Program Day Preview

By: Owen Clapp

While the first few days of NEXT gave an opportunity to expose participants to fresh ideas, Program Day will help delegates bring the lessons home, according to Preston Podolske, the Conference Vice Chief of Program for the event.  “Program Day will help delegates connect what they learned at NEXT with what they do back home with their own lodges,” he remarked.

The four modules will allow Arrowmen from various lodges to collaborate and share with each other the valuable knowledge they gained at Indiana University. “The hope is that delegates can bring back what they have learned,” Podolske said, “to improve and grow their own lodge programs.” Participants will be able to bring to the table anything from unit elections to the ordeal banquet, any practice that may not be common or, if it is common, may have a unique twist to share from each lodge.

One of the highlights of the day will be the Fellowship Festival, where attendees will be able to apply skills learned to their respective lodges. Furthermore, delegates will continue to use the LeaderX model to modify national programs to fit their own lodge.

The Program Day content is not a one size fits all; like many national programs and resources, it is flexible. It will be key for delegates to innovate to a point where “modules can be modified to the specific needs of the crews,” Podolske explains. The day will end with a bonfire where delegates will have time to relax around a campfire in Walnut Grove, play games and have some snacks.