Conclave host and delegate issues over the years

With the 2011 Section SR-7A Conclave just a matter of weeks away I thought it would be interesting to share some numbers I’ve calculated about the delegate items that Virginia OA lodges have issued over the years for events like this.

Nowadays delegates from virtually every lodge arriving at the annual SR-7A conclave will have a special edition patch to trade. But as you can see from the table below, delegate flaps are a comparatively recent phenomenon.

VA-OA conclave flaps appeared first as items issued by the host lodge (Kecoughtan in 1987,  Nawakwa in 1989, Shenandoah in 1990) but soon were issued for visiting conclave delegates, too. Nawakwa was the first to issue delegate flaps, for conclaves in 1991, 1992, and 1993. In 1994 they were joined by Blue Heron and two North Carolina lodges. Now it is not unusual for some lodges to issue multiple varieties of flap patches for the annual section conclave (Shenshawpotoo had four in 2006). Often lodges have two versions, a restricted delegate issue and an unrestricted “trader.”

The first delegate issue for an area event attended by Virginia lodges is actually a neckerchief issued by Powhatan Lodge 456 for the 1966 Area 3-C Training Conference hosted by Blue Heron Lodge at Camp Pipsico. This item is interesting for the unique spelling of the camp name (“Pepisco”) and the fact that it says “Area III-C Pow Wow” on the neckerchief. The Area had decided to rename the event from “Pow Wow” to “Training Conference” but the idea wasn’t a popular one, and it was decided at the Sunday Business Meeting to change it back the following year.

Trading patches at the annual Conclave is a decades old tradition that continues to spark new friendships and lets Arrowmen take home colorful mementos of their weekend shared in brotherhood with delegates from the other lodges in their section. I look forward to seeing the patches brought to the 2011 SR-7A Conclave and making pictures of them available here for your enjoyment.