As I Travel and visit lodges in the District I find each lodge is different and unique in it’s own way even though we are of one order in Sons of Norway. Though the lodges are different, they are all warm, friendly, and sociable with visitors and their own members.
During January, I had the honor to install the officers of two lodges; Loyal Lodge on Long Island and Washington Lodge in Fairfax Virginia. Both lodges had a full slate of officers and their installations were well attended. This is such an encouraging sign since many lodges in the Third District struggle to fill their officer positions. While Karen and I get to attend most of the meetings of Loyal Lodge, the same is not true for Washington lodge. It was nice to see and meet so many old and new friends.
While we were in Virginia, Karen and I had the opportunity to meet with the 2024 Convention Committee at the Hyatt Hotel where the 2024 Third District Convention will take place. I can honestly say that the hotel is impressive. We had lunch there and the food was excellent. The committee did an excellent job in finding the perfect place for our 2024 convention. We were able to speak with the committee members in great detail about the upcoming convention and we all left excited to continue to work together to make this convention a great experience for delegates and guests. You will be hearing from the committee in the future. I hope you make every effort to attend, even if you are not a delegate. Having the convention right outside of Washington DC gives everyone an opportunity to take a side trip to visit our nation’s capital.
Karen and I will be bringing back many of the details of our conversation to the Third District Board at our March in person Board meeting. At that time, we will also be discussing the District’s responsibilities regarding the upcoming Convention.
Many times, as we visit lodges, we are questioned about the Third District, the International Lodge, the Foundation, and the relationship between these entities, not to forget to mention how our own Third District Charitable Trust fits into the mix. I will be working with the members of your Third District Board to develop a Leadership Training program that will be available to all to answer those questions and many more.
On a more somber note, I recently learned that our beloved Sherry Gorse is no longer with Sons of Norway. Sherry has been a wealth of information and a tremendous help to many lodge officers for many years. She is and will continue to be missed by us all. I wish her well and want to thank her on behalf of the many Third District members who came to know her and rely on her. THANK YOU, SHERRY, FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE FOR SO MANY IN DISTRICT 3. Connie O’Brien and Any Tuchenhagen are there to answer our questions. They will be doing their work in addition to picking up Sherry’s responsibilities, so we need to be patient if we don’t get the answers we are looking for as quickly as we did in the past.
I am looking forward to the upcoming Board meeting to hear what all our committees have accomplished since October. Stay tuned for the details.
Fraternally,
Stephen Helmold
District 3 President