Fall Fellowship

Greetings, Sisters and Brothers!

We hope this finds each of you well enjoying the crisp seasonal weather and readying yourselves for Fall Fellowship this weekend at Scoutland on Lake Lanier!

This weekend we will leave a lasting mark on one of the Northeast Georgia Council’s most important properties. Scoutland has served Scouting in our council for many decades. It serves as the staging environment for several programs and events including camporees, council jamborees, family camping, unit camping, youth and adult leader training programs: National Youth Leadership Training, Outdoor Leadership training, Baloo, Wood Badge, and many more. As an example, lead volunteers for council-level programs will be meeting in Cleveland Hall to discuss plans and status for each of their programs together as they have for many years this Saturday from 10:00AM to 1:00PM while we provide cheerful service and share fellowship. They have also been invited to share lunch with us as well.

This opportunity has brought many memories from the times I have enjoyed Scouting and learned many lessons at Scoutland over the past 46 years. My first experience there was as a First Class Scout during a camporee in the spring of 1977. The patch from that event stayed sewn on my uniform for many years (shown below). My unit camped in what is now the parking lot above the admin building. There are too many other programs and events I have participated in at Scoutland to mention.


Scoutland is a beautiful property on Lake Lanier geographically located near the center of our council. Mowogo Lodge has provided service there in the past. In 1992, the Lodge Chief Kevin Jones led the first service and Ordeal weekend there. In 1999, Mowogo Lodge held a Pre-Camp Fellowship there. And many of our Chapters have held service events there as well throughout the years. Last December, the Lodge Executive Committee voted unanimously to begin holding an annual Fall Fellowship at Scoutland beginning this year in 2023. Building on the work that began in 1992, Mowogo Lodge will now have a regular presence at Scoutland. We now have the opportunity to share the cheerful service tradition that Mowogo Lodge is known for (both in our council and nationally) to a place that provides the unique experiential learning that Scouting, and specifically Scouting in Northeast Georgia, offers.

Service projects have been lined up and materials for completing them are there or are on their way. To begin this service, we will inform all participants at breakfast Saturday morning where and what needs to be accomplished. If you have the following items and equipment, please consider brining them so that we can complete as much as possible this weekend:

• Battery-powered (charged) hand drills
• Socket sets
• Framing squares
• Impact wrenches
• 7/16” metal and wood drill bits
• Other hand tools
• Hand gloves

As this setting is somewhat new for Mowogo Lodge, please be patient and flexible as we learn together how to accomplish our tasks and goals at Scoutland. The Lodge leadership has been preparing for this new event all year. Our food services team has been working to prepare the kitchen for this event. I salute them for their vision in bringing this opportunity to reality. Their vision for Fall Fellowship is in part based on the time and experiences they have had there and they know the importance of Scoutland in providing the same chance for others to have their own learning experiences there.

As of this morning, almost 160 have registered for Fall Fellowship with more than 30 of those preparing for their Ordeal experience. Please remember that the most important task before us is creating a meaningful Ordeal experience for those sent to us from their home units. That experience serves the Lodge, the Order, and, most importantly, Scouting by recognizing those that their fellow Scouts, Venturers, and Scouters have honored by sending them to us.

Thank you for what you do and represent. And thank you for doing your part to make this first annual Fall Fellowship a success.

See you this weekend!

Yours in Cheerfulness,


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

Mark Keefer

Greetings, my sisters and brothers.

It is with a heavy heart that we reach out to you to share the news of the passing of another brother. Mark Keefer passed a couple of days ago. Mark was involved in Scouting in the Northeast Georgia Council for most of his life and dedicated more than two decades to serving all of those who camped and enjoyed dining at Rainey Mountain. His was a presence like no other.

Mark grew up in Gwinnett County and the old Alcovy District. In 1970, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout in Troop 549 of Mountain Park under the guidance and mentorship of his Scoutmaster, Brother Lane Bridges, who started that troop in 1967. Mark served Scouting in many capacities in the district and council before accepting the role of Dining Hall Director at Rainey Mountain in the late 1980’s including cooking and serving Mowogo Lodge during our functions. In 2005, Mark was recognized with the Vigil Honor by Mowogo Lodge and was given the name “Sakima Sachgachtoon,” translated in English as “Chief Cook.” He served in that role until stepping down in 2013.

Mark left an indelible impression on the thousands of Scouts and Scouters that enjoyed camping and working at Rainey Mountain for many years. We celebrate the life and service of Sakima Sachgachtoon and send all those that were close to him our condolences and gratitude for sharing Mark with us. In the words of our founder, Dr. E. Urner Goodman:

“He who Serves his fellows is, of all his fellows, greatest.”

There will be a visitation for Mark on Wednesday, November 1, from 6:00 to 8:30PM at the Byrd & Flannagan Funeral Home, 288 Hurricane Shoals Road, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30046. No services are planned.

Yours in Service,

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

Fall Fellowship

Fellow Wearers of the Arrow, we hope this finds all of you well.

We hope you are enjoying cooler, crisp fall days after a summer of record heat!

Our inaugural Fall Fellowship at Scoutland on Lake Lanier is just around the corner. Planning for this event has begun in earnest and the registrations are continuing to climb! Our Lodge Executive Committee voted last December to create a Fall Fellowship at Scoutland to address the expressed need to provide an induction event in the fall of the year and to provide service to the great program property, Scoutland! My compliments to our youth leadership for their vision and dedication for their efforts to make this function a reality!

More information will forthcoming concerning check-in location and procedure (health checks, etc.), Chapter campsite and requirements, event schedule, service projects, and other important items. Our Lodge Food Services Team has been and will be working to prepare for some more delicious food to share – to get the Thanksgiving food fest started off right! And, most importantly, preparations are being made to create meaningful ordeal experiences for our Ordeal Candidates – our most important task!

If you have already registered for Fall Fellowship, thank you! If you haven’t yet, please do so that we can plan accordingly for you…link below:

Register for Fall Fellowship - Click Here

Some outdoor painting will be a part of the service projects so please prepare appropriately!

Important Note: There will be a Council Program Cluster meeting that will be held in Cleveland Hall from 10:00AM to 1:00PM the Saturday, November 18, during Fall Fellowship. This meeting is a gathering of all Scouters that are responsible for council-level programs. We will not be able to access Cleveland Hall during this meeting so please keep this in mind. We have also invited these leading Scouters to join us for lunch that Saturday at 1:30PM following their meeting. This is an opportunity to meet the excellent volunteers and leaders and demonstrate the example of the role models you are.

The attached file is a flyer for distribution about Fall Fellowship. Please print and share with those units in your district.


Yours in Brotherhood,

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

Lodge Officer Candidates

Fellow Wearers of the Arrow, good morning!

We have a slate of candidates for our leadership for 2024! See below…

Thank you to each of these leaders that offer themselves in service to provide leadership for Mowogo Lodge. The hallmark of the Order of the Arrow is the central concept of servant leadership through the youth-led experience. Your willingness to taken on these responsibilities to grow and improve Mowogo Lodge serves a great example of this and all of us appreciate it very much.

We will look forward to some spirited and well prepared for campaign with the understanding that we are part of the same fellowship and exercise good sportsmanship and respect for each other as we are working towards the same goal!

Congrats and thanks!

We are looking forward to seeing all you this weekend!


Yours in Cheerfulness,

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