I’m a Scout Looking to go to College…What’s next? Presenter John Hay IV Alpha Phi Omega Alumni Alpha Phi Omega Region V Scouting and Youth Service Chair

Did you know…. There are many Organizations that BSA works with that are on College Campuses. There is Venture Crews on some College Campuses, there are local Troops and Order of the Arrow Lodges if you go out of your council that you can work with. The Boy Scouts also work with Social Fraternities like Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE), Phi Beta Sigma (PBS), Sigma Alpha Mu (SAM), Alpha Phi Alpha (APA). But there is only one College Fraternity that is in the Boy Scout and the OA Handbook…..

What Fraternity is it….. Found on page 437 in the Boy Scout Handbook and on page 55 in the Order of the Arrow Handbook you will find the nations only Co-ed Fraternity. Alpha Phi Omega or APO.

What is Alpha Phi Omega (APO) Alpha Phi Omega or APO was founded in 1925 on the principles and the ideals of the Boy Scouts of America. It is the Nations only Co-ed Service Fraternity that is on College Campuses. You will hear me say Co-ed and Service Fraternity a lot today. It is the only College Fraternity that is endorsed by the National Boy Scouts of America. There are many similarities that the BSA, OA, and APO have.

What are the Similarities of BSA, OA, and APO APO’s Core principles Leadership, Friendship, and Service….does that sound familiar? It is these principles that have pulled us together in Scouting just like it does those members of APO. One of the reasons that you are here, at the Section Conclave, especially if you have been an Arrowmen for awhile is because you have a comforting feeling of family that you get in Scouting. In APO you get that familiar family feeling. You also get a core group of friends that have the same belief in Service to others while learning leadership and having fellowship….Sounds like the OA right? Additionally like Venturing, APO is a Co-ed Service Organization.

APO – Service, Leadership, and Fellowship The service quotient that APO does helps it’s members by: Giving them a way that they can continue to be unselfish in serving others, which is one of the bedrock principles of Boy Scouts and the Order of the Arrow. It will also help them understand that there are many areas that are in need of servant leaders. APO Chapters do a lot of service projects. As a Chapter the NKU chapter, which I advise, has averaged at least 1600 hours of service per semester for the last couple of years. This service is to the community, to scouting, to the nation, and to the university.

APO – Service, Leadership, and Fellowship Service Continued Service projects can be wide ranging in scope, it depends on the chapter. Camp Service projects with the local BSA or GSA Councils. Local Service projects within the community or on campus At the 2017 National Jamboree APO will be there providing service as a national service project. It will be done by APO having a Service Corp. They will also man an Information booth on the Midway.

APO – Service, Leadership, and Fellowship APO will continue to provide leadership opportunities to the Active members of the Fraternity. Where most Lodges are Youth led, there is still a large Advisor presence. In Alpha Phi Omega we are Active led. There are advisors but the advisors may not go to every meeting. Therefore the Actives lead the chapter and dictate the direction that the chapter goes. There are also leadership offices in each chapter, much like scouting. APO has, at its conferences, leadership presentations and classes The Fraternity has a program called L.E.A.D.S. that only an Active or an Alumni members can take. This program would be there version of Woodbadge or NYLT.

APO – Service, Leadership, and Fellowship APO gives you the opportunities to interact with members of your chapter, of chapters in your area, of chapters in your region, and chapters in the nation. On the Chapter level scheduling fellowships events throughout the semester and a chapter retreat each semester On the Section level there are interchapter events that are scheduled the get the chapters from different colleges interacting and having fun. There is also a yearly Section Conference – Sound familiar? On the Region level there is a Region Conference that is held every 2 years where they may be 600 plus APO Members in attendance. On the National level there is a National conference held every 2 years (the off year of the Regional Conferences) where you may have 3000 plus APO Members in attendance. Sound familiar?

APO and Hazing This can not be emphasized any harder. Alpha Phi Omega has a Zero tolerance policy for Hazing. While there is no hazing you do go through a Pledging process: Most of you are Brotherhood members, the pledging process is about as tough as it was for you to get your Brotherhood. The only difference is that it takes on school term to finish your pledging. Then like the Brotherhood there is a ceremony and you are officially and active member.

Who can join APO - Membership APO is all inclusive, no matter the race, religion, etc, we accept all that are willing to join. APO will also accept Active members that are in their 1st semester as a Freshman or in their last semester of their Senior year. We figure that a semester of being a member of a Service Org is better than not being a member at all. Because APO is a Service org a member of APO can also be a member of a Social Fraternity if they so choose. They can double dip their service hours.

What is the Cost of APO Active Membership I can’t speak for other chapters, but I know that at my Chapter at NKU the cost per semester for an active member is only $60. That is very cheap when you compare it to the cost of a social which can run between $250 to over a $1000 a semester.

How big and where are there APO Chapters There are around 369 active APO Chapters around the country right now. We have a goal of getting up to 500 active chapters by 2025 Here are the Chapters in Ohio, Western PA, and Kentucky: Ohio Northern, Heidelberg, Defiance, Bowling Green, U of Toledo, U of Dayton, U of Cincinnati, Miami, Wittenberg, Wright State, OSU, Ohio U, Capital U, Akron, Kent St., Case Western, Mount Union, Shepherd U, Concord U, Marshall U, WVU, Westminster College, U of Pitt Bradford, Clarion U of Penn, Robert Morris, Bethany C, Carnegie Mellon, Carlow U, NKU, U of Kentucky, EKU, U of Louisville, Kentucky St, Centre College Remember there are chapters all over the nation. If there is not one at a school you are going to you can help to start one.

Links for more information on APO Chapter locater link is: http://www.apo.org/member/chapterlocator APO Home page link is: http://www.apo.org/Home APO’s about us page link is: http://www.apo.org/aboutus