Ted Dodson, 2008 Youth Chairman of the National Events Promotion Committee

Ted Dodson is a two-term W-3C Section chief from Maluhia Lodge in Wailuku, Hawaii

Alex Braden, Youth Incident Commander of the Shasta-Trinity ArrowCorps⁵ Project

Alex Braden is from Ta Tanka Lodge, and is the W-4A Section Chief. He is a Junior at the University of La Verne, majoring in Public Administration. His past offices include Region Newsletter Editor.

Sam Fife, Youth Incident Commander of the Bridger-Teton ArrowCorps⁵ Project

Sam Fife is from Shunkah Mahneetu lodge in Blackfoot, Idaho, and is the W-5D Section Chief, as well as the Region ArrowCorps5 Coordinator. He is attending Brigham Young University and is majoring in Business Management.

Mark Hendricks is the new Western Region Chief for the 2008 year. Formerly the Section W-1C Chief, Mark is from Wa-la-moot-kin Lodge and has had three non-consecutive terms as section chief. Other positions he held include Lodge Chief, Region Leadership Development Chairman, and Features Editor for the National Bulletin. He has been an OA Trail Crew and Wilderness Voyage participant, and is a sophomore at Harvey Mudd College majoring in physics.

For information on all elected Region Chiefs, National Chief, and Vice Chief, visit our election results page.

Jake Wellman is the new National Chief for the 2008 year. He was formerly the Section W-5A Chief, and was also a Summit Vice Chief at NCLS. We are proud to have one of our region's own as our national chief once again.

Jake Wellman is an Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor member from Albuquerque, NM. Jake was inducted and became a brotherhood member of Ini-to Lodge #324 in Georgia. Now, he is a Senior at Cibola High School in Albuquerque, NM, and is a member of Yah-tah-hey-si-kess Lodge #66. Congratulations Jake!

Ben Stilwill is the new National Vice Chief for the 2008 year. Formerly the Section C-2B Chief, Ben is an Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor member from Okemos, MI and is a Freshman at Depauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He was Gabe-Shi-Win-Gi-Kens Lodge Chief, served 2 terms Section C-2B Chief, staffed NLS, and served as the Summit Vice Chief of Gatherings at the 2007 NCLS. Congratulations Ben!

The 2007 National Planning Meeting Schedule

The 2007 OA National Planning Meeting schedule is now available on this website. Find out when elections and meetings take place. All times on the schedule are in Central Standard Time (CST).

Get an inside look at the National Planning Meeting

So, what happens at an OA National Planning Meeting? Take a look for yourself at the four-day session that plans all the great events in our Order for the year of 2008. This is also when the new National and Region officers are elected. Can't be part of the fun? Well, OAWEST is here to bring you up to the minute coverage.