Purpose
This award is designed to recognize those within Section G8 who go far beyond their immediate responsibilities as Arrowmen and, by doing so, have laid a path of excellence for other Arrowmen to follow. The award is named after R.D. Dunkin, who believed that young people could grow to exceptional strengths and reach their full potential with the right combination of leadership, education, mentorship, and love. R.D. Dunkin served as the chairman of the Central Region of the Order of the Arrow for sixteen years and is responsible for shaping the region’s structure and program into what it is today.
Nomination Form
Committee Structure
The section chief appoints the awards chair in consultation with the section adviser; the section adviser will appoint the awards and recognition adviser. The chair will only have voting power in the case of a tie. The chair will submit a list of six youth committee members, besides themself, for approval to the section chief. A quorum will be defined as at least five of the seven youth members. The awards and recognition adviser is the only adult allowed to present during the nominees’ discussion. The committee may invite people to comment on the nominee at their discretion. If a nominee is a committee member, they will be asked to remove themself from the conversation. Members of the Awards and Recognition Committee will not be disclosed.
To be eligible for the R.D. Dunkin Award Leadership in Service Award, one must be a member in good standing of the Order of the Arrow and have given at least eighteen months of service to the section as an active member of the Section Leadership Team (i.e., section officer/adviser, lodge chief/adviser, committee chair/adviser, or committee member). Members of the Section Key Leadership (section chief, vice chief, secretary, adviser, associate adviser(s)) or the R.D. Dunkin Award Leadership in Service Award committee are all ineligible to receive the award in the year that they are active in this position.
Anyone desiring to nominate an individual may submit a completed current nomination form to the Awards and Recognition Committee by March 19, 2023. Individuals may submit as many as they feel there are worthy Arrowmen. Nominations will not be held over from the previous year(s). Nominations submitted by family members will be immediately discarded.
NOTE: Attendance at section conclave or other section programs, the National Leadership Seminar, the National Order of the Arrow Conference, the National Scout Jamboree, or OA High Adventure is not grounds for eligibility. However, serving on the staff or in a leadership role during any of the programs mentioned above is qualifying.
The committee, before a vote to determine the recipient(s), if any, will review each nominee’s form. The committee may bestow a maximum of four youth and three adult awards per year. To be selected, the nominee must gain at least fifty-one (51) percent of the votes and be in the top four youth or three adults. The awards and recognition chair will decide all voting ties. The awards and recognition adviser(s) shall have no vote but assist in providing guidance and ensuring the vote counting. All votes are cast blindly and are not reviewed by other committee members.
The R.D. Dunkin Leadership in Service Award is presented at the annual Red Arrow Rally (Section Conclave) during the closing portion of the Saturday evening show.
The 2024 nomination form can be found here.
Completed nomination forms can be submitted through email to the R.D. Dunkin Leadership in Service Award chair and adviser: rddunkin@sectiong8.oa-bsa.org.