Each December, Section Chiefs of the Order of the Arrow (Scouting’s National Honor Society) gather at the National Planning Meeting in Dallas, Texas. There, they elect the national youth officers for the upcoming year. Early in the morning on December 27, 2011, Eric Bush (West Newton, PA) was elected to serve as the 2012 Northeast Region Chief, one of the four regions in the United States. Each region is then divided into smaller parts called sections. In his new position, Eric will ensure that the region carries out one of its primary responsibilities, to aid these sections.
Standing beside him are Western Region Chief Joe Barton, Southern Region Chief David Joyner, Central Region Chief Marty Opthoff, National Vice Chief Preston Marquis, and National Chief John Rehm. According to Wagion Vigil member, Tom Price, “Eric Bush was the twelfth Section or Area Chief from Wagion Lodge and its (Wagion’s) second National Officer and Northeast Region Chief.” In addition to serving as the 2011 Section NE-4B Chief and 2010 Wagion Lodge 6 Chief, other highlights of his decorated scouting career include attending the the 2010 National Scout Jamboree and SummitCorps. Some of Eric’s success might be able to be traced back to two of his quality Order of the Arrow training experiences: the NLS (National Leadership Seminar) and GOL (Gathering of Leaders), which was recently held this past November. He has also served on staff for an NLS (September) and Indian Summer (August), 2011.
Eric is an 18 year old Eagle Scout from Troop 259 and son of Bill Bush. He graduated from Yough Senior High School, the Class of 2011. While at school, he served as his senior class president and was also a member of his Varsity Wresting and Cross Country teams. Eric is now a freshman at Penn State University. In reaction to the recent election Eric said, “I couldn’t believe it actually happened and it’s still surreal to me. I just want to graciously thank everyone who supported me and I ask for your continued support through the next year.”
Source A: oa-bsa.org 2012 National Officer Election Results
Source B: Price, Tom. Interview. Web.