Brother Walt Crowder

Sisters & Brothers –

We wanted to let you know that Brother Walt Crowder passed this past Tuesday, September 9th.Walt served as Mowogo Lodge Chief in 1978. Mowogo hosted the Conclave that year at Rainey Mountain. Mowogo brothers Jimmy Camp served as the Area (now Section) Chief and Huber Harper served as the Area Vice Chief that year as well.

Brother Crowder was an Eagle Scout from BSA Troop 5 in Clarkesville, Georgia. His love of Scouting was known by all who knew him and had a deep appreciation and love of the Order of the Arrow. I had the honor of meeting him this past February at a Council Executive Board meeting. He shared his fondness and appreciation for what he experienced and learned in the Order and as Lodge Chief with me and it was clear that he wanted youth today to have that same experience. He was given the name “Achowalogen” when he received the Vigil Honor. Achowalogen is from the Lenni Lenape vocabulary and means “to labor hard, to toil.”

Following graduation from high school, Walt attended and graduated from Young Harris College and Emory University.His professional career led him to building a successful business in audio/visual technology. Brother Walt returned to his home community upon retirement and was appointed to the Council Executive Board where he was quickly appointed as the fundraising Chair. He also was active in working towards restoring the historic BSA Troop 24 Scout Hut in Cornelia, Georgia.

Godspeed, Brother Achowalogen. Thank you for your example, leadership, and service.

His obituary can be found following this link:

https://www.mcgaheegriffinandmcentire.com/obituaries/walter-crowder

Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate this difficult transition.

Yours in Service,

Rusty Royston

Lodge Adviser, Mowogo Lodge
Northeast Georgia Council, BSA

Pow WOWWWW 2025!!!!!

Greetings and Salutations, Fellow Wearers of the Arrow!

We hope this finds each of you enjoying the cooling down of the seasonal change and into your routines of school and work from the summer.

We are less than a week away from our annual Pow Wow gathering at Rainey Mountain where we will share fellowship, training opportunities, and the spirit of the Order and Scouting to celebrate what we have done as we prepare for the future. Your LEC has planned an eventful weekend with the theme of “Christmas in September!” Rumor has it that the jolly old Scout might even make an appearance as well.

In addition, we are proudly hosting the leadership of our new partners, the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee (GTEC). Ms. Rhonda Bennett, the Council Chair of the GTEC, and her husband Jim are planning to be with us on Friday evening and much of the day on Saturday to learn about us and for us to learn about and from them. This partnership provides exciting opportunities as we learn to honor the native American culture and history of our home and their home here in northeast Georgia. Miss Rhonda joined us in January at our last Winter Banquet and she and Jim were a part of our Council Executive Board meeting at Rainey Mountain in June. Pow Wow will be the first lodge weekend event for them both. I hope each of you will do what you have always done and demonstrate the best of our ideals and values as honor Scouts as we welcome them into our family. There is much to learn which offers opportunity for growth.

 Thank you to those of you who have submitted the appropriate forms indicating your intent to run for a Lodge office. If you are considering stepping up to serve in the leadership of Mowogo Lodge in 2026, please submit your completed forms by the deadline. Serving in a leadership role crystalizes the best possible Scouting experience of youth leadership in the program as it is centered on and grows from the central philosophy of the ‘Youth-led” concept. Mowogo Lodge has a rich history of youth leadership that has absorbed the experience and translated into a life of service and leadership in their personal, professional, and community lives. That has made our world better. Are you ready to make your contribution, to grow, to learn, to serve, and to lead? If you have any questions about these opportunities, please let me know.

Our incoming Lodge Adviser for 2026, Brother Jason Preves, is planning to meet with as many of you as possible at Pow Wow to begin to share his vision and goals as well as hear from all of you. I hope you will offer your support and service to him as he steps into the role in January at our Winter Banquet. He and our Lodge Chief attended the National Council of Chiefs gathering at Philmont a month or so ago. Both have learned of some new directions the Order will be exploring in the next few coming years and will share some of that at Pow Wow as well. While there, I understand that Mr. Preves attended training on how to write appropriate emails (including length) and was also recognized as the most outstanding Adviser at the gathering! He has a beautiful (and large) medallion to prove it. Please join me in encouraging him to bring it and wear it all weekend!!!

If you are planning to be a part of this annual gathering of spirit and fellowship but have yet to register, please do so as soon as possible. Food will be ordered at the beginning of this week and we want to make sure we have enough for everyone as well as be conscious of the ninth law of Scouting. Please follow this link to register:

Register for Pow Wow 2025

As always, thank you. By doing your best to live by the ideals we find in the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, the Scout Motto, the Scout Slogan, and the Obligation of the Order of the Arrow you, quite simply, make this world, our world better. Thank you.

We look forward to seeing all of you this coming weekend!

Yours in Cheerfulness,

Rusty Royston
Lodge Adviser, Mowogo Lodge
Northeast Georgia Council, BSA

Lodge Officer Expectations & Letter of Intent to Run

Greetings, Fellow Wearers of the Arrow!

I pray this email finds you well and I pray you are doing your best to love one another.

Pow Wow is not far off and, as many of you know, this is an important moment in our Lodge's operation. Traditionally at Pow Wow the youth choose our Lodge Officers and leadership for the upcoming year. This year is no different and the importance of this process cannot be overstated.

Mowogo Lodge is in need of those who are committed to loving others by serving. At Pow Wow, the Lodge is looking for those youth who have the commitment and vision to lead and improve our Lodge, our Council, the lives of our members, and the lives of the Ordeal candidates who were elected into our Order by their units.

Is that you? I pray that it is. Take a look at the attached Lodge Officer Expectations and Letter of Intent for Lodge Officers. If you have questions please let any of our current Lodge Officers, Lodge Advisers, and/or I know and we will be glad to speak with you.

If you are up to the challenge then please send the completed and signed Letter of Intent and Lodge Officer Expectations forms to me no later then September 16, 2025. This can be done via email to Lodge.Adviser@mowogo.org.

I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your consideration to serve others.

Yours in Service,

Jason Preves
2026 Lodge Adviser, Mowogo Lodge

Lodge Officer Expectations 2026

Download

Letter of Intent to Run for 2026 Lodge Officer Position

Download

Brother Bowers Service

Good morning.

The family of Brother HB Bowers has requested that those who will be attending the funeral service for him the Saturday, July 19, to wear their complete field uniform and those that are members of the Order of the Arrow also wear their OA sash to show their respect.

The sevice will be at 2:00PM Saturday at the Bill Head Funeral Home located at 6101 Lawrenceville Hwy, Tucker, Georgia 30084.

Thank you for keeping him and his family lifted up during this difficult time.

Yours in Brotherhood,

Rusty Royston
Lodge Adviser, Mowogo Lodge
Northeast Georgia Council, BSA