Dear Lodge Secretaries,
Here’s a Fall update for you. Thank you for the energy and time you give to your lodge and to Sons of Norway.
Sincerely,
Jeanne Addison
, (717)793-7428, 1574 Rosewood Lane, York, PA 17403
Location of Forms
Sons of Norway website www.sofn.com
Log In/ Member Resources/ Lodge Leadership Resources/ Administrative Resources/ Lodge Forms or Governance
Third District website www.3dsofn.org
Go to “Download important documents and forms”
Both websites have plenty of other great information, such as the Third District’s TDT (Third District Today). Please acquaint yourself with them.
Lodge Anniversaries
- Nordkap’s 100th Celebration – October 2, 2021, noon – 4 PM, Martins Valley Mansion, 529 Cranbrook Road, Cockeysville, Maryland 21030
- Hudson Valley 75th Dinner Celebration – October 9, 2021, 5:00 pm, Big Valley Lodge (formerly Land of the Vikings), Susquehanna, PA
- Other anniversaries in 2021 –
Bla Fjell (25), Faerder (110), Gulfstream (50), Noreg (65),
Restauration (45), Scandinavian Heritage Society (75), Tampa Bay (50)
Send me any information if your lodge is having a special event planned for your Lodge anniversary.
Fraternal Funds – Lodge ZOOM contracts qualify, too- NEW DEADLINE DATE
Think about whether your Lodge would like to apply for Fraternal Funds. These funds are given for lodge cultural activities that have already occurred and are voted upon at the Fall and Spring Third District Board Meetings. The next time the Board will vote on requests is October 29-30, 2021. The Fraternal Funds form is located on www.3dsofn.org under Documents and Forms . Receipts must accompany the form. Any lodge cultural expense, even the cost of a Zoom contract, can be reimbursed partially or fully by Fraternal Funds. Please have the application and receipts sent to me by October 20, 2021.
Nominations and Fall Elections
Two years ago Sons of Norway Headquarters requested that ALL lodges have their biennial elections in November (prior to December 1), so that Lodge Secretaries can complete the D-63 Officer Update Forms with the correct names and contact information of the new officers who begin their term in January.
If this is the election year for your lodge, make sure that your lodge is organizing nominations in September and October. Some lodges have adopted “C0-positions” or committees if it is difficult to fill positions.
Annual D-63 Forms
Sons of Norway requires every lodge secretary to annually complete the D-63 form on www.sofn.com in order to report any change in officer positions or no change. The absolute last day for it is December 31, 2021, but it would greatly help me and Sherry Gorse at headquarters if you can send the names in earlier. It is always wise to double-check the exact spelling and numbers in lodge members’ addresses, emails, and phone numbers prior to completing the form. After you have submitted your form, I will receive a copy from Sons of Norway and that is what I will use to make the annual Third District Directory in January 2022. More information on the directory orders will be coming in the future.
Lodge Officers Must Be in Good Standing
According to Sons of Norway, all lodge officers must pay their current membership dues in order to continue being officers. Check your membership list found on your profile page at the Sons of Norway website.
Paper Lodge Membership Applications Need Correction
On printed, paper lodge membership applications, there is a section requesting a credit card number. Cross that section out on your forms if your lodge still has some paper applications. It is no longer to be used. The only way that new members can pay their membership dues by credit card is by going to the Sons of Norway website and registering online. This change is being done for credit card security reasons. If a new member or renewing member wants to use a paper application, they must write a check payable to “Sons of Norway” and cannot pay by credit card.
More on New membership forms
Please remind members to provide their member number to those they invite to join, so that Sons of Norway can recognize this accomplishment with a certificate and limited-edition 2021 Recruiter Pin. Enrollment forms are available from Sons of Norway headquarters and online. For online form access, first login at sofn.com, then go to Lodge Leadership Resources and continue to Membership Forms. New members of nonvoting lodges may also sign up directly at sofn.com.
Tubfrim
The program continues, but there will be no prize travel vouchers as in the past. The Third District’s Tubfrim Chairperson is Kjell Kittilsen. You can reach him by mail at 871 70th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11228 or by phone at 718-680-4684. The Sons of Norway website, www.sofn.com, has information about Tubfrim.
Sons of Norway Foundation
Emily Stark is the new staff member at Sons of Norway in Minneapolis working on the Foundation.
October is Foundation Month. Encourage contributions in your lodge. The Sons of Norway website www.sofn.com has plenty of information.
Dirk Hansen of Southern Star Lodge in Myrtle Beach is the Foundation Director for the Third District. He can be reached at .
Writing Resolutions for the 2022 District Lodge Meeting at the Convention
There is a template form and instructions that must be used to submit any resolutions a lodge would like to see brought to the local Zone Caucus Meeting prior to the District Lodge meeting in June 2022. This template helps to make all resolutions consistent in format. A deadline date for submitting resolutions will be set in the future and will be approximately February-March of 2022.
Go to the District website’s home page at www.3dsofn.org , scroll down to “Download Important Forms and Documents”, click, then scroll down to “New- Required Lodge Form for Writing Convention Resolutions”and click.
Updating Your Local Lodge Bylaws with information on electronic elections and meetings
Below you will find information you can use to update your local Lodge Bylaws. It is always a good time to do so.
- You MUST use the new template form which makes everything much easier. This can be found on the Sons of Norway website sofn.com/Log In/ Member Resources/ Lodge Leadership Resources/ Administrative Resources/ forms/ Local Lodge Bylaws-Form #125 (download; I couldn’t see the download box on the bottom of my screen, but I found it when I went to my Windows start box, then documents, then downloads). Follow the Procedures on this form and merge into it any special items your local lodge might want to mention. The Miscellaneous area can be used for some of those items.
- Remember that your local Lodge Bylaws changes must be voted upon by 2/3 of the members at a meeting, provided the bylaw changes were presented in writing and read at a prior meeting of the lodge. If the 2/3 majority agrees to the changes, the document must then be mailed to Sons of Norway for legal approval as indicated on the template. A copy of the lodge meeting minutes in which the bylaws changes were approved must accompany the bylaws.
- Last year Sons of Norway voted to allow LOCAL LODGE ELECTIONS to be done electronically. They also stipulated the timing and manner of such elections. This governance item, therefore, may be incorporated into the bylaws of all local lodges.
The Sons of Norway Policy & Procedures Section 4, Local Lodge, Chapter 11, was amended to read:
4.11.5 Elections Local Lodge elections shall be held under normal circumstances in the manner
as outlined in the Constitution in Chapter 11, paragraph 4.11.5. In circumstances in which in-person meetings are not possible due to circumstances beyond the control of the local lodge such as, but not limited to, during a time of national emergency, the local lodge may hold elections via mail, electronic communication, other methods of electronic or internet-based communication, or any combination thereof.
4.11.5.1 The lodge nominating committee as established in the Constitution, paragraph 4.11.4 shall convene in order to develop a slate of candidates to run for the offices of the local lodge. This slate shall be ready to present to lodge members no later than the lodge’s first regular meeting in October of each year that precedes an election as outlined in paragraph 4.11.4.
4.11.5.2 The lodge members will be notified of the field of candidates by mail, newsletter, or any acceptable means of electronic communication no later than October 31. All voting members of the lodge shall receive this information. A ballot shall be provided with each such notification sent out.
4.11.5.3 Ballots may be returned by mail, email, or other means of electronic communication that is mutually acceptable to the lodge such as, but not limited to, an online survey tool. The deadline to return ballots shall be set by the lodge board. In any case the balloting should be completed no later than November 30.
4.11.5.4 Non-lodge members that may be on a lodge mailing list or email distribution list may not vote. The lodge board shall appoint tellers to verify membership and count the incoming ballots. The tellers may not be candidates for any of the lodge offices or directorships.
4.11.5.5 Any nominations to be made in addition to those of the nominating committee shall be submitted to the committee no later than October 1 for inclusion in the balloting process. Nominations made after October 1 and before the deadline shall be the responsibility of the candidate or the nominator.
- Last year Sons of Norway also approved the following on ELECTRONIC MEETINGS. Here is the wording used:
The Sons of Norway Policy & Procedures Section 4, Local Lodge, Chapter 9, new paragraph 4.9.2 was added as:
4.9.2 Electronic Meetings In the event that meetings of the local lodge are unable to be held in person due to circumstances beyond the control of the local lodge, such as, but not limited to, during a time of national emergency, during which time business still needs to be transacted, local lodges may hold meetings utilizing mail, electronic communications, teleconferences, other methods of electronic or internet-based communication, or any combination thereof.
- Lastly, another item addressed in the template has to do with whether a lodge must vote to approve new members. In this age of online applications to Sons of Norway, lodges might consider not having an in-person vote. There is a procedure in place in the Sons of Norway governance documents for removing members, if necessary.
2022 International Convention Update from Marci Larson, International Secretary
International President Ron Stubbings has shared this information:
The convention will be held August 31 – September 1, 2022. First-time delegates arrive for training on August 30. Delegates will depart September 2.
Here is the information about the venue—be sure and take the virtual tour of the hotel on its website. It looks like a lovely place for a Convention or vacation!
Omni Viking Lakes Hotel
2611 Nordic Way
Eagan, MN 55121
2022 District Lodge Meeting and Convention
Mark your calendars. The date has been set, and conventions are always fun and a great way to meet other Sons of Norway members! Each lodge may send a certain number of delegates to the meeting, and non-delegates can attend the Convention. The number of delegates your lodge is entitled to send will depend on the lodge’s membership number on December 31, 2021. Sons of Norway will let us know shortly after December 31.
Here is a welcome letter and update from the convention committee:
2022 District 3 Convention
June 10 -13, 2022*
(Friday – Monday)
The members and leadership of the award-winning Gateway to Florida Lodge in Jacksonville, FL, are pleased to host the 2022 District 3 Convention. We are no strangers to planning and implementing conventions, having successfully hosted the 2014 International Convention, only the second time for a Florida lodge to do so in Sons of Norway history. We have a strong and diverse membership and have been recognized several times as the District 3 Large Lodge of the Year. We are consistent performers in membership growth and retention and have achieved SON recognition in many membership campaigns. We also have a very active Viking boat program participating in the long-running Florida Regattas and in many annual Light Parades held in north Florida, which have given both our lodge and Sons of Norway exceptional visibility and name recognition.
Since the 2020 district and international conventions were suspended until 2022 because of the world-wide pandemic which necessitated extensive lockdowns of businesses, we met with the hotel in the fall of 2020 to revisit plans for 2022. We continued frequent communications with District President Kathy Dollymore and our committees and key volunteers are in place. We have re-selected the Doubletree by Hilton Jacksonville Riverfront situated on the banks of the St. Johns River in downtown Jacksonville. As stated in previous communications, the hotel has 293 well-appointed rooms with walkout balconies, including 33 suites; 100 percent non-smoking; wireless high-speed internet access available throughout the hotel; 40 inch flat panel television in each room; Crabtree & Evelyn bath products; 24-hour fitness studio; outdoor riverfront pool; several dining options including Ruth Chris Steakhouse; a lobby lounge and many other amenities. Bellmen, valet and self-parking are available. The hotel does not have a shuttle, so those flying into the Jacksonville Airport will have to use Super Shuttle or another car service.
Room rates remain the same: standard, $124; riverfront, $144; Jr. Suite $164. The current tax rate is 13 percent.
Parking: The daily self-parking rate of $12 has been waived to zero; daily valet parking is $20 plus 7 percent tax.
Tentative Schedule
Thursday, June 9: District Board arrives
Committees may arrive
Friday, June 10: Delegates arrive
District Board meets Friday morning
Golfing provided either Thursday or Friday morning depending on interest
Memorial Service at 5 p.m. (hotel)
President’s Welcome Reception/Evening 6:30-10 p.m. (hotel/poolside)
Sat., June 11: Business session from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
AM & PM coffee breaks with Scandinavian goodies
Lunch in Ruth Chris steakhouse (included in registration)
Lodge event
Viking Auction
Sunday, June 12: Business session continues, 8:30 a.m. – until business is concluded.
AM coffee break with Scandinavian goodies
Lunch –on your own
Installation 5 p.m.
Reception (cash bar) 6 p.m.
Grand Banquet 7 p.m.
Monday, June 13: Delegates depart
District board meets
Convention concluded
Other Planning Items:
- Hotel food costs will increase at least 3 percent
- Number of registrants for planning (75-80)
- Final AV costs must be determined (hotel is changing companies)
- Theme may be changed since we are past our 125th anniversary
- Break-out sessions Sunday following close of business to be determined by President/District board
- We will have a convention journal with advertising opportunities
- Convention merchandise will be limited.
- Other details to be discussed/considered as we move forward
- Delegate and non-delegate pricing; individual pricing for Friday evening, Saturday lunch, Sat. lodge event and Sunday banquet
- The location of the Friday evening welcome reception has changed because the area is being redeveloped.
*Note: this is the second weekend in June compared to the 2020 date of the first weekend in June.