The History of Section NE-1A
In 1988, the Northeast Region and Area 1 underwent a reorganization that created Section NE-1A. The early Section was comprised of 12 lodges from three different Sections:
 King Phillip Lodge |
Amiskwi Lodge |
| Taskiagi Lodge |
Kahagon Lodge |
| Musketahquid Lodge |
Wannalancit Lodge |
| Taunkacoo Lodge |
Passaconaway Lodge |
| Shingebis Lodge |
Madockawanda Lodge |
| Passaquo Lodge |
Pamola Lodge |
The Beginnings...
The new Section came together under the leadership of former NE-1B Chief and new NE-1A chief Scott Valcourt. Scott was joined by Adviser Carroll Carbonneu and Staff Adviser Martin Kadel as they worked to forge the bond of brotherhood with their 12 new lodges. In June of 1989, all twelve lodges gathered at Camp Onway for the first Conclave, appropriately themed "New Horizons of Service." Scott was reelected Section chief and continued to provide a steady hand to the growing Section. He began a long line of distinguished chiefs when he was elected a Conference Vice-Chief for the 1990 75th Anniversary National OA Conference. At the 1990 Conclave, Scott passed on the robust Section to Michael Healey. After the 1991 Conclave, Martin Kadel stepped down as Staff Adviser as was replaced interim by the Area NE-1 Director, Lawrence Thibault. Doug McLean was elected to serve as chief for the coming year.
The Section Matures
At the 1992 Conclave, Carroll Carbonneu turned over the position of Section Adviser to William C. Gardner of Taunkacoo Lodge. Staff Adviser Lawrence Thibault also stepped aside to allow Dale McCann to assume the duties of Staff Adviser. With the invigoration of a new Key-3, NE-1A prepared, under the leadership of chief Jason Phillips, for the 1993 Conclave. Another period of stability began, and for the 1994 and 1995 Conclave, Robert Gordon served as Chief. Bill and Dale completed the nucleus of leadership, helping two new lodges start: Moswetuset (from a merger of King Phillip and Taskiagi) and Nanepashmet (from the merger of Shingebis, Amiskwi and Passaquo). Additionally, an area realignment in 1994 brought Ajapeu Lodge from NE-2A back to NE-1A. Dale McCann stepped down as Staff Adviser, to be replaced by Robert Cole, who joined new chief Michael Ban for the 1996 Conclave. After the conclave, Bill appointed his successor, Roger L. Gagnon, to the position of Associate Adviser. A new Staff Adviser (and former Lodge Chief) Rick Riopelle stepped up to join the Section.
Mac Carr presided over the 1997 Conclave, and at its conclusion, Roger assumed the role of Section Adviser with his new chief, Richard Burt for the 1998 "Rain-clave" at Camp Onway. The leadership team also helped a new lodge, Chippanyonk (from the merger of Taunkacoo and Musketahquid) begin its service. Wannalancit Lodge also merged, becoming a part of Nanepashmet. In 1999 the young lodge stepped up to host its first Conclave under the leadership of chief Paul Healey. Jay Schnapp, Russ Wolf and Scott Valcourt were also appointed Associate Advisers for this year. To close out its first century of existence, NE-1A held the 2000 Conclave under the leadership of Mikey LaPlante at TL Storer Scout Reservation. At the conclave's conclusion, Josh Gagnon was elected his first term as Section Chief.
A New Century of Service
At the turn of the century, NE-1A prepared for another transition in leadership. Kahagon Lodge merged to become a part of Moswetuset, lowering the number of lodges to its present 7. At the end of the 2001 Conclave, Roger Gagnon appointed (his eventual successor) Fred A. Gobeille of Ajapeu Lodge to the post of Associate Adviser. Josh Gagnon was elected to a second term, becoming the first two-term Chief since Robert Gordon (1994-5). Fred assumed the role of Section Adviser in June of 2002 and appointed Dick Avery of Passconaway Lodge his Associate Adviser.
Conclave 2003 came and went under the leadership of Scott Devoid. Edward Lynes was elected chief for the 2003-2004 year, but his term would not last long. In December of 2003, he was elected to serve as the Northeast Region Chief for 2004.
Zac Hicks stepped up to serve the remainder of Ed's term and presided over a prodigious year. In February, the Section held its first-ever Quality Lodge Summit, a weekend training event focused on aiding lodges in the development of their program. NE-1A also hosted, for the first time in history, a National Leadership Seminar within the borders of our Section. The conclave in the spring of 2004, hosted by Passaconaway Lodge, was the largest since the mid-1990's and the first to have 100% lodge participation since 2001. At the end of the conclave, Mike Price was elected to serve as Section Chief.
In 2004, NE-1A also adopted a Section name, Wobanakik. The name comes from the language of the Abenaki Indians, a tribe native to New England. Translated, the words means "Land of the Dawn," appropriate, as NE-1A is the Easternmost Section in the continental US. The Section in turn adopted a patch and logo to correspond with this new identity.
In 2005, the Section hosted its second-Quality Lodge Summit (with VIP visits by the National Chief and Northeast Region Chief), and also launched an updated version of its website, www.ne1a.org. At the 2005 Conclave, Paul Froman received the nod of leadership from the delegates and began a year of service with the third Quality Lodge Summit. At the 2006 Section Conclave, Paul was elected to a second term as Section Chief. During his second term, Paul's philosophy focused on the expansion of the Section's involvement in the Lodge Program, with specific activities encouraging that philosophy. The fourth Quality Lodge Summit and the program associated with the 2007 Section Conclave strove to bring more Arrowmen towards understanding the important role that the Order plays in the Scouting life of each Council. Staff Adviser Rick Riopelle turned the Staff Advisership over to Matthew Randall of Madockawanda Lodge. At the 2007 Section Conclave, after a successful year of serving the Section's Lodges through the Lodge Assistance Program as Section Vice-Chief, Jeff St. Cyr was elected Section Chief. Jeff led the fifth Quality Lodge Summit and the conclusion of the first cycle of the Lodge Assistance Program that year.
Back to the Future
At the 2008 Section Conclave, many changes took place and some things stayed the same. Jeff St. Cyr was reelected to a second term as Section Chief. The Northeast Region underwent a reorganization that returned the Section NE-1A borders to those of the 1988 Reorganization. This Reorganization resulted in Ajapeu Lodge, Green Mountain Council moving from Section NE-1A to the new Section NE-2A, and Graham Edmondson, the elected Section Secretary, moved as well. After six years, Fred Gobeille exited the stage as Section Adviser and former Section Chief Scott Valcourt became the new Section Adviser.
With this collection of changes, Section NE-1A began a period of strong service. Under Jeff's leadership, we look forward to a bright and promising future.
| Section Chiefs of NE-1A Scott A. Valcourt (1988-1990) Michael P. Healey (1990-1991) Doug McLean (1991-1992) Jason Phillips (1992-1993) Robert Gordon (1993-1995) Michael Ban (1995-1996) Mac Carr (1996-1997) Richard Burt (1997-1998) Paul Healey (1998-1999) Michael LaPlante (1999-2000) Joshua Gagnon (2000-2002) Scott Devoid (2002-2003) Edward Lynes (2003) Zac Hicks (2004) Mike Price (2004-2005) Paul Froman (2005-2007) Jeff St. Cyr (2007-Present) |
Special silver mylar-bordered Section patch, presented by |
Section NE-1A is also proud to recognize our four brothers who have been awarded the Distinguished Service Award:
Kerry R. Molin (1990)
Scott Anthony Valcourt (1992)
Reese Faulkner (1998)
Edward Lynes (2006)
Conclave History
1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000
2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008