President’s Message

It is hard to believe that summer is about over. I hope everyone had a great one and enjoyed it with picnics and vacation trips. Soon lodges will be starting to meet again, and I would like to bring you up to date on what has been going on in our Third District.

At the Third District Convention in Herndon, Virginia the delegates approved 10 resolution and 1 motion that have now been sent to the home office for recording. Washington Lodge was the host lodge, and they did a great job to make everyone feel welcome and making sure everything was perfect, which it sure was. They left nothing out. Every little detail was covered. The bus tour of Washington DC at night was fantastic. I want to thank Dave Brown and his entire committee for a job well done.

At the District Lodge meeting, we had election of offices for the 2024-2026 Third District Board. A number of our Board members choose not to seek reelection. I want to thank Audun Gythfeldt, Susan Olson, Andy Mathisen, who is running for a position on the International Board, Jeanne Addison and Michael Pedersen for all they have done for the Third District. I know they will continue to be active in their lodges and their zones.

I would also like to thank those Board members who have agreed to stay on the Board for another year. Some have changed positions. Diana Syvertsen will be our Treasurer, Elaine Breiland will be the Zone One Director, and Paul Kornbrekke will be the Zone 3 Director.

Karen Olsen-Helmold will remain as Secretary, and she will serve as our liaison to the Sons of Norway Foundation. Leif Easterson will remain as Charitable Trust Director Asbjorn Lageraaen as Publicity Director, Peter Hanson as Zone 2 Director, Kaare Hansen as Zone 4 Director, Christine Taylor as Zone 5 Director and Bill Browning as Zone 7 Director.

We also welcome a few new Board members. I really want to thank them for stepping up to the plate. Kaite Brink from Hampton Roads Lodge will fill the new position of Assistant Secretary. Our new Cultural Director is Cheri Johnson who is presently the President of Bla Fjell Lodge. They have both hit the ground running and have already been part of this year’s youth camp and are planning the Cultural weekend for June of 2025. (Both events as discussed more in this letter). Robert Johnson from Loyal Lodge will be our new Vice President and Linda Hestvik from Washington Lodge will be our new Zone 6 Director. I am delighted to welcome them to the Third District Board. I am happy to see the lodges in the Southern half of the District having more representation on the Board. I have been working hard during my time on the Board to get more involvement from this area and from all lodges.

Youth camp this year went very well from what I heard from the camp counselors. For the children that did not go, they missed out on a great time. There were only 8 children this year, we were hoping for more, but we are going to advertise and push it for next year, so I hope if you have children and grandchildren of youth camp age (8 to 17 years old) you will encourage them to go to youth camp next year.

Next year there will be a Third District Cultural weekend from Thursday June 26th to Sunday June 29th in South Carolina. Third District Cultural Director Cheri Johnson and her committee are working on planning a fun weekend with cultural and more. The weekend is for members of all ages, families, couples and singles and for our friends. All are welcome. More information will be coming about it in the next couple of months, so if you are interested in going, please contact Cheri.

The Third District Board and its committees have been very busy planning the future of the Third district. The fall board meeting will be on Saturday October 19th and I will keep you informed of what has been planned after the board has met.

Until my next message, I hope you all have a great fall season.

Fraternally,
Stephen Helmold