiefs elect a National Chief and National Vice Chief.

The OA’s national officer election process involves round-by-round balloting, speeches by eligible candidates and even a question-and-answer session in a later round. The election typically begins around 7:30 p.m. on the first night of the OA National Planning Meeting and continues well into the night.

This time, severe storms in the Dallas area pushed the elections originally scheduled for Sunday night to Monday morning. Thankfully, these Arrowmen leaders and their adult advisors were safe and took the postponement with the kind of grace you’d expect from a bunch of outstanding youth leaders.

The 2016 region chiefs also were elected at this week’s OA National Planning Meeting:

  • Northeast Region Chief: Chris Boyle, Buckskin Lodge, Theodore Roosevelt Council, Massapequa, N.Y.
  • Central Region Chief: Logan Greene, Nischa Chuppecat Lodge, Hoosier Trails Council, Bloomington, Ind.
  • Southern Region Chief: Jeffrey Sedlacek, Wahissa Lodge, Old Hickory Council, Winston-Salem, N.C.
  • Western Region Chief: Joe Garcia, Wipala Wiki Lodge, Grand Canyon Council, Phoenix

Congratulations to all of these outstanding Arrowmen, and best wishes for 2016!

Three cheers for the 2015 OA national officers

Let me take a quick moment to praise the phenomenal efforts of the 2015 OA national officers, many of whom I had the honor of meeting at the life-changing 2015 National Order of the Arrow Conference in August.

Congratulations to Alex CallDonnie StephensJoey DierdorfMatt BellNathan Lee and Alex Leach on a remarkable year. Your service during the OA’s 100th anniversary celebration will become the stuff of legend!


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.