SECTION NE-1A: THE BEGINNINGS
To understand the history of Section E-19 we must first go back to the late 1980s to the days of the Northeast Region and Section NE-1A. In 1988, the Northeast Region and Area 1 underwent a reorganization that created Section NE-1A. The early Section was comprised of 12 lodges (from three different Sections), Amiskwi, Kahagon, King Phillip, Madockawanda, Musketahquid, Pamola, Passaconaway, Passaquo, Shingebis, Taskiagi, Taunkacoo, Wannalancit.
The new Section came together under the leadership of former NE-1B Chief and new NE-1A Chief Scott Valcourt. Adviser Carroll Carbonneu and Staff Adviser Martin Kadel joined Scott as they worked to forge the bond of brotherhood with their 12 new lodges. In June of 1989, all twelve lodges gathered at Camp Onway for the first Conclave, appropriately themed “New Horizons of Service.” Scott was reelected Section Chief and continued to provide a steady hand to the growing Section. He began a long line of distinguished chiefs when he was elected a Conference Vice-Chief for the 1990 75th Anniversary National Order of the Arrow Conference. At the 1990 Conclave, Scott passed on the robust Section to Michael Healey.
After the 1991 Conclave, Martin Kadel stepped down as Staff Adviser and was replaced interim by the Area NE-1 Director, Lawrence Thibault. Doug McLean was elected to serve as chief for the coming year. The Section matured at the 1992 Conclave, Carroll Carbonneu turned over the position of Section Adviser to William C. Gardner of Taunkacoo Lodge. Staff Adviser Lawrence Thibault also stepped aside to allow Dale McCann to assume the duties of Staff Adviser.
With the invigoration of a new Key-3, NE-1A prepared, under the leadership of Chief Jason Phillips, for the 1993 Conclave. Another period of stability began, and for the 1994 and 1995 Conclave, Robert Gordon served as Chief. Bill and Dale completed the nucleus of leadership, helping two new lodges start: Moswetuset (from a merger of King Phillip and Taskiagi) and Nanepashmet (from the merger of Shingebis, Amiskwi and Passaquo). Additionally, an area realignment in 1994 brought Ajapeu Lodge from NE-2A back to NE-1A. Dale McCann stepped down as Staff Adviser, to be replaced by Robert Cole, who joined new Chief Michael Ban for the 1996 Conclave.
After the Conclave, Bill appointed his successor, Roger L. Gagnon, to the position of Associate Adviser. A new Staff Adviser (and former Lodge Chief) Rick Riopelle stepped up to join the Section. Mac Carr presided over the 1997 Conclave, and at its conclusion, Roger assumed the role of Section Adviser with his new chief, Richard Burt for the 1998 “Rain-clave” at Camp Onway. The leadership team also helped a new lodge, Chippanyonk (from the merger of Taunkacoo and Musketahquid) begin its service. Wannalancit Lodge also merged, becoming a part of Nanepashmet. In 1999 the young lodge stepped up to host its first Conclave under the leadership of chief Paul Healey. Jay Schnapp, Russ Wolf and Scott Valcourt were also appointed Associate Advisers for this year.
To close out its first century of existence, NE-1A held the 2000 Conclave under the leadership of Mikey LaPlante at T.L. Storer Scout Reservation. At the Conclave’s conclusion, Josh Gagnon was elected his first term as Section Chief. A New Century of Service at the turn of the Century, NE-1A prepared for another transition in leadership.
Kahagon Lodge merged to become a part of Moswetuset, lowering the number of lodges to 7. At the end of the 2001 Conclave, Roger Gagnon appointed (his eventual successor) Fred A. Gobeille of Ajapeu Lodge to the post of Associate Adviser. Josh Gagnon was elected to a second term, becoming the first two-term Chief since Robert Gordon (1994-5). Fred assumed the role of Section Adviser in June of 2002 and appointed Dick Avery of Passconaway Lodge his Associate Adviser. Conclave 2003 came and went under the leadership of Scott Devoid. Edward Lynes was elected chief for the 2003-2004 year, but his term would not last long.
In December of 2003, he was elected to serve as the Northeast Region Chief for 2004. Zac Hicks stepped up to serve the remainder of Ed’s term and presided over a prodigious year. In February, the Section held its first-ever Quality Lodge Summit, a weekend training event focused on aiding lodges in the development of their program. NE-1A also hosted, for the first time in history, a National Leadership Seminar within the borders of the Section. The Conclave in the spring of 2004, hosted by Passaconaway Lodge, was the largest since the mid-1990’s and the first to have 100% lodge participation since 2001. At the end of the Conclave, Mike Price was elected to serve as Section Chief.
In 2004, NE-1A also adopted a Section name, Wobanakik. The name comes from the language of the Abenaki Indians, a tribe native to New England. Translated, the words means “Land of the Dawn,” appropriate, as NE-1A is the Easternmost Section in the continental United States. The Section in turn adopted a patch and logo to correspond with this new identity. Under Mike’s leadership, the Section continued to thrive. In 2005, the Section hosted its second-Quality Lodge Summit (with VIP visits by the National Chief and Northeast Region Chief), and also launched an updated version of its website.
SECTION NE-1B: A BEAVER, SOME RIVERS, AND A STRONG TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE…
The story of Section NE-1B, as we understand it, began in 1988 with the restructuring of the Northeast Region and Area 1. The young section was brought to life by the spirit and enthusiasm of lodges in the former NE-1A, NE-1C, and NE-1E.
These lodges formed together in an experiment. Having left their old sections behind, they formed a new Brotherhood, and a new standard of excellence.
The new Section was off to a strong start, under the direction of new Chief Craig Donais. Jason Rachette and Jeff White served as co-Vice-Chiefs under Craig, and Sean Baldwin was the new Section Secretary. John Larney and Jim Stanton were appointed Section Advisers, and the Section Staff Adviser was Myron Rust.
In the Spring of 1992, the Region again reorganized, and the Section said good bye to Paugassett Lodge of Housatanic Council. Myron Rust resigned from his position as Section Staff Adviser, and Art Lobdell was appointed to replace him. Jim Stanton also decided to step down from his post as Associate Section Adviser, and Bob Sirhal was asked to fill that position.
In December of that same year, the current Section Chief, Brian Beaverstock was elected National Chief of the Order of the Arrow. In the Spring of 1993, former Chief Craig Donais was appointed as another Associate Section Adviser, thus ensuring that the youth would have the support they needed to succeed. Also that spring, despite protests from the new National Chief, the Section decided to make its mascot the Beaver. Along with this fuzzy woodland mascot came, our Section name Kittani, meaning “The Land of Many Rivers.” In June, the excitement continued with a very successful conclave, which was covered by Scouting Magazine, and warranted national praise!
By the fall of 1994, the Region had once again realigned. This time we said farewell to Arcoon Lodge, as we welcomed our new brothers from the Northwest, Memsochet Lodge of the Great Trails Council. With this, Art Lobdell as a member Arcoon Lodge, resigned his post, and was replaced by Chris Harvey of Wincheck Lodge of the Narragansett Council.
Over the summer of 1995, the Area Director appointed Rick Poirier of Tisquantum Lodge of Old Colony Council, as the new Staff Adviser. Once again in the late spring of 1997, the Region realigned and, as a result, the Section said good-bye to our brothers from Tschitani Lodge of Connecticut Rivers Council.
Realignment in 2000 brought Tschitani Lodge back to Section NE-1B. John Larney stepped down as Section Adviser, assuming the post of Associate Section Adviser. Jeff Godley of Tschitani Lodge was appointed Section Adviser.
In 2002, Section Chief Gil Rogers introduced the Day of Service Program, which puts Arrowmen in their communities providing one day of service in each council area to the greater community. The Section Award of Merit was also created to recognize those members of the section of have provided distinguished service to NE-1B. The section website was also re-launched as a huge resource for Arrowmen.
In 2003, Rick Poirier stepped down as Staff Adviser, and was replaced by Bryan Thomas of Connecticut Rivers Council. Pat Boyd was also appointed to serve as an Associate Section Adviser. In the fall of 2003, Section NE-1B held the first Quality Lodge Summit, proving once again that NE-1B is on the forefront of service to its lodges.
In the spring of 2004, Section NE-1B re-launched www.ne1b.org, with new graphics and a much more user-friendly layout. This brought NE-1B’s website back to the top among section websites in the country.
In 2005, Bryan Thomas stepped down as Staff Adviser, and was replaced by Jason Dugan of Narragansett Council. Jeff Godley also stepped down as Section Adviser, and Associate Section Adviser Pat Boyd was appointed to be the new Section Adviser.
Again in late 2007, Section NE-1B re-launched www.ne1b.org converting the existing site into one powered by Drupal, a Content Management System, which allows all members of the section leadership to update the site without knowing any HTML.
A REGION REORGANIZED
In the Spring of 2008, it was announced that the Northeast Region and Area 1 would be re-organized. Section Leadership announced at the 2008 Conclave that three lodges would be leaving the section to help form the new Section NE-2. Members of Allogagan Lodge of Pioneer Valley Council, Memsochet Lodge of Great Trails Council, and Tschitani Lodge of Connecticut Rivers Council attended their last conclaves in NE-1B.
This also meant the departure of Section Adviser Pat Boyd of Tschitani Lodge. Former Section Chief, Associate Section Adviser, and Grand Monadnock Lodge Adviser Branden Morris was appointed by Area Director Dick Trier to lead the new section as their Adviser. Associate Section Adviser John Larney also steped down after many years of service, and former Section Chief Andy Collins of Grand Monadnock Lodge was announced to be an Associate Section Adviser. Jonathan Widmark of Abnaki Lodge was appointed to serve as the new Section Staff Adviser.
At Conclave 2010, held at Camp Squanto, Bob Sirhal and Andy Collins stepped down as Associate Section Advisers. Dave Paulson of Tulpe Lodge was appointed by Area Director Dick Trier to serve as the new Associate Section Adviser. Three-term Section Chief Greg Burke also presented the first Chief’s Award of Mentorship at the close of this Conclave to Bob Sirhal.
In 2011, David Paulson replaced Branden Morris as Section Adviser of NE-1B and Michael Grande of Abnaki Lodge assumed the role as Associate Section Adviser. In 2012, past Section Chief Dan Burgoyne of Abnaki Lodge replaced Michael Grande and assumed the role of Associate Section Adviser.
Elliot Gault was elected Chief at the close of the 2012 Conclave at Yawgoog Scout Reservation. After his election to Chief, Elliot worked with Section Webmaster Eric Brown to re-launch the section website, lead his team in hosting the Section’s Journey to Excellence Seminar and presided over the final Section Conclave of NE-1B at Camp Wanocksett.
SECTION NE-1: MOUNTAINS ALONG THE SEA
Although both North East Regions 1A and 1B have vast and dynamic histories, their pasts and traditions fused into one as they merged to become Section NE-1 in 2013. This merger created the largest section in the United States with 12 lodges stretching from Maine to Rhode Island. In October 2012, Michael Grande of Abnaki Lodge was selected by Area Director Edward McLaughlin to serve as the new Section Adviser and later that year, it was announced that the current Section Advisers and Associate Advisers would assume the role of Associate Section Advisers for Section NE-1, including David Paulson, Dan Burgoyne and Scott Valcourt. Jonathan Widmark remained the Staff Adviser for the new section. At the close of the 2013 Conclaves, the new Section NE-1 began working together with a team of Co-Officers, Dan Denette of Grand Monadnock Lodge and Zac Gunther of Moswetuset Lodge were elected as Co-Chiefs, Justin Crisafulli of Tisquantum Lodge and Samuel Wagner of Passaconaway Lodge were elected as Co-Vice Chiefs, and Eric Brown of Abnaki Lodge and Justin St. Louis of Nanepashemet Lodge were elected to serve as Co-Secretaries.
In late 2013, Scott Valcourt stepped down from his role as Associate Section Adviser. In March of 2014, at the first Section NE-1 Lodge Excellence Summit led by Section Co-Vice Chief Justin Crisafulli and Co-Vice Chief Sam Wagner, the new section had it’s first opportunity to interact as a single section.
Section NE-1 held its first ever Conclave at Camp T.L. Storer in New Hampshire celebrating “Out of many, One”. At the Conclave business meeting, officers were elected: Dylan O’Brien of Tisquantum Lodge – Section Chief, Andrew Sharples of Tulpe Lodge – Section Vice Chief, and Justin St. Louis of Nanepashmet Lodge – Section Secretary.
Andrew Sharples stepped down from his role of Section Vice Chief in November. At the January Council of Chief’s meeting, Justin St. Louis was elected Section Vice Chief and Zach Rellstab of Grand Monadnock Lodge was elected Section Secretary. Matt McCarthy led the second Lodge Excellence Summit.
The 2015 Conclave was held at Yawgoog Scout Reservation under the leadership of Section Chief Dylan O’Brien. In celebration of the Order’s 100th Anniversary and Yawgoog’s 100th Camping Season, a 30-minute fireworks display over the pond was a highlight of the weekend. At the close of the Conclave, Matt McCarthy of Moswetuset Lodge was elected Section Chief. Nick Valiton of Grand Monadnock Lodge was elected Section Vice Chief and Rich Fredericks of Abnaki Lodge was elected Section Secretary.
Also in 2015, past Section NE-1B Chief Elliot Gault and past Section NE-1A Chief Raymond Cheung were each awarded the Distinguished Service Award (DSA), and became the first recipients of the DSA as members of Section NE-1.
Later in 2015, it was announced that Nanepashmet Lodge and Moswetuset Lodge would be merging. On January 1, 2016 the new Pennacook Lodge of the Spirit of Adventure Council was born. Additionally, Abnaki Lodge and Tulpe Lodges merged on the same date creating the bigger and stronger Tulpe Lodge #102. This reduced the size of Section NE-1 to 10 lodges.
The 2016 Conclave was held at Camp William Hinds under the leadership of Section Chief Matt McCarthy. A new slate of section officers were elected at the close of the Conclave, Justin St. Louis of Pennacook Lodge was elected Section Chief. Mike Fingar of Tisquantum Lodge was elected Section Vice Chief and Cameron Killian of Tulpe Lodge was elected Section Secretary.
In late 2016, the new leadership team announced the re-branding of the Section Conclave as the New England Fellowship which will be held at Griswold Scout Reservation. At the National Planning meeting in December, Section Chief Justin St. Louis was elected to serve as the Jamboree Vice Chief of Program for the 2017 Jamboree.
The Griswold Scout Reservation was the home of the inaugural New England Fellowship in June of 2017. This innovative weekend was largely successful due to the thrilling program and activities. Arrowmen had a blast with rifle shooting, aquatic games, rock climbing, amazing shows, and even fireworks! Justin St. Louis of Pennacook Lodge was reelected as Section Chief, Cameron Killian of Tulpe Lodge was elected Section Vice Chief, and Ryan Palmer of Tisquantum Lodge was elected as Section Secretary. In the wake of the weekend, it was announced that the second New England Fellowship will be held at Camp Roosevelt in Maine, with Pamola Lodge as the Service Lodge.
In the spring of 2017, it was announced that Old Colony Council and Knox Trail Council would be consolidating to form Mayflower Council #251. In October, Tisquantum Lodge and Chippanyonk Lodge formed Tantamous Lodge, with the Owl as the new totem. Tantamous was a medicine man who lived near the former Knox Trail Council’s Camp Nobscot. Tantamous was also a friend of Squanto. The number of lodges in the section was now set at nine.
At the 2017 National Planning Meeting, Section Chief Justin St. Louis was elected the 2018 Northeast Region Chief. One month later, Cameron Killian was elected Section Chief, and would serve in his term until the election of new officers at the 2018 New England Fellowship at Camp Roosevelt.
In 2019, New England Fellowship was hosted at Treasure Valley Scout Reservation by Catamount Lodge. At the conclusion of the weekend Conor Power of Tantamous Lodge was elected section chief and would go on to be elected as the 2020 Northeast Region Chief in December 2019. Garrett Donais of Passaconaway Lodge would fill his role for the remainder of the term.
In 2020, significant changes were made to New England Fellowship due to the coronavirus pandemic. Originally supposed to be hosted at Camp Greenough by Abake-Mi-Sa-Na-Ke Lodge, the event was moved to a completely virtual format. However, this did not stop the event from being a success! Garrett Donais was re-elected section chief and would go on to be elected as the final Northeast Region Chief in December 2020. Vice Chief Darryk Kelly of Madockawanda Lodge would be elected to fill his role for the remainder of the term.
In 2021, the pandemic had slowed but was still a serious consideration, prompting the section to host a hybrid New England Fellowship. Working with Tulpe Lodge, the section hosted content from Yawgoog Scout Reservation in Rhode Island and encouraged lodges to host local satellite events to participate in the program. Darryk Kelly was re-elected section chief and would serve as section chief through the 2021-22 year.
SECTION E-19: FROM NORTHEAST TO EAST
In order to streamline the Order’s structure while preserving national youth leadership opportunities, the National OA Committee made some changes that maintained current section boundaries while transitioning to two regions. With this declaration, the Northeast Region was merged into the Eastern Region.
Our new designation evolved from Northeast Region Section 1 to Eastern Region Section 19. Whether we are named Section NE-1 or Section E-19, our lodges and identity remain steadfast.
The section navigated the change, returning to in-person events, allowing Tulpe Lodge the opportunity to host an in-person New England Fellowship at Yawgoog Scout Reservation in June 2022. At the end of the weekend Johnathan Nero of Tantamous Lodge was elected the section chief for the 2022-23 year.
As we move forward in our new brotherhood, let us reflect on the words of Winston Churchill: “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”