Alertness to the needs of others is the mark of the Vigil Honor. It calls for an individual with an unusual awareness of the possibilities within each situation. The Vigil Honor is the highest honor that the Order of the Arrow can bestow upon its members for service to Lodge, Council, and Scouting. Membership cannot be won by a person’s conscious endeavours.
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 of office to one or more of the following: Lodge, Order of the Arrow, Scouting community, Scout Camp. Under NO circumstances should tenure in Scouting or the Order of the Arrow be considered as reason enough for a Vigil Honor recommendation.
A Lodge may nominate a maximum of two percent of their registered Arrowmen once a year via petition to the national Order of the Arrow committee. At least 50 percent of all nominated must be under 21 at the time of nomination.
2023 Vigil Honor Class
Youth | Adult | ||
Andrew L | Owen N | Mike Provence Sr. | Chad Pfister |
Charles J | Parker H | Robin Richardson | Chris Foote |
Avail W | Rainer Y | Ruben Flores | Christopher Bradshaw |
Ben D | Ronin C | Steven Bryant | Douglas Yancey |
Derrick M | Ryan K | Tammy Barnes | Jason N Lamons |
Ethan K | Stephanie M | Aaron Kubacka | Jerry Pfister |
Gabriel G | Lane C | John McCall | Kurtis Gerald Blocher |
Ren M | Michael M | Logan Littleton | Laura Campbell |
Haley F | Nick H | Michael Roland | Laura Flores |
Kira C | Preston P | Nathan Roy | Merle Bowers |
Max H | Samuel S | ||
Nomination Process
Nominations must be RECEIVED at the Heart of America Council Service Center by July 1. The nominee must be a registered member of the Heart of America Council, BSA and must also be a current dues-paying member of Tamegonit Lodge. The nominee must have been a Brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow for a minimum of two years before being considered for selection as a Vigil Honor member. Nominations submitted between now and July 1, 2023, will be considered in the 2023 Vigil Honor Selection cycle.
Each year, the Lodge is responsible for publishing a list of individuals that are eligible to be nominated for the Vigil Honor. The purpose of this list is to aid you in identifying a Lodge member that, based on our records, are eligible for nomination to Vigil Honor. Please keep in mind that we have been working for the past four years to try to clean-up our records. We have made great strides in providing more accurate information, but we also acknowledge that we have a lot of work left to do! Please help us ensure the accuracy of this list as well as our membership database by submitting dues in a timely manner, providing Ordeal, Brotherhood and Vigil dates where applicable when updating membership data each year and politely notifying us if there are inaccuracies in this list or any of our membership information. Remember, the youth of our Lodge are doing this work while supported by capable adult volunteer advisers and this will be a great learning experience for our youth leaders; help it be a positive learning experience for them!
For questions or further details on individuals contact: [email protected] or [email protected]
Tamegonit Lodge Vigil Vest
A tradition of Tamegonit Lodge, the Vigil Vest is available to any Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow who is a member of Tamegonit Lodge. Members who become a Vigil Honor member of the OA through Tamegonit Lodge receive, at no cost to the individual, their Vigil Vest from the Lodge upon completion of the Vigil. Members who become Vigil Honor members in another lodge, yet find themselves as a member of our Lodge after receiving Vigil Honor may purchase a Vest for $50.00. Download the Tamegonit Lodge Vigil Vest Order Form.
Vest History
Some years ago those of the Vigil Honor were seeking a way to promote Vigil Ceremony and increase participation at the sunrise ceremony. Other lodges use a Vigil participation patch and we adopted one for the Lodge. That was the easy part. There was much concern, conversation, debate and the like to come up with a place for theses patches. We came close to having a blanket as a lodge in Oklahoma uses but finally decided on a vest.
This vest was designed with a triangle patch, representing the Vigil, as the centerpiece of the back of the vest. The owners Lenni Leanpe name and year received would be on a separate patch below the triangle patch. Since this is not a “brag” vest but a symbol of this honor, nothing else would go on it other that the participation patches for each Vigil in which that member would participate after completing his/her Vigil ceremony. Thus began the vest we use today.
The first vest was given to our first Vigil, Bob Tompkins, and is framed and hangs in the Great House today. From then on the vest has been given to each new Vigil as, not only a symbol of this honor but a place to put the “turtle” participation patch. These patches are a controlled numbered patch; they can only be earned by participation in the complete Vigil sequence and cannot be replaced if lost or damaged. The patches are put on the vest beginning with the first one centered below the name, each successive one after that is put under it thus forming the shaft of an arrow. Once the shaft is completed, the patches can be put on each side of the first one and so on.
Remember, the Vigil Honor is not for what you have done in the past; it is for what you are expected to do in the future.