The purpose of this Order is to honor those persons who have given unselfishly of their time and talents toward the betterment of archery and archers, bestowing the highest honor of the Virginia Bowhunters Association on archery’s most respected individuals in Virginia. 

The original Order to consist of not more than ten persons.

The committee recommends that the following persons be bestowed the ‘Order of the Golden Feather’:

Robert (Bob) Monteith, posthumous
Harry (Hap) Harland
R.C. (Bob) Thompson
Harry Bunting
Robert (Bob) Gillespie
James Oglethorpe
W.M. (Bill) Bennett
McKelden (Doc) Smith
Ross Garletts
Joe Parker

These persons possess more than one of the following qualifications: Founder, Service to V.B.A., Longevity of Service, Continued Interest, Pioneers in Archery, Hunting Laws, Promoting the Sport, Participating on Local and State Level, Fellowship.

The individuals who crafted the original Bylaws words and those who approved them had the good sense to provide a framework without at the same time being overly detailed. This has served the VBA and OGF well as it has provided both guidance and flexibility as the Association and the sport of archery have evolved over the years.

As part of that evolvement, there have been two key tweaks to Section 16 of the Bylaws, but the bulk of the original wording remains intact.
One change center on the rules. In March 1981, the VBA clubs approved a change where candidates would be nominated at the March VBA meeting; club representatives would cast their votes at the June meeting and pass the names to the OGF whose membership would then vote in September. The result of the OGF vote was to be immediately reported to the Executive State Secretary who in turn would notify those accepted as well as those not accepted. In anticipation that the resolution would be passed, the VBA notified clubs to submit their nominations in March 1981, so this new process was immediately implemented.

The other key change involved qualifications. The VBA itself was relatively new when the award was established so only three successive years of membership prior to nomination were required. As the VBA matured, this period was thought to be too short, so the successive membership period was extended to ten years. The exact date of this change is not in the OGF records, but it is likely to have happened in the 1980s.

The location of the presentation ceremony itself was a matter of discussion in 1959. One view was that the awards should be presented at the State Championship Tournament since this would be the largest gathering of archers during the year. An alternate view was that that since this presentation was the highest possible VBA award a tournament venue would not provide the type of dignity desired and there would also be distraction due to the presentation of other awards. The matter was referred to an OGF committee, and it was decided to present the awards at an official VBA meeting. In 2004, the VBA and OGF further modified the sequence of events and changed from a VBA meeting venue to award of the certificate, pin and patch at the annual VBA banquet, generally held in the March/April period.

Historical documents reveal that the VBA leadership took its cue for the creation of the OGF from a similar organization that was formed in Alabama. The November 1958 publication (Volume 1, No. 6) of FLIGHT – the official publication of the VBA – had an article on page 3, much of which in historical context looks strikingly familiar. The article is outlined above on the “Order of the Silver Feather” tab.

Original OGF Pin & Patch

Current OGF Pin & Patch

Historical documents reveal that the VBA leadership took its cue for the creation of the OGF from a similar organization that was formed in Alabama. The November 1958 publication (Volume 1, No. 6) of FLIGHT – the official publication of the VBA – had an article on page 3, much of which in historical context looks strikingly familiar. Below is that article:

“The Alabama Archery Association has come up with what sounds like an excellent idea.  This is their Order of the Silver Feather.  This is to be an honorary organization in archery.  Its membership is by nomination and selection by the clubs affiliated with the Alabama Archery Association, or in our case the Board of Directors.  The first year, 1958, seven members will be elected to charter membership to form a nucleus for the organization.   The following years not more than three members may be added.  Eligibility for membership shall be on the following consideration: First, contribution toward furthering the sport of archery; second good sportsmanship and third ability as an archer.  Surely it is time that outstanding archers receive some consideration for something besides their ability as an archer.  This organization is entirely honorary.  Sort of a Hall of Fame for Archery.”

The minutes of the January 4, 1959 VBA meeting show that Gene Limerick was called upon to give his ideas of a similar order for Virginia.  Limerick gave a short description of his proposal for an “Order of the Silver Feather” but did not include how the first members of the Order would be selected or how later selections would be made or the standards for the selections.  These issues plus a mention that “hard feelings could be created by just such an order” lead to a motion and amendment that created a committee of six persons to study the idea and report at the April 1959 meeting.  The report was to include a proposal for enactment if the committee supported the concept.  The six committee members were Bo Gillespie (Chairman), Harry Bunting, Hap Harland, Gene Limerick, Jim Oglethorpe and Pat Hamilton. 

The April 5, 1959 VBA minutes report that the committee met on March 7 at the William Byrd Hotel in Richmond from 3PM to midnight.  Oglethorpe was absent due to work requirements but submitted a written outline and Harland was out of town but relayed his ideas via telephone.  The submitted report said, “It was a unanimous opinion of the committee that such an order could be created and carried out without causing dissention.  We discussed thoroughly each phase and all possible loopholes that might be detrimental to continuance of the Order on the high plane of its original intent.”  The report went on to submit the document quoted at the beginning of this article. 

The committee document was approved for adoption by the VBA and thus was born the Order of the Golden Feather. By the June 1959 VBA meeting, a committee had been appointed to work on the details for a lapel pin, certificate and brazzard  (NOTE:  this word comes from the VBA minutes and is likely a typographical error.  Intended was probably brassard as another term for a patch), the results of which were to be presented at the January 1960 meeting.  The next mention of the OGF in FLIGHT appears in the March 1960 (Volume 2, No. 5) issue.  There was a drawing of a proposed pin and patch for the OGF by artist Jack Griffin along with the following article: