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2009 - GOALS OF THE PRESIDENT - 2010
Accident Prevention/Risk Management
· To have allLodges file Claim Reports that are timely and complete.
· To have all Lodges use the Grand Lodge Self-Inspection Form on a quarterly basis.
· To communicate information on the Grand Lodge Insurance Program to the Lodges quarterly, or as needed.
· To have all Lodges review their insurance coverage on Property and Contents.
· To inform allLodges of the need for bonding or coverage against discrimination suits and other actions that may endanger the Lodge, its Officers, and Members (Directors and Officers coverage).
Americanism
· To promote Americanism in the hearts of all in the community.
· To have all Michigan Lodges conduct the Mandatory Flag Day Ceremony, maintain a Heritage Corner and fly or display the American Flag at all times.
· Promote patriotic activities such as, entering Fourth of July Parades, Memorial Day Parades, and holding Law and Order nights.
· To have all Lodges enter the State Americanism contest.
· To have all Lodges in each District submit an entry in the Grand Lodge Americanism Essay Contest.
· To have at least one Lodge in each District participate in the new Flag Day training program for students.
· To have every Lodge award Flag recognition certificates in their area.
Business Practices
This committee is available, at the request of the Lodge. to offer its services and expertise to Lodges that may be having financial difficulties. This committee will review the Lodge’s operation and make suggestions, which should help with its problems.
Calendar Program
· To have all Lodges participate fully in the Calendar Program.
· To have all Districts photographically represented in the new issue of the Calendar.
Drug Awareness Program
· To stop drug abuse before it begins by educating the youth of Michigan about the adverse effects of Marijuana, cocaine, alcohol and other mind-altering substances.
· To reach the youth directly, as well as through parents and teachers.
· To have every Lodge conduct at least one Drug Awareness Project involving the community.
· To encourage all Lodges to have a Drug Awareness booth set up at all Hoop Shoot, Soccer Shoot, or other youth oriented activity.
· To prepare articles promoting the Elks Drug Awareness Education Program for submission to the local media, Michigan Elks Website, and the Elks Magazine.
· To strongly urge the appointment of District and Lodge Chairmen who will be leaders in getting this important message to the community.
Elks National Home
· To have allLodges participate in the National Home Christmas Card Program.
· To have allLodges verify publication of at least one article in their Lodge publication on the National Home and to have allLodges place the National Home on the Lodge publication mailing list.
Elks Training Program
· To help prepare Lodge officers and other Elks to better perform their duties as officers and committee members.
· To have 100% of the Lodges participate in the Elks Training Program and to have every Lodge Officer participate in the training program.
· To have all Exalted Rulers and Elks Training Chairmen invite and encourage all members, through their Lodge bulletin and Lodge meetings, to take the training course.
Government Relations
This committee is responsible for being aware of any legislation on the local, district, state or national level, which would adversely affect our Order. Areas of concern are our membership policies, Bylaws, Lodge House Rules or any other infringement upon our rights. Any local legislation pertaining to these matters are to be directed to the attention of the District and State Government Relations Chairmen. Lodge and District Chairmen should also inform the State Chairman immediately of any inquiries received from any local, state or national agency questioning any of our policies.
· To have all Michigan Lodges maintain accurate records in the “Charity Records Booklet” for all Volunteer, Youth, Charitable and Community Service Programs.
· To have all members of our association understand and assist in protecting our guaranteed constitutional rights. These rights were granted to us under the First and Fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights (especially the right to “Private Assembly” and the exercise of freedom of choice with regard to these rights).
· To provide Lodges with charitable statistics for their publication in the community and Lodge bulletins.
· To provide form letters to Lodge members for organized write in campaigns as suggested by Grand Lodge.
· To have all Lodges aggressively assist the State Association in pursuing “Property Tax Exempt” status with the State of Michigan
Hoop Shoot
The “Hoop Shoot” Committee conducts this free throw contest for boys and girls at the Local, District, State, Regional and National levels. The “Hoop Shoot” contest does much to bring another of the good works of our Order to the attention of the public. Therefore, it is important to bring the local Lodges’ involvement in the contest to the attention of the local media to let them know about young people. At the conclusion of the State contest, news releases should be sent to the Lodges sponsoring the top three finishers in each of the six groups of contestants.
The “Hoop Shoot” committee should strive for 100% participation in this program. This committee should also provide the Michigan Elks News and Michigan Elks Website with a list of winners at the State contest and an article, including pictures, concerning the event.
The “Hoop Shoot” committee should also encourage the Drug Awareness, Americanism and Membership Committees to set up information booths at every Lodge, District, and State contest.
Judiciary (Law & Bylaw Committees)
These committees have the responsibility to examine all proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Michigan Elks Association and all resolutions, memorials or motions relating to its bylaws, with respect to the form, purpose and legality. These committees may present recommendations at the Annual Meeting for any changes or amendments of the “constitution and Bylaws, as the committees deem desirable.
Lodge Activities/Star Lodge Award Program
· To have 100% participation in the President’s Star Lodge Award Program.
· To have all Exalted Rulersattend the Grand Lodge Convention in Portland, Oregon. Attendance is a requirement of Grand Lodge for the Exalted Ruler to become a member of Grand Lodge.
· To have all Lodges qualify for the G.E.R. Special Citation Award.
· To have all Lodges present an "Elk of the Year", "Officer of the Year", and "Citizen of the Year" award, plus at least two G.E.R. Special Commendation Awards to worthy Lodge members.
Membership / Lapsation
· To involve all Lodges and members in an active Membership program, inclusive of Membership procurement and Membership retention. To encourage the use of all prescribed reward incentive programs for new Membership.
· To have all Lodges participate in the new member mentoring program.
· For each Lodge to have a plus one gain in membership and for the State Association to show a gain of at least 100 new members for 2009-2010.
· To reduce the Lapsation in our Lodges and our State to 2% or less.
· To have allLodges develop an active stray Elk program utilizing the Stray Elk Report from Grand Lodge.
· Lodges to submit quarterly Membership/Lapsation Reports on time.
· To have each Lodge work with the Grand Lodge “Membership Control Manual” to obtain these goals
Michigan Elks Major Project
To aid and assist “Special Needs Children” and solicit the aid of all members to attain the goals as set forth by the Major Project Commission.
· To encourage all Lodgesto continue prompt remittance of the mandatory contribution of $1.00 per member and other collected funds, and to encourage the continued support for all Major Project fund-raising projects on a voluntary basis.
· To have allLodges submit at least one case to the Major Project Commission.
National Foundation
· To have 100% participation of the Lodges with at least five (5) new subscriptions in this lodge year, with (2) of the new subscriptions prior to the Grand Lodge Convention in July.
· To have every Officer in every Lodge and every Officer and Chairman in the State Association be a member of the National Foundation.
· To inform every Lodge of the voluntary dues subscription program to increase Lodge National Foundation Contributions.
· To have all Lodges meet the per-capita goal of contributions to the Elks National Foundation as set forth by Grand Lodge.
· To have a year end State per-capita equal to the Grand Lodge per-capita goal
National Veterans Service Commission
· To have monthly Elks sponsored activities at every Veterans Hospital in the State of Michigan.
· To have every Lodge conduct an activity for Veterans Remembrance Month during the month of November.
· To have every Lodge collect recommended items throughout the year to be distributed to the Veterans Hospital in their area and to have each Lodge send its monthly bulletin to the area Veterans hospital.
· To adopt every Veteran in every Veterans Hospital in the State of Michigan and to support these adoptions with holiday cards and donations and gifts.
Public Relations
Good public relations are extremely important today. The Public Relations Committee is responsible for conducting a program that will project the true image of Elkdom to the public through our benevolent, charitable and patriotic programs.
· To continue the publication of the Michigan Elks News. To encourage the members of our association to submit newsworthy articles to the Michigan Elks News.
· To have all State Chairmen provide an article for publication in at least two editions of The Michigan Elks News.
· Encourage all Lodges to maintain a publication to their membership concerning Lodge activities and State and Grand Lodge programs.
· To encourage all Lodges to reprint articles from the Michigan Elks News and Grand Lodge Newsletter in their Lodge Bulletins.
· The State Chairman to write an article each quarter regarding activities happening throughout the State and encourage all Lodges to publish these articles in their Lodge bulletin.
· To have 100% of the Lodges promote Elkdom’s image by publicizing at least one activity through their local newspaper or television station.
· For all Lodges to have at least one article printed in the Michigan Elks News or the Elk’s National Magazine about their members or activities.
Ritual
· To have all Lodge Officers memorize their ritual parts by May 1st to insure that we will greatly impress our new members.
· To have all Lodges rehearse all ritual ceremonies to improve their delivery, especially those presented to the public.
· To encourage District Ritual Competition by all of the Lodges in each District and to continue to conduct a State Ritual Clinic at the Fall Conference.
· To continue attempting to combine two Districts, if low participation suggests, into one contest to foster camaraderie and to contain associated District costs to a minimum.
Scholarship
· To have 100% participation of all Lodges in the Elks National Foundation Scholarship Program.
· To provide assistance to the Gold Key Scholarship Commission and aggressively promote the Gold Key Scholarship program statewide.
Soccer
It is the responsibility of this committee to organize and promote Soccer Shootout Contests at the Lodge, District, and State levels. This contest involves another sector of our young people and does much to bring the good works of our Order to the attention of the public. Therefore, it is important to bring the local Lodges involvement in the contest to the attention of the local media. At the conclusion of the State Contest, news releases should be sent to the Lodges sponsoring the top three finishers in each of the groups of contestants.
This committee should strive for an increase in participation in this program by the Lodges in Michigan. The committee should also provide the Michigan Elks News and the Michigan Elks Website with a list of winners at the State Contest and an article, including pictures, concerning the event. A copy of the article and pictures should also be sent to the Elks Magazine.
Special Events/Community Welfare/Organ Donor Program
· To have every Lodge conduct an "Elks Pumpkin Patch" Halloween party for our special needs children and their families.
· To have every Lodge conduct activities for community awareness and wellbeing.
· To have every Lodge encourage their members to participate in the Organ Donor Program as adopted by Grand Lodge and the Federal Department of Health and Human Services.
Webmaster
The Webmaster’s responsibilities will include creating a Website that serves to meet the goals of the organization, maintaining and administering the systems, generating Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and scripts, developing the graphic design and layout of the user interface, and developing the architecture of the information throughout the site. The Webmaster will provide support within and across the information layers of the organization.
Youth Activities
The Youth Activities Committee is one of the most important committees in the Lodge, the State, and the Nation.
When the local Lodge has an active Youth Activities Committee, the community becomes aware that the Order of Elks cares about its youth. There are many excellent youth programs, which are available to youth of all ages in your area. These programs are described in the Grand Lodge Youth Activities Brochure, which is available from the Grand Lodge Youth Activities Committee and should be on file in your Lodge Secretary’s office.
· To work with the State Soccer Chairman in conducting Lodge, District and State Soccer contests.
· To have all Lodgesconduct at least one Youth Program which involves the community.
· To have all Lodgesparticipate in at least some of the various youth activities student certificate awards.
· To increase the number of Lodgesparticipating in Scouting and to involve the Scouts in selected Lodge activities.
· To increase the number of Lodges conducting “Junior Elks” and/or “Venturing” Programs within their communities.
All State Chairpersons, whether they are specifically instructed to do so or not, are encouraged to provide the Michigan Elks News, the Michigan Elks Website and the Public Relations Committee with articles pertaining to their committee’s programs.
Kevin M. Quinn
President
Michigan Elks Association