When you complete your profile on-line, simply insert the key number (VGH-33042), the reporting will be grouped under the Order of the Arrow and approval will be forwarded to the national office for review, approval, and ordering of the award. The website is www.presidentialserviceawards.gov.

Lasty year, President George W. Bush recognized three youth leaders at the Shasta-Trinity ArrowCorps5 project with this award. We encourage all Arrowmen to investigate applying for this prestigious award.

ArrowCorps5 brought thousands of Arrowmen from around the nation together to serve during 2008. During that summer, the staff at Mount Rainier National Park asked the Camp Sheppard staff why there was no such service project at their park. Camp Sheppard brought it to the attention of T'Kope Kwiskwis, and ArrowCorps502 was born!

T'Kope Kwiskwis Lodge, Camp Sheppard and the National Park Service have started planning ArrowCorps502. All Order of the Arrow members are invited to join us as we help preserve one of the most pristine National Parks.

Plan now to spend a week of your 2011 summer serving Mount Rainier National Park. Then afterward, why not spend another week at Camp Sheppard doing one of the high adventure programs?

Click here to watch a video about Scouting's commitment to conservation (93 MB download).

We encourage everyone to congratulate our latest brothers who sealed their membership in the Order by going through the Brotherhood Ceremony at Camp Parsons on June 6th and the Spring Fellowship on June 19th!

• Chris A
• Nick C
• Keegan D
• Harris E
• Niccolo F
• Ryan J
• Jason M
• Daniel P
• Philip P

Congratulations to you all!

If it's been 10 months since your ordeal and you want to step up to the Brotherhood, the next lodge Brotherhood ceremony is the Saturday night of the Fall Ordeal at Camp Parsons, September 18-20, 2009. Email us at inductions@tkopekwiskwis.org or contact your Chapter Chief for more information.

For the first time in the lodge's history, T'Kope Kwiskwis as met all the requirements for National's Quality Lodge program two years in a row! The final major goal was finished up last weekend at Camp Parsons where we welcomed 56 new members into the Order, thus giving the lodge positive growth for the year.

Congratulations to our entire chapter and lodge leadership who helped out and guided us this entire year.

We would like to thank those chapters that held their own brotherhood ceremony at their spring camporees this year. Members from three chapters had the opportunity and to seal their membership in the order by attending these convenient Brotherhood ceremonies. Way to go Sahaptin Mox Khan'-nice, Mox Kar-Po, and Sunyakwa!  We made our Brotherhood goal for Quality Lodge 2009 in large part thanks to these three chapters.

There is still space for 10-15 additional youth participants to be on the waiting list of Chief Seattle Council's contingent to attend the 2010 National Jamboree at Fort AP Hill, Virginia, July 19 to August 3, 2010.  If you are interested, or know someone who might be, there is still time to sign up.  The waiting list serves to replace scouts who need to drop for various reasons.

Join the Chief Seattle Council and 35,000 Scouts and Scouters in celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America at the 2010 National Jamboree. Our council contingent will consist of 5 troops of 36 boys each. This jamboree will most likely be the highlight of a Scouting career for those scouts and adults who attend.

Click here for more information about Jamboree. Or contact John Rosenlund at dcjohnr@comcast.net or 253-905-8640 with questions or to set up a unit presentation.

Toby D. Capps of Renton, WA is one of 49 individuals who will be presented the Order of the Arrow's National Distinguished Service Award at the 2009 National Order of the Arrow Conference this summer at Indiana University.  Toby is a member of the Hyas Eena chapter (Green River district) of T'Kope Kwiskwis Lodge and Chief Seattle Council, and is also a member of the National OA Committee.  Congratulations, Toby!

The Distinguished Service Award was created in 1940 to honor those who rendered service to the Order beyond the lodge level. The award is presented to those Arrowmen who have rendered distinguished and outstanding service to the Order on a sectional, regional, or national basis. The award is presented every two years during NOAC. Since the time of the first awards were presented, less than 850 Distinguished Service Awards have been presented.

Special promotion for last-minute 2009 dues renewals: Pay $20 before June 30, and we'll cover your 2009 dues AND 2010 dues!

Click here to renew your dues online now!

Do you know someone who is an Arrowman, but possibly has not repaid their dues for 2009? As of May 27, we only need 80 more people to renew to meet our Quality Lodge goal!  We are working hard to meet our membership goal for this year, but we only have until June 30 to do it.

If each of us help get just one more Arrowman to renew their dues, we will be well on our way to attaining Quality Lodge status again for 2009.  Ask every Arrowman you know to find out if they have renewed for 2008-2009.  If they don't know, don't have a current membership card, or say that they haven't received a newsletter from us in awhile, it's likely their membership has lapsed.  Hand them a registration form, or send them the link to download it.

We encourage everyone to congratulate our newest brothers who sealed their membership in the Order by going through the Brotherhood Ceremony on May 16!

T'Kope was awarded the section's trophy for outstanding ceremonies teams at last weekend's Section W-1N Conclave at Camp Pigott.

The Ralph Kirschner Trophy was created to honor the memory of the former W-1B Section Adviser. It has been given out since 1987. Originally it was given to the #1 ranked Pre-Ordeal team at the Section Conclave. Recently is has been given to the lodge with the most "Honor" teams at conclave. This last conclave members of the T'Kope Kwiskwis lodge successfully defended their title and won the trophy for the 6th straight time! Congratulations to the ceremonialists who put in many hours of hard work behind the scenes and made this honor possible.

This year's "Honor" teams:

Several volunteers helped out on Thursday April 9th and helped pour the concrete pad for the new Pigott BBQ Shelter! Now is the final push! Pigott needs to be prepared for our conclave and we need as many volunteers as possible to complete the task.

So come to Pigott on April 10-11 for some cheerful service and fooling around before and after the service. Be prepared to work on projects such as building Adirondacks and constructing the Pigott BBQ shelter, so bring gloves, eye protection, and water. The BBQ shelter built by the lodge will leave a lasting impression on the camp for years to come.  The concrete was just poured and the Adirondack needs a lot of work. Even though Winter Camp is over, your service is still sorely needed and cheerfulness required! The cost is $10 for food for the event. Come up if you can!

For more information or questions, please contact us at service@tkopekwiskwis.org.

The Vigil Honor is a high mark of distinction and recognition reserved for those Arrowmen who, by reason of exceptional service, personal effort, and unselfish interest, have made distinguished contributions beyond the immediate responsibilities of their position or office to one or more of the following: T'Kope Kwiskwis Lodge, the Order of the Arrow, Scouting, or our Council's Camps.

Here's something new (to some of you)! Coming later this year we'll be having FALL RALLY!!! The Fall Rally will be taking the place of Inductions Weekend, November 13-15. You're probably wondering the difference of Fall Rally and Inductions Weekend, and no, it isn't just the name. Fall Rally will be a Fellowship/Conclave-esk/Training Weekend.

We look forward to seeing you there!  For more information, or to get involved in helping plan this event, contact the Activities Vice Chief at activities@tkopekwiskwis.org.

To all those faithful and hard working members of the Order of the Arrow who helped staff at camp Sheppard this Winter Camp season: Thank You. The help we gave Sheppard was essential to their program and they could not have done what they did without us. The extensive help you provided, from working in the kitchen to supervising the inner-tube hill, made a difference to the camp. Again, thank you. This journey of service is now over, but there is more to come.

Pigott needs to be prepared for our conclave, and we need as many volunteers as possible to complete the task. So come to Pigott on April 10-11 for some cheerful service and provided lunch. Be prepared to work on projects such as building adirondacks and constructing the Pigott BBQ shelter. The BBQ shelter built by the lodge will leave a lasting impression on the camp for years to come.  Even though Winter Camp is over, your service is still sorely needed--and cheerfulness required!

For more information or questions, please contact us at service@tkopekwiskwis.org.

If you don't know the answer to that question, or you are simply looking for new places to explore, check out T'Kope Kwiskwis Lodge's brand new Go Camping site!  This is a service provided by the Order of the Arrow on behalf of the scouting and outdoor enthusiast community of Washington state.  We currently have nearly 450 destinations in our database!

The site features both camping and hiking trips.  Search for all locations within a radius of your home, and then get point-to-point driving directions from your doorstep.  Filter by terrain difficulty, geographical region, hike length, and more.  We'll even show you a topgraphic map with contour lines and up-to-the-minute forecasts from the National Weather Service.

What are you doing April 24-26?  What would you as an arrowmen want to be doing?  Well, here are some things you could be doing.  You could be partaking in Activities, Camping, Fellowship, Training, and Fun! All you have to do is register and show up!

What could possibly be going on at the end of April where you can enjoy all of this? Section W-1N Conclave "Journey of Service!" Conclave will be held at Camp Pigott in Monroe, WA April 24-26. You can register for only $35.00 before April 13 at www.sectionw1n.org. For all you brand new arrowmen it's only $30.00 no matter when you register!

Do you know someone who is an Arrowman, but possibly has not repaid their dues for 2009?  We are working hard to meet our membership goal for this year, but we only have until June 30 to do it.  If each of us help get just one more Arrowman to renew their dues, we will be well on our way to attaining Quality Lodge status again for 2009.  Ask every Arrowman you know to find out if they have renewed for 2008-2009.  If they don't know, don't have a current membership card, or say that they haven't received a newsletter from us in awhile, it's likely their membership has lapsed.  Hand them a registration form, or send them the link to download it.

The Lodge Treasurer would like your opinion and thoughts about T'Kope merchandise. We are looking into buying more stuff for the trading post. Some ideas we have are hats, t-shirts, jackets, and backpacks. You can start a forum topic about this at tkopekwiskwis.org/resources/forum (you must be logged into the site to access the forums), or you can e-mail the Treasurer at treasurer@tkopekwiskwis.org.