26 years and counting of helping OA members get to Northern Tier High Adventure Base
Last year, adult and youth volunteers from our lodge completed our 26th year of helping OA service crews get to the Northern Tier High Adventure Base, near Ely Minnesota. For nine Wednesdays, last summer, volunteers from TNL lodge met OA high adventure service crews at the airport and ensured that they got on the shuttle to Northern Tier.
Each summer, OA members from across the nation attend Minnesota’s Northern Tier high adventure base. As a member of the OA service crews, they provide a week of service to the US Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness or the Canadian Quetico Provincial Park and then experience a weeklong adventure. For many, this is a life-changing experience. These high adventure service crews are open to all youth members of the Order of the Arrow.
The Northern Tier “Meet and Greet” service is unique among Scouting’s high adventure bases. Our OA Members arrive at the MSP airport around 8-9 AM, each Wednesday to gather the arriving scouts together. They meet incoming Scouts at baggage claim and escort them to the gathering spot. When Scouts are arriving at terminal 2, volunteers escort them to terminal 1.
For the volunteers, it is interesting and fun to meet and talk with the Scouts who are flying in from all over the USA. Each week a lead volunteer communicates with the arriving Scouts several days before their scheduled arrival. The lead provides key information about what to expect when arriving at the airport. They also give their contact information to the Scout and their parents, so that if there is a problem, there is someone at the MSP airport they can coordinate a solution to their travel problems. Over the years we have delt with Scouts having their flights canceled, missing flights, lost baggage, last-minute injuries, or sickness.
The Scouts and their parents are extremely grateful for this Meet and Greet service. For many of the arriving scouts this is their first time flying and traveling alone. We help provide some piece of mind for the parents and often get very positive feedback parents. Given the large distance between the airport and Northern Tier, we are there to provide an immediate and local safety net if there are travel hiccups.
If you are interested in learning more about this volunteer service or to get on the list to help staff a week or two in 2026, please contact Craig Turner at cturner@oa.nsbsa.org. Volunteers can be youth or adults.
We are looking forward to this summer meeting and greeting the Northern Tier OA High Adventure crews at the airport.