Each year Colonneh Lodge presents several recognitions to youth and adult Arrowmen. Only youth serve on the awards selection committee, so detailed nominations worthy of being read by the youth at the banquet are encouraged. Attaching a picture to the nomination form is highly recommended. Awards are presented at the annual Colonneh Lodge banquet.

A lodge as large as Colonneh Lodge inherently contains individuals who provide extreme amounts of service – to Scouting, to their chapter, to the lodge - without ever seeking recognition of any kind. The makeup of Colonneh Lodge is one of outstanding leadership through individuals, and steadfast resolve to the continuation of the delivery of great program to the youth of the Order of the Arrow and of Scouting.

The Colonneh Lodge Numbered Certificate, the Order of the Arrow’s Founder’s Award, and the James E. West Fellowship are in place to recognize the highest degree of service to the Order of the Arrow. The recipients of these awards exemplify what it means to be a Scout or Scouter, an Arrowman, and a member of Colonneh Lodge. These awards seek to recognize those individual lodge members, who time-in and time-out, are there helping make the program happen, without expecting anything in the form of recognition in return.

Numbered Certificate Recipients   |  Founder's Award Recipients   |  James E. West Recipients   |  Centurion Award  |  Vigil

Colonneh Numbered Certificate

The Colonneh Numbered Certificate is presented to outstanding youth or adults in Colonneh Lodge, who have performed above and beyond the call of duty in service to Scouting, the community, and the lodge. The recognition is a matted and framed numbered certificate.  The award was created in late 1967 by Dabney Kennedy to recognize outstanding leadership in service and the spirit of achievement beyond the Vigil Honor. In 1980, the national director of the OA visited Colonneh Lodge, and was impressed with the type of awards that were presented to recognize Arrowmen for outstanding service. He was specifically interested in the numbered certificate program. This interest sparked the creation of the national Founder's Award, with Colonneh Lodge's assistance in the development through the efforts of national committee member, Dabney Kennedy. Nominations are due in November, and the certificates are presented at the Colonneh Lodge banquet in January.

Founder's Award

The Founder’s Award is reserved for Arrowmen who demonstrate to fellow Arrowmen that they memorialize in their everyday life the spirit of achievement, as described by founder E. Urner Goodman and cofounder Carroll A. Edson. Introduced at the 1981 National Order of the Arrow Conference, the Founder's Award was created to honor and recognize those Arrowmen who have given outstanding service to their lodge. Nominations are due in November, and the awards are presented at the Colonneh Lodge banquet in January.
 

James E. West

Each year, Colonneh Lodge presents the James E. West Fellowship to several individuals by making of $1,000 gift in their name to the Sam Houston Area Council’s Endowment Fund to support Scouting for future generations. To date, Colonneh Lodge has donated over $30,000 to the council endowment fund.  Nominations are due in November, and the recognitions are presented at the Colonneh Lodge banquet in January.
 

Centurion Award

The Order of the Arrow purposefully recognizes Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives. The OA’s centennial in 2015 provided a unique opportunity to commemorate those who are exemplars of the “high ideals and purpose of the Order of the Arrow.” The Centurion Award aimed to highlight “Hometown Heroes,” or Arrowmen who have meaningfully contributed to the forming, maturing and ongoing operational excellence of their local council’s lodge, and who, in doing so, inspired others to follow in their footsteps.

This award was a one-time recognition associated with the centennial anniversary of the OA that was bestowed by the national Order of the Arrow committee. It was modeled after a similar program in the BSA’s 100^th-anniversary celebration, the 2010 National Hall of Leadership. Accordingly, this recognition was an opportunity to highlight lodge development over the last century and the many individuals, both youth and adult, who were instrumental to this success. These honorees serve as exemplars of leadership, modeling to others a commitment to cheerful service in the OA's second century.

Vigil Honor

 The Vigil Honor is the highest mark of distinction given to an Arrowman for his or her service to the lodge, Scouting, their communities, or council camps. Nominations for Vigil are due August 1, and the honorees are announced at OA Fall Fellowship. A list of all Colonneh Lodge Vigil members is available in the Vigil database.

Nominate!