NOAC is full of fun times. Patch trading, activities and shows that amaze you and make the ties of brotherhood stronger. But in a way, more importantly than those things is the training at NOAC that not only helps you become more knowledgeable, but also prepares you for many different things in life. This year the training is more than top notch and everyone can easily find something that interests them. The main program this year is the National Event Program Planning Workshop, which contains useful information to properly plan and coordinate events from the chapter, lodge and section levels all the way up to national events. This session provided to those at the lodge-level great resources on how they can plan and execute a successful event.
With so many people learning and so many sessions going on one might wonder how the staff prepares for such a large training undertaking. The CVC for Training stated that he starts planning months before to make sure his staff is top notch and well prepared. Much of the focus of this staff training is on team development and working as one so that a good program is conducted for the NOAC participants.
A typical training cell is two hours long and uses many different methods of presenting information to the participants. The leaders of the training use such teaching tactics as question and response sessions and power point presentations during their sessions. Each class is targeted for a specific group of people such as new Arrowmen or adult advisers. By focusing training in this manner, the trainers can more easily address specific topics and insure the information is meaningful and relevant to that specific audience.
In addition to the typical training subjects being conducted this year are also some special training events that people can attend including the Leadership Symposium and the Late Night with NOAC. The Leadership Symposium includes a panel of successful members of Scouting and society that will be talking about the success that they have had, and also answering questions from the crowd. Attending training is a great thing at NOAC, as is having some of the greatest trainers coming from all over the country come to teach the participants.
Revised 8/4/2009