Godt nyttår alle sammen! Fra Kathy Dollymore, Third District President
I hope that you all had a great Christmas, and Santa found his way to your home. Was your Juletrefest just what you hoped for? Did you sing some Norwegian favorites and dance around the tree? Did you enjoy visiting with friends and family you haven’t seen in a while? I hope it was the most wonderful time of the year for you all!!
I also hope that many of you took the opportunity to enroll your family and friends in the wonderful organization we call “Sons of Norway” for their gift this year. There are some attractive new products in the financial area of our organization that make it beneficial to call out to SON International or your local FBC representative. Speaking of FBC’s there are a number of new representatives so call SON to check that out.
2019 had been a tremendous year for new members – especially in the “Tremendous Third”. We reached our goal of new memberships but need to work on retention. Sometimes this takes some shaking up of lodge meetings. New ideas, meeting time, programs, shared leadership, using technology, etc. Get some input from your members and see what works for your lodge. We want 2020 to outshine 2019 in membership growth and retention.
January will see some new lodge officers installed. I want to thank and congratulate all the officers for taking on their new positions. Know that there are people you can go to for guidance, past lodge officers, Zone Directors and the District Board is always ready to assist. The District Presidents have been working on updating our Guide for Leadership into modules for each lodge to use, so watch for that on the website. I also appreciate the officers who will either be continuing or returning to positions. I want to emphasize that a lodge cannot run with just the same people changing hats, so I encourage membership to assist in whatever capacity you are able. Get involved! I am sure that you will find it rewarding.
Lodge of the Year forms are being filled out now. These forms show our activities and document that we are a not-for-profit organization and keep our tax status intact. I hope you have found the Fraternalgives.com convenient to use once you get the hang of it. I would like to see all our lodges fill out the forms even if they are hard copy. There are awards presented at the convention and your lodge may receive one of the awards. All members should be recognized for their work and efforts through the year.
A sad decision was made at the suggestion of the Land of the Vikings Board that you may have already read/heard about. The decision to cease operations at Land of the Vikings. Closing LOV was a hard suggestion for the LOV Board to make but I congratulate them for making it. The suggestion was approved by the Third District Board and now we are in the process of looking into the assessment value and see if we can find a buyer for the property. I suspect that the families and lodges who have gathered at LOV will continue under the new ownership, with the District not having to pay taxes and insurance on the property, so if we can find a buyer, I consider it a win for everyone.
In June our delegates will travel to Jacksonville, Fl for our 3D meeting and convention. Start thinking about who will represent your lodge as a delegate. There are time frames for resolutions, reporting delegate names, cultural entries, registrations, etc. There will be more information coming from the Convention committee and the District Secretary. All the forms will be on the 3dsofn.org website soon so be on the look out for those.
I’ve already decided 2020 will be amazing!!