Message from your 2020-2021 Nation Chief
Wahoka Mighty Orange Spirit Nation!
I hope you and your families had a safe and fun Summer and Labor Day weekend! I apologize in advance for the long email but there is a lot to cover so let’s get started!
BIG THANK YOU!
First, I wanted to thank our outgoing Nation Chief, Mike “Wild Bear” Papac and the OSN council for incredible job, especially in the second half of the year, when they masterfully shifted from in-person to virtual events in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Last Year was filled with fun events, from Catalina to Lazy W, to a great re-boot of the Daddy Daughter Dance at the Knott’s Hotel, from Camp Whittle to Joshua Tree and a super fun first annual Pinewood Derby, Mike and his team really stepped up and lead us through a great year with our daughters. Please join me in giving them a huge “WAHOKA” for their efforts!
GRADUATION
Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of in-person events in April thru June last year, and Lake Oso in August, we were unable to hold Graduation. As many of you know, Graduation is a key ceremony that is best appreciated and experienced at in in-person event. For this reason, we want to invite everyone who planned to participate this year to join us next year at a local site in likely May or June. For any families that wish to participate in a virtual or safe small in-person graduation event this year, please contact me at nationchief@orangespiritnation.org or (714) 815-1297.
PASSING OF THE FEATHERS
Besides graduation, we were also unable to hold the in-person ceremonial Passing of the Feathers where we recognize and thank the outgoing Chiefs and Council members and welcome the new members. However, we were able to conduct some virtual passing of the feathers. These videos are in the process of being published to the private OSN YouTube site. We all had a blast making these videos and we hope that you will watch them with your daughters and enjoy them too!
2020-2021 REGISTRATION:
So, you are probably wondering – what’s up with registration this year? Given the impact of the Covid pandemic on our ability to hold regular campouts at least in the near term, the Council voted to waive the $75 per family OSN registration dues for the 2020-2021 event year! The ability to do this is a testament to past Nation Chiefs and Councils who were financially responsible and planned for the proverbial “rainy day”. We want to make it as easy as possible for Dads and Daughters to stay engaged for the upcoming year.
However, as you may recall, every year our registration has two parts, the OSN registration fee, and the fee from our parent organization, the National Longhouse. National incurs many costs to support Orange Spirit Nation and all Local Longhouses across the United States. Many of these costs were already incurred earlier this year to fund general and operating expenses like insurance and other support costs. These dues are $45 per family but depending on how the year progresses, there is a possibility National will be considering a credit toward this amount. Please go to the Event Registration page on the OSN website to pay this fee.
OUR SEPTEMBER CAMPOUT IS NOW A VIRTUAL EVENT
Okay, so what about events for this year? This is where we get creative. In light of Covid, Camp Pendleton could not accommodate our September beach campout. We are replacing this event with a fun “Egg-Drop” virtual event and Pow-Wow on Saturday, September 26th. The details of this event will be coming shortly, but suffice to say it’s going to be “egg-celent”! (Sorry. I blame Skit Master Drew for that one even though I wrote it!)
FUTURE EVENTS IN THE 2020-2021 SEASON:
We will continue to monitor federal, state and local guidelines in planning future events. Of course, the goal is to keep everyone safe. Until we can return to weekend camping as a group, we will be hosting virtual events like the one in September as well as a number of fun, educational, day activities. Stay tuned for more information on those events.
Also, while we know all families have different levels of comfort, our National Longhouse has provided us with guidelines for hosting in-person events. While these events would be notably smaller than a typical nationwide campout, the OSN Council is looking at potential ways we could safely hold such events this Fall. We plan to have more information on these types events soon as well.
NATION SURVEY
Given this unique start to the year, we need to hear from you on a variety of subjects! Accordingly, you will be receiving a short survey soon. Please take a couple minutes and fill it out. It will greatly help us in our modified planning for 2020.
RECRUITING IS TILL KEY!
We plan to have as full and engaging a calendar as possible this year. The temporary modification of events should not deter those families who are interested in finding a safe, fun and educational place for Dads and Daughters to build memories that will last a lifetime. Please talk with your neighbors, friends and especially those all-important Moms in your schools and neighborhoods to let them know that OSN is open for fun! If you need help with this or have anybody interested in more information please connect them with our Nation Greeter, Nic Billard at Nationgreeter@orangespiritnation.org.
Wahoka!
>>>>————————–>
Joe “Laughing Feather” Craciun
Chief of the Orange Spirit Nation! (That Rhymes!)
714-815-1297
April “Floating Feather” Craciun
Nina “Little Feather” Craciun
Little Chiefs of the Orange Spirit Nation!