The Founder’s Award was created to honor and recognize those Arrowmen who have given outstanding service to the lodge. The award is reserved for those Arrowmen who memorialize in their everyday life the spirit of achievement as described by founder E. Urner Goodman. The award is a handsome bronze medallion bearing the likenesses of E. Urner Goodman and co-founder Carroll A. Edson.

The Founder’s Award is the only award in Nanuk Lodge intentionally selected by previous recipients. The selection committee consists of all currently registered recipients from both the previous five years and lodge key three. 

* denotes an adult awardee

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 during NOAC.

The award is a sterling silver arrowhead, bearing an arrow pointing upward and to the wearer’s right, suspended from a white neck-ribbon upon which are embroidered red arrows. A white square knot embroidered upon red cloth is also available. Presentation of the award is limited; nominations are open to both youth and adult.

The following members of Nanuk Lodge have been recognized with this award:

The E. Urner Goodman Camping Award was established in 1969 as a tribute and testimonial to the Order’s founder, E. Urner Goodman. Its purpose is to encourage and challenge Order of the Arrow members and lodges to increase their effectiveness in promoting and increasing Scout camping in each council. Awards are presented to two outstanding lodges in each region annually. For a lodge to be eligible for consideration, the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award petition should be completed and forwarded with the lodge’s charter renewal application.

Nanuk Lodge received this honor in 1996.

The Journey to Excellence (JTE) program recognizes Order of the Arrow lodges that demonstrate excellence in their programs, administration, membership, leadership, and service to Scouting. More than simply recognizing a successful year, JTE is designed to help lodges evaluate their performance, identify opportunities for improvement, and continually strive to become better.

Introduced in 2012, Journey to Excellence replaced the Order of the Arrow’s longstanding National Quality Lodge program. While National Quality Lodge primarily measured the results a lodge had achieved, Journey to Excellence expanded the approach by also recognizing the activities and practices that help a lodge achieve lasting success. This combination of outcomes and leading indicators gives lodges greater flexibility to focus on their individual strengths and areas for growth.

JTE recognizes lodges at achievement levels based on their performance against a series of national measures. The program is intentionally designed as a journey rather than a destination—encouraging lodge leaders to set goals, address areas of weakness, and build upon their successes from year to year.

For Nanuk Lodge, these recognitions represent more than a mark of achievement. They are part of our lodge’s history and provide a record of the work our Arrowmen have done to strengthen our lodge, serve Scouting, and live out the ideals of the Order of the Arrow.

Explore below to see Nanuk Lodge’s history of Journey to Excellence and National Quality Lodge recognition.

The Order of the Arrow Innovation Award recognized lodges and chapters that developed creative and innovative solutions to challenges faced in carrying out their annual programs. Established in 2012, the award sought to identify ideas that not only improved a lodge or chapter, but could serve as best practices for Arrowmen throughout the Order.

Rather than simply recognizing what a lodge accomplished, the Innovation Award celebrated how Arrowmen found new and better ways to serve. Successful innovations could address everyday challenges, create new opportunities for service, improve lodge programs, or introduce entirely new approaches that could be shared with other lodges and chapters across the country.

Up to two lodges in each OA region were recognized annually. Award recipients received national recognition, and a $1,000 contribution was made to their council’s endowment fund in recognition of their achievement.

The Innovation Award has since been retired, but its spirit remains an important part of the Order’s tradition of continually improving the way we serve Scouting.

In 2014, Nanuk Lodge was selected as one of two Innovation Award recipients in the Western Region, recognizing the lodge’s innovative approach to serving its members and the Scouting program. This recognition places Nanuk among the lodges whose ideas were considered worthy of being shared as examples of innovation throughout the Order.

For Nanuk Lodge, the award is a reminder that our history is not only measured by the traditions we preserve, but also by the new ideas our Arrowmen are willing to create, test, and share.