Responsibilities and Achievements at the Sectional, Regional, and National Levels
Lodge
Illini Lodge was featured in the June 2000 issue of the Order of the Arrow National Bulletin in recognition of great camp promotions with the release of the CDCD otherwise known as the CD2. This was a revolutionary tool of its time as it allowed scoutmasters interested in Camp Drake access to all the forms and guides in an interactive format as well as games, pictures, videos and some history of Camp Drake. The CD2 was just part of the camp promotions plans which also included the campdrake.com business card and the Camp Drake Trading Post Credit Card.
In 2019, Illini Lodge 55 was one of seven lodges to proudly receive the OA Innovation Award, a testament to the Lodge's commitment to forward-thinking initiatives and transformative leadership. The prestigious accolade was bestowed upon the Lodge in recognition of a groundbreaking project initiated by the then Lodge Chief, Ben H. Under Ben H's visionary leadership, the Lodge officers undertook the development of the "Foundation Booklets" project, an innovative digital resource that revolutionized how knowledge and guidance were passed down to Lodge officers and chairmen. The award was accompanied by a $1,000 cash gift to the donor restricted endowment fund of the council that the lodge serves.
Lodge Members
Tom Shrimplin was Section Adviser from 1967-1978.
Illini Lodge hosted the National Order of the Arrow Conference in 1963 and again in 1971.
In 1963, Marion Sadorus received the Distinguished Service Award. The D.S.A. is given for outstanding service at the national level.
In 1983 Ray Lee, Jr. received the Distinguished Service Award.
In 1988 in Fort Collins Colorado Jon Jones was awarded the D.S.A.
Ray Lee was OA East Central Region chairman from 1980-85 and was subsequently a member of the OA National Committee.
Jon Jones and Alyx Parker were Section Chiefs then OA Central Region Chiefs in the mid 1980s and 1990s respectively.
In 1996, at the National Order of the Arrow Conference held at Indiana University, Jack Jones and Alyx Parker received the Distinguished Service Award.
In 1998, at the National Order of the Arrow Conference held at Iowa State University, Marty Zvonar received the Distinguished Service Award.
At the 2002 National Order of the Arrow Conference at Indiana University, Jeff Jones received the Distinguished Service Award.
Marty was the OA Section C-4B Adviser from 1992 to 2002.
Doug Dillow was the Section C-4B Staff Adviser followed by Mike Graham who served from 1992 to 2004 when Section C-4B was disbanded. He continued to serve as the first Section C-3C Staff Adviser from 2005 to 2009.
Alec J. Martin served as the Section C-4B Secretary in 2002.
Justin Minick was elected Section C-4B Secretary for 2003 and Kurt Brown finished his term as Justin left to attend the naval academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Illini Lodge continued the tradition of section secretaries as Kevin Douglas was elected the first section secretary for Section C-3C. He served the 2005 term.
Cameron Hahne was elected to the position of Section C-3C Vice-Chief in 2005.
In 2006 Cameron Hahne was elected Section Chief and Brandon Price was elected Section Secretary.
From 2009 to 2012, Alyx Parker served as Assistant Associate Section Adviser for Section C-6A. He then served as the Central Region OA Chairman from 2018-2020.
Kurt Brown was the previous section advisor for Section C-3B.
In 2024, Allison Hemming is serving as the Section G7 Vice Chief (Formerly Section C-3B).