It’s that time of year again!  In just a few days, we’ll kick off our 2012 Ordeal Season with an Ordeal/Brotherhood weekend at Camp Sequoyah.  Registration opens at 5pm and all Ordeal Candidates are expected to be checked in by 8pm. There’s lots to be done at Camp this weekend. Please come out and help us show our new members the true service spirit of our Lodge. The Ordeal schedule will be posted in the next day or so.

If you’ve been an Ordeal members for 10 months or longer, it’s time to seal your membership by attaining Brotherhood.  Be sure to check out our Brotherhood guide on Coosa50.org Click Here and visit OA JumpStart Click Here, then tell the registration staff that you’d like to be a Brotherhood Candidate.

Don’t miss out on the newest addition of the NOAC rubber flap fundraiser series coming out this weekend at the May Ordeal!

Vigil Honor nominations are due no later than May 24th, then the selection committee will meet shortly thereafter.  Click here to download the nomination form.

Finally, NOAC is coming up quickly.  We’re working on lowering the cost even further for our contingent members.  The final cost may even be below the base cost for attending the event, thanks to our fundraiser flaps and auctions.  If you haven’t signed up, slots are filling quickly.  For more info and to register online, go to our website Click Here. A NOAC contingent meeting will be held Saturday at Camp Sequoyah. All those registered should plan on attending.

Visitation for Mr. Colburn and his family will be at 3:00 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 15th, at Usrey Funeral Home (Google Maps: 516 North St. E, Talladega, AL).  Funeral services will follow at 4:00 PM on the same day.

As a celebration of his Scouting legacy, all Scouts and Scouters who attend are invited and encouraged to wear their full Class A uniform.

Here is Mr. Colburn’s obituary, courtesy of Usrey Funeral Home’s website:

Moran Owen Colburn passed away at the Talladega Healthcare Center on May 11, 2012. He was 91. Services will be Tuesday May 15 at 4:00pm at Usrey funeral home a visitation will be from 3:00pm to 4:00pm Tuesday.

Mr. Colburn entered the Alabama School for the Deaf (ASD) when he was 10 years old. While a student, he became a member of the football team and the Boy Scouts of America. These two organizations, along with his church, became life-long passions.

Moran was viewed as a valuable leader and player on the ASD Silent Warriors’ football team. He was a two time All American Schools of the Deaf football player and later became the American Athletic Association of the Deaf Coach of the Year. He was instrumental in getting the ASD enrolled in the Alabama High School Athletic Association. He was inducted into the ASD Hall of Fame as a player and coach. This year the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind Board of Trustees named the football field in his honor.

Moran was an avid University of Alabama football fan. He was teaching his great-nephews to say “Go Bama” before they could speak!

Moran joined the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 29, while a student at ASD and earned the rank of Eagle. As an adult, he served as Scoutmaster for 47 years, Post Advisor for 37 years, Cubmaster for 31 years, and Indian Dance Team Coordinator for 31 years. He spent 44 years on the summer camp staff and taught many Scouts handicraft during his 39 years at the Camp Comer Trading Post which now bears his name.

Moran loved nature. He and his Scouts hand-blazed the beautiful six mile Chinnabee Silent Trail. They received President Bush’s Take Pride in America award two times.
Moran received numerous awards in Scouting, such as the National Silver Antelope, the Silver Beaver, and Order of the Arrow Founder’s Award; however, he was most proud of “his boys”. He served over 1,000 deaf boys in Troop 29 with 32 achieving the rank of Eagle and 11 becoming Vigil Honor Scouts.

Moran led by example. He taught the importance of a strong work ethic, honesty, loyalty, service to others, and faith in Jesus Christ. He wrote, “…we should remember that hard times are an important part of life. …when it seems like our world is falling apart; we learn to reach out to God and others. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).” Moran truly had the heart of a hero.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Mary Evelyn Jones Colburn, and his brother Floyd Colburn. He is survived by his niece Pam Jones and nephews David and Don Jones. He had one great niece and three great nephews who admired and loved their ‘Uncle Moran’.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Greater Alabama Council Boy Scouts of America to assist in providing camp scholarships for underprivileged and/or physically challenged youth or to the First United Methodist Church.

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the death of Mr. Moran Colburn. Mr. Colburn was an institution amongst the members of Achunanchi Lodge, where he served as the Dance Team adviser for more than 25 years and was recognized with the Vigil Honor in 1957.

Mr. Colburn spent 44 summers on summer camp staff, including 39 years at the Camp Comer Trading Post, which was renamed in his honor at the 2009 Coosa Lodge American Indian Seminar. He served as an Assistant Scoutmaster for the 1953 National Boy Scout Jamboree at Irvine Ranch, California.

In addition to the Vigil Honor, Mr. Colburn was recognized with the Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope Awards, the Order of the Arrow Founder’s Award, and the James E. West Fellowship Award.

Mr. Colburn became involved in Scouting in 1934 when he joined Troop 29 at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. He continued to serve Troop 29 for more than 70 years, touching the lives for more than 1,000 deaf Scouts. He served as Scoutmaster for 47 years, Post Advisor for 37 years, Indian Dance Team Coordinator for 37 years, and Cubmaster for 31 years.

Services will be held at Usrey Brown Service Funeral Home in Talladega. Arrangements will be provided as they become available.

Last weekend’s Conclave was a great success at Camp Ben Hawkins.  We took more than 100 members and secured the “Largest Contingent” award.  We also won 2nd Place for our website, 2nd Place in Volleyball, 1st Place in Team Dance, 4th Place in drumming, and had lots of teams and individual dancers earn recognitions.

Pre-Ordeal Teams from Yuchi (A, B, and C) and Nacha Sipo earned medals, as did the Brotherhood team from Nacho Sipo and Will Tidwell for Vigil.

Patrick Hayes won 2nd Place in the straight dance competition, plus 1st place for his straight dance out.  Jacob Smith won 2nd Place in the fancy dance competition and for his fancy dance outfit.  Jeff Henson won 3rd Place in the fancy dance competition and for his fancy dance outfit.

Finally, our own Nathan Moore was re-elected and will serve a second term as Section Vice-Chief, alongside new Section Chief Tyler Stempanik and new Section Secretary William Mitchell.

Hawk Day is this weekend at Camp Jack Wright.  Work starts at 8am and is scheduled to wrap up at 4pm.  If you have grass cutting equipment, shovels, rakes, or wheel barrows, please bring them!  Also, bring your own sack lunch and a water bottle.  If you plan to attend this Hawk Day, please email Mr. Julian Simmons (nitis@aol.com).

NOAC Fundraiser – To help send a deserving Arrowman to the NOAC, Mr. Jesse Carroll has donated a great set of lodge flaps representing all of the lodges with which Coosa has been associated – both our 3 great predecessor lodges and those in our Section.  This is a great opportunity to round out your collection.  Click  here to see the auction on eBay.

BSA Lifeguards and Safety Afloat-certified volunteers are needed for the Pirates of Comer Cub event at Camp Comer this Saturday, April 28 from 8:00-5:30.  Anyone that would like to serve can be housed and fed Friday and/or Saturday.  This is an important job working specifically with Cub Canoeing and will provide cheerful service to the Cub Scout Committee.  If you would like to volunteer please e-mail Jenny Hairrell (jhairrel@gmail.com) or email Jeff Brasher (jbrasher@1bsa.org) as soon as possible.

There’s a lot more going on within the Lodge!  We have unit elections, an upcoming Ordeal, NOAC preparations, Vigil nominations, and lots more on the schedule for the next couple of months, so be sure to check the website or sign up for our e-newsletter to make sure you’re getting all the latest news and information as soon as it’s available.

Some last-minute Conclave notes from the LEC …

• A new rubber flap, this time with a summer motif, will be on sale at Conclave.  They will be sold in the Coosa Lodge Trading Post in the lodge campsite.  A limited number have been set aside for sale at the May Ordeal.
• As mentioned above, a very limited Coosa Lodge Trading Post will be available in the lodge campsite at various times throughout the weekend.  Credit cards can not be accepted at this time; cash or check only.
• If you need a letter to give a principal or teacher to help excuse a school absence on Friday, click here to download our letter to school administrators.
• Coosa Lodge is assigned to camp in the Shawnee campsite at Camp Ben Hawkins.
• If you still need to find a ride to Conclave, contact your Chapter Adviser or Mr. Greg Crenshaw ASAP.
• Click here to see the latest transportation plans.
• If you are driving to camp, click here to download driving directions and a street address to Camp Ben Hawkins.  If you’re driving with a GPS navigator and want to cheat, here are your coordinates: 32.6868 N, 83.76638 W.
• Online registration for Conclave closes at midnight tonight (April 18th).

We’re less than two weeks away from the 2012 SR-9 Conclave, set for April 20-22 at Camp Ben Hawkins.

If you still want to go, it’s not too late!  You’ve missed the early registration deadline, but you can still go!  Contact Mr. Greg Crenshaw (GCrenshawPhoto@comcast.net) and he’ll get you set up.

Adult Fellowship Events — The Council of Chiefs is hosting a set of fellowship events for the adults in each contingent.  They will host a BBQ cook-off, a horseshoe tournament, and a Scoutmaster golf tournament.  For rules, sample score sheets, and more info, click here to see the latest information email from the COC.

Transportation Update — The Lodge has reserved several of the Greater Alabama Council vans for the weekend and have lined up drivers for those vans.  They’ll be leaving from Huntsville and Birmingham on Friday.  I don’t have a list of departure times, but I will post them as they become available.  To reserve a spot in one of those vans, contact Mr. Crenshaw.  Seats are booked on a first come, first served basis, so get this squared away as quickly as possible.

If you don’t ride in one of the council vans, we’re strongly encouraging everyone to car pool as much as possible. Space will be limited at Camp Ben Hawkins, so fewer cars is obviously better.  Minor reimbursements have been approved for gasoline expenditures through Mr. Crenshaw.

Drivers — Please email Mr. Crenshaw ASAP (no later than Thursday night, April 19th) with your travel plans, including:

• where you’re leaving,
• who is driving and who is riding,
• whether or not you have room for more passengers,
• when you plan to arrive,
• and approximately which route you intend to take.

This will help us keep up with everyone as they travel to camp and will help us find stragglers in case of car trouble or other emergency.

Getting out of school early? Click here for a letter you can provided to your school principal.

If you have any questions, ask us!  You can send an email to any member of the Key 3 or the Lodge Executive Committee, you can send an email to Mr. Crenshaw, you can leave a comment on this website update, or you can contact us through Facebook and Twitter.

I’ll post more info as it becomes available …

Over the weekend, we hosted another successful American Indian Seminar at Camp Comer.  More than 150 trainers and participants spent the weekend amidst some fantastic weather to learn more about drum and dance, ceremonies, regalia construction, and much more.  Saturday night closed things out with a closing program from Coosa Shows and a pow-wow on the parade field.

If you missed the event, or you just want to see the videos from Saturday night again, Coosa Shows has added them to their YouTube channel.  Here’s the closing slideshow:

If you want to see the rest of the videos they made for Saturday, check out this playlist: Coosa Shows @ 2012 Coosa Lodge American Indian Seminar

The next thing on our calendar is the 2012 SR-9 Conclave, set for April 20-22 and hosted by Echeconnee Lodge at Camp Ben Hawkins near Byron, GA.  If you want to go to Conclave, the early registration window closes soon.  For more information, or to register online, check out our 2012 SR-9 Conclave Info Page.

The seventh annual American Indian Seminar is set for next weekend March 16-18, at Camp Comer near Mentone, AL.  The pre-registration deadline has passed, but on-site registration will be open and Arrowmen from all lodges are invited to attend.  We’re not serving dinner on Friday, so be sure to eat before you arrive if you’re coming then.

We’ll have introductory classes on several popular American Indian dance styles, the Order of the Arrow ceremonies, American Indian drumming and singing styles, regalia construction, a live bird of prey presentation, and lots more.  We’ll close things out Saturday night with a pow-wow where everyone can show off their new skills.

Click here to download the 2012 Coosa Lodge American Indian Seminar schedule.

If you have any questions, leave a comment here and we’ll get it answered as quickly as possible.

What a great event!  Nearly two hundred members of Coosa Lodge met at the second annual Winter Banquet.  The food was fantastic (thanks to Jim n Nick’s catering service!), there  was plenty of it, and the everything stayed more or less on schedule.  We feel like everyone there had a great time, so plan to join us next year!

2012 Lodge Chief Kyle Dotson addresses nearly 200 members in attendance at the 2012 Coosa Lodge Winter Banquet.

The Lodge voted to approve the updated Lodge Rules in a general assembly to kick off the program, then we heard a few inspirational words from Dr. James Flatt before presenting our 2012 Founder’s Award recipients, presenting our outgoing lodge advisers (Col. Kent Jackson and Mr. Doug Jackson) with some tokens of our appreciation, presenting immediate past Lodge Chief Devan Beitel with a James E. West Fellowship Award, and announcing a new fundraiser “patch” to help diffuse the cost of attending NOAC with this year’s contingent.

The Founder’s Award recipients were Devan Beitel, Mr. Wayne Jackson, and Mr. Doug Jackson.

The surprise fundraiser release is a rubber flap pin, shaped like a lodge flap (though a bit smaller) and designed to resemble our red shouldered hawk totem in a more winter environment.  Less than 500 of these were produced and less than 30 remained in the trading post after everyone went through the line.  The lodge is selling one online as a fundraiser.  Click here to see the auction.

With our 2012 calendar year kicked off with a bang, it’s time to look forward to American Indian Seminar (March 16-18 at Camp Comer) and Conclave (April 20-22 at Camp Ben Hawkins) with an eye on NOAC and three Ordeals, plus a end-of-year party with our annual Fall Fellowship at Camp Sequoyah.  See you at the next event!

We’re counting down the last few days until we kick off our 2012 calendar year with the second annual Winter Banquet. The banquet will take place on Saturday, January 21st, at the Gardendale-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church in Gardendale, AL. The street address for the church is 805 Crest Dr. Click here for a map and driving directions via Google Maps.

This event is free to all dues-paid members. You can pre-register and pay your dues online by visiting our new online registration base page. On-site registration and dues payments will be available.

Registration and Check-In open at 5:30; dinner will be served at 6:30.  Also, the trading post will also be open for business to fulfill all of your Coosa Lodge memorabilia needs!

This event was a huge success last year and we’ve already had more than 150 members pre-register for this year’s event. We’ll be presenting our 2012 Founder’s Award recipients, we’ll have a special guest speaker, and our Lodge Chief will recommend approval of an updated set of Lodge Rules.

For more info on the update to the Lodge Rules, click here.

See you this weekend!