BOULDER, Colo. — The gathering of over 6,000 scouts from across the country has been mostly unaffected by the wildfires across the Front Range, but they have reinforced some of the core values of the Boy Scouts of America at the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC).
The week-long conference, hosted by the University of Colorado-Boulder for the first time, brings workshops, shows, learning opportunities, regional competitions, and service to the Boulder area.
“When we were offered to come to CU Boulder, it was just too great of an opportunity, a community and a space to turn down,” said John Andrew Segebarth, national vice chief for the Order of the Arrow. “We're really excited to give over 2,000 hours of service throughout this week to the local community, building trail and doing other things.”
The Order of the Arrow is the honorary society for the Boy Scouts of America. The organization has over a million scouts and over 500,000 adults, with only the best of the best entering the Order of the Arrow.
“I think they've come here to grow, learn, advance. They're working with one another. They're doing tons of service projects,” said Brad Tilden, chair of the Board for the Boy Scouts of America. “It’s a lot of fellowship. It's recognizing some of the great performers in the Order of the Arrow.”
A few of the service activities that were planned for the scouts had to be moved due to the fires in the area.
“The scouts are about leaving things better than you found it, and protecting the outdoors and the environment,” said Tilden, referencing the nearby fires. “It’s something that we should all should be thinking about and, what is the long-term fix here? Because this isn't great.”
Even with the fires, Tilden considers the conference a success, and he loves learning from some of the best scouts in the nation.
“It's young people that are giving back. They're service oriented,” said Tilden. “They care more about one another and what the group is trying to do than themselves. It's really inspirational. I think a lot of us old farts can learn a lot from these folks. It makes you very optimistic being here with these young people.”
Segebarth feels a connection to Boulder, and he is thankful to give back to the city that has embraced the conference.
“You all have opened your arms up very widely to receive us,” Segebarth said. “Walking around town, here on campus, and as we do our excursions around we've been received very, very well. So, I just want to extend a big thank you to the Boulder community and the community at large for hosting us here.”
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