Yokahu Lodge

Yokahu Lodge 506 is the Order of the Arrow Lodge of the Puerto Rico Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Yokahu Lodge is part of Section NE-5 of the Northeast Region of the Order of the Arrow. The Lodge's totem is the Three-Point Taíno Cemí.

Yokahu Lodge
Yokahu Lodge flap
TotemThree-Point Taíno Cemí
OwnerPuerto Rico Council
Age range14–20 (youth)
21 and over (adults)
HeadquartersGuaynabo, Puerto Rico
LocationPuerto Rico
FoundedApril 10–15, 1954
(66 years, 9 months and 13 days ago)
FoundersLuis Matías Ferrer
Dr. Frank H. Wadsworth
Membership217 youth
60 young adults
161 adults
438 total (2018)
Lodge ChiefJorge A. Rivera López
Lodge AdviserJorge J. Rivera Ruiz
Associate Lodge AdviserNelson J. Díaz Hernández
Staff AdviserDan Muñoz
AffiliationOrder of the Arrow
Boy Scouts of America

History

In 1953, the very first delegation of Scouts from the Puerto Rico Council attended the National Scout Jamboree at Irving Ranch, California. Among the activities, the delegation witnessed an Order of the Arrow ceremony that caught the attention of some adults among the delegation. Having the ceremony concluded, the adults approached the OA members and asked them about the ceremony and its meanings. Upon the delegation's return to Puerto Rico, the idea of the Order of the Arrow was taken to the Puerto Rico Council.

With the necessary requirements in hand provided by the OA National Office, the council commended the founding of the Order of the Arrow in Puerto Rico to its executive Luis Matías Ferrer in 1954. Having no knowledge of the organization, he sought the help of Dr. Frank H. Wadsworth, who at the time was the only OA member in Puerto Rico. The first Ordeal ceremony took place on April 10–15, 1954 at Guajataka Scout Reservation with Dr. Wadsworth acting as the first Ordealmaster. Because of this role in the first Ordeal ceremony, Wadsworth has been wrongfully recognized as the Yokahu Lodge's main, or sometimes only, founder throughout its history with not enough credit given to Luis Matías Ferrer.

After the establishment of the Order of the Arrow in Puerto Rico, the Lodge was named Yukiyú later renamed to Yokahu, a variant of the name proposed by archaeologist, anthropologist and historian, Dr. Ricardo Alegría. In the beginning, the Lodge translated the ceremony scripts from English to Spanish and used Native American regalia, but decided later to slightly modify the ceremonies by assimilating the Taíno heritage with the Lenni Lennape culture, incorporating Taíno-based regalia and adapting the scripts to the Taíno culture. Yokahu Lodge is the only Order of the Arrow Lodge that uses Spanish as its main language.[1]

Headquarters

The Lodge's office headquarters, where sectional and national business are managed, are within the Puerto Rico Council while field headquarters are at Guajataka Scout Reservation, considered as the official home of Yokahu Lodge. Most of the Lodge activities are celebrated in the camp and for years the order has given service to the facilities. The OA has its own campsite, called "The Cabin", which occupancy has been discontinued due to structural damages, but still remains standing. In the past, the Paquito Joglar campsite area was considered the official gathering place for the Lodge, later becoming a campers area due to the need of space for the many Scouts that attended camp.[2]

Chapters

Initially divided into eight chapters,[3] the Lodge is now divided into six chapters, as of 2018, that are organized based on the geographical regions on the island, like the council's districts. Each chapter's named is based on the Taíno name of each chapter's base area, which in turn, are named after Caciques who ruled in each area. The chapters and the cities belonging to each one (and base cities denoted in bold) are:

Board

Executive

Every new Executive Board of Yokahu Lodge assumes office after the annual Convention, early December, and just before the end of the year. Any youth Arrowmen, not turning 21 during the upcoming year, of any level (Ordeal, Brotherhood, Vigil Honor) is eligible to run for a position in the executive board, which is composed of:

  • Lodge Chief: highest authority in the Lodge. Oversees the Lodge and its officers and sees that his statutes are met, presides Lodge meetings of the executive board, coordinates committees and appoints their chairmen, coordinates the functions of Lodge Officers, serves as chairman of the Awards Committee and the Vigil Honor Committee, if Vigil. The Lodge Chief also appoints its Voluntary Lodge Adviser for the year, with the approval of the council executive, after being elected in the executive board elections.
  • First Vice-Chief: will act as Lodge Chief in the absence of the Lodge Chief or if the latter vacates or leaves the position in any way. Serves as chairman of the Elections Committee, which is responsible in overseeing that the election of Ordeal candidates for the Lodge take place.
  • Second Vice-Chief: will act as supervisor of the Ordeal Ceremony Committee, Brotherhood Ceremony Committee, Ordeal Ceremonial Area Committee, Brotherhood Ceremonial Area Committee and Elangomat & Nimat Committee.
  • Third Vice-Chief: will act as supervisor of the Camp Promotion Committee, Service Committee, Health & Security Committee and the Bylaw Amendments Committee.
  • Lodge Secretary: custodian of the official documents, keeping them up to date. Maintains a record of attendance of the executive board meetings and Lodge meeting discussions, is custodian of all correspondence of the Lodge and maintains all records of the Lodge. Will act as supervisor of the membership committee and communications committee.
  • Lodge Treasurer: custodian of the financial reports of the Lodge. Properly maintains everything related to budget and finances of the Lodge, including but not limited only to bill payments and collection of other items and information regarding merchandise inventory for sale. Prepares a budget for the year, determines costs and makes economic plans with fundraising projects and archives any Lodge accounting documentation received. Will act as supervisor of the finance committee.

Committees

Committee chairmen are appointed by an executive board member in charge of its supervision. The operational committees are:

  • Awards: reviews specific qualities met by chapters and Arrowmen, worthy of being recognized at the end of the year.
  • Brotherhood Ceremonial Area: cleans, conditions and prepares the Brotherhood ceremonial area for the induction.
  • Brotherhood Ceremony: rehearses and conducts the Brotherhood ceremony.
  • Bylaw Amendments: receives amendments to change or modify any part of the Lodge Bylaws.
  • Camp Promotion: coordinates mutual-interest events between the Lodge and Camp Guajataka.
  • Communications: manages social platforms, emails, creative content and the Lodge bulletin.
  • Elangomat & Nimat: coordinates and sorts candidates into patrols and assigns advisers for each patrol during induction procedures.
  • Elections: issues blank ballots to Chapters and sorts filled-out ballots accordingly after they are returned. This committee collaborates with the Lodge Secretary in maintaining a list of registered candidates for Ordeal and Brotherhood ceremonies.
  • Finance: sells Lodge and OA merchandise at various Lodge and BSA events.
  • Health & Security: medical and security emergency at Lodge activities. This committee collaborates with the camp's infirmary in activities held at Camp Guajataka.
  • High Adventure: researches camping areas with the inclusion of high adventure at a low cost; provides recreational activities at Lodge events.
  • Membership: keeps record of current and new members.
  • Ordeal Ceremonial Area: cleans, conditions and prepares the Ordeal ceremonial area for the induction.
  • Ordeal Ceremony: rehearses and conducts the Ordeal ceremony.
  • Service: coordinates and carries out all service project activities in both the Ordeal induction process, the Brotherhood induction process and other Lodge activities.
  • Vigil Honor: reviews and approves Vigil Honor nominations; plans, executes and conducts the Vigil Honor ceremony.

Past Lodge Chiefs
Year Incumbent Chapter Troop
2020 Jorge A. Rivera López Guaitiao 154
2019
2018 Edward A. Colberg Avilés 12
2017 Douglas H. Soto Ocasio Arasibo 822
2016 Roberto E. Vélez Guaitiao 685
2015 Ricardo Calzada Yagüeka 162
2014 José A. Molinelli Guaní 1167
2013 Mario Velázquez
2012 Angel J. Carillo 247
2011 Brayan G. Deida Galeano Guarionex 245
2010 Manuel Díaz Yagüeka 39
2009
2008 Carmelo Pagán Guarionex 49
2007 William Joglar Guaitiao 154
2006 José R. Guzmán Guarionex 514
2005 Martín Soto Yagüeka 270
2004 Miguel "Choki" Rivera Guaní 247
2003 Angel M. Velázquez 1167
2002 José E. Castro Guarionex 49
2001 Antonio J. Barbosa Guaní
2000 Nelson Díaz Cayniabón[lower-alpha 3] 572
1999 Orlando Lugo Pérez
1998 Alexander Fontanez 408
1997 VACANT – –
1996 Eduardo Colón Rodríguez Guaní 247
1995 Juan F. Rosario Riefkohl Guaraka 32
1994 Juan A. Ortiz-Cotto Guaní 247
1993 Juan J. López
1992 Miguel Maldonado
1991 Edgar González
1990 Luis González
1989 Antonio Fernandez
1988

Activities

Main

There are four main activities in the Lodge's calendar. The Retorno is celebrated on a weekend between March and April; its purpose is to reunite the Lodge's Arrowmen to lay out and distribute the year's activities and the chapters in charge of running each one, it also serves as a chance to meet the new Lodge Executive Board for the year. Halfway through the year, the Lodge celebrates its high adventure activity between August and September, in order to challenge each Arrowmen's outdoor skills. In October, the Lodge celebrates its Guateke (from the Taíno language, meaning gathering), a fellowship event in which chapters participate in various competitions such as ceremony, regalia, dialogue, sports, triathlon and trivia; the highlight of the Guateke is the youth nominations for the positions of the Lodge Executive Board during the Fall Assembly. Finally in December, the annual Convention serves as the conclusion of the Lodge's year, similar to a "Court of Honor", in which different recognitions and awards are handed out based on service during the year and the youth elections for the executive board are held.

Other activities include the start-of-the-year Lodge Leadership Seminar followed by the First Executive Meeting, both taking place the same day early January, the Second Executive Meeting between March and April, the third and final Executive Meeting between late August and early September and a service project.

Inductions

Inductions are celebrated four times a year, usually once a month from May to August. The induction weekends are called Ordeal/Bros, which began in 1993, since both Ordeal and Brotherhood ceremonies take place at the same time. The Vigil Honor is celebrated as an independent activity from Saturday evening to midday Sunday on the weekend of Thanksgiving, strictly open to Vigil Honor members and candidates.

2008 Section Conclave

The 2008 NE-2A Section Conclave took place at Guajataka Scout Reservation, marking the first time that the Yokahu Lodge hosted such event and the first to be held outside the United States. The event had a record attendance of 500 Arrowmen including the National Chief and Vice-Chief, Northeast Region Chief and many Section Chiefs. In this Conclave, the Section changed from NE-2A to NE-5A with the Section losing and acquiring other Lodges. At his event, a Yokahu Arrowman became the second Puerto Rican to become a Section officer, winning his candidacy for Section Vice-Chief.[1]

2016 Section Conclave

Yokahu hosted the NE-5A Section Conclave in August 2016 at Guajataka Scout Reservation for the second time in its Lodge history. More than 350 people from New Jersey and Puerto Rico attended the event, including the Order of the Arrow's National Chief, Northeast Region Chief and NE-5B Section Chief (also, NE-5 Section Co-Chief). In this Conclave, the outgoing Section Chief from Yokahu Lodge, who became the third Puerto Rican to become a Section officer, passed on his position to another fellow Yokahu Arrowman elected as Section Chief of NE-5A and, subsequently, NE-5 Section Co-Chief. He became the fourth Puerto Rican to become a Section officer, the second to become Section Chief and the first back-to-back for the same position for a Yokahu Arrowman. This Conclave marked the final one as Section NE-5A before its merger with NE-5B to form one NE-5, acquiring an additional six Lodges to the five that NE-5A already had.

National Leadership Seminar

In 2002, Yokahu Lodge hosted the order's National Leadership Seminar for the first time which included visits from the National Chief and Northeast Region Chief. Yokahu again hosted the NLS for their membership's attendance in October 2014 and included visits from the Northeast Region Chief and the National Vice-Chief.

Awards

The Lodge has its own recognitions for distinguished service to the Lodge. The Cemí de Bronce (English: Bronze Cemí) is awarded to youth and the Premio del Alegre Servicio (English: Cheerful Service Award) or the Three W's for short, which consists of three pins with the letter W on each one, is awarded by adults. Like the Vigil Honor, these awards cannot be earned by a set of requirements, but instead are awarded on a specific number of requirements set by a recognitions committee composed of youth Arrowmen. These awards have their own quota and are given during the convention.

Yokahu Lodge co-founder Dr. Frank H. Wadsworth is the Lodge's only recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, which was awarded in 1965 in recognition of his service to the Order of the Arrow.[1] The Lodge was recipient of the Journey To Excellence Gold Award for the first time in 2013.

Media

Yokahu Lodge publishes a newsletter called El Cemí, named after its totem, four times each year on March, September, October and December. In January 2012, the Lodge launched their Facebook page[4] and Twitter[5] accounts, integrating the era of social media to their communications, establishing a more efficient interaction with their Arrowmen. In January 2013, they integrated Instagram[6] to their social media and, later, Snapchat in August 2015. The publication, social platforms and email are all managed by the chairman of the communications committee.

See also

Notes
  1. Guaitiao includes cities that were part of Chapter Cayniabón before merging in 2018.
  2. Guaní includes cities that were part of Chapter Guaraka before merging in 2018.
  3. Cayniabón was a Chapter with base in Carolina prior to its merger to Chapter Guaitiao in 2018.

References
  1. Machuca, Luis (2010). La Filosofía del Escutismo y Su Presencia en Puerto Rico 1910-2010 [The Philosophy of Scouting and Its Presence in Puerto Rico 1910-2010] (in Spanish). Puerto Rico: Biblio Services, Inc. ISBN 978-1-59608-886-3.
  2. "Guajataka Scout Reservation". Guajataka Scout Reservation. Archived from the original on October 24, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  3. "Logia Yokahú 506 -- Concilio de Puerto Rico 661". logiayokahu506.tripod.com. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  4. Yokahu Lodge 506 on Facebook
  5. Yokahu Lodge 506 on Twitter
  6. Yokahu Lodge 506 on Instagram
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