Third District President’s Message October 2023
One of my goals as your Third District President is to keep the membership apprised of what is happening in our district and at the home office. Toward that end, I am informing you of the following changes:
MAJOR CHANGE IN PROCEDURES – 2024 International Elections for Officers
In the past the officers for the international board were voted on by the delegates to the International Convention. Starting in 2024, international board members will be elected by insurance members (anyone with a Sons of Norway product, even those who are not members of a lodge). All insurance members who do not belong to a local lodge are now members of the Central Lodge 3-000 which gives them voting rights. The home office WILL NOT SEND PAPER BALLOTS. Members with products will only be able to vote ONLINE if the home office has your email address on file.
There are 2 very important steps you must take to ensure your ability to vote.
- NO ONE can share an email address; only one vote per email address will be allowed. If more than one member is using the same email address, they will only get one vote. Husbands, wives, and adult children with Sons of Norway products MUST have separate email addresses to have a vote.
- Once everyone has their own email address or if you are the only one with a product, you need to log on to the Sons of Norway Website and check your profile to make sure the home office has your correct e-mail address.
NEW WAY TO REPORT VOLUNTEER HOURS. The home office will no longer use “Fraternals Give” to report fraternal and community service hours. If you have entered any information for 2023 you must retrieve it as soon as possible or it will be lost. In February of 2024, each lodge secretary will get an email with a link to survey monkey for the reporting of these hours. Lodge secretaries will receive detailed information regarding the new system from District Secretary Karen Olsen-Helmold in the next (Nov.-Dec.) District Secretary’s letter.
Sons of Norway has updated their by-laws. Please look on the Sons of Norway Website.
Sons of Norway has a new social media policy. Please check it out on the Sons of Norway Website
Now in service – eblasts from the district. The district is sending out emails to all members that have email addresses listed with Sons of Norway or the district. These emails will announce important events or news. The emails will come from “Third District News.” These are important and should be opened and read. With that said, if you have not been receiving these emails, you need to send your email address to District Secretary, Karen Olsen-Helmold so you can be included on our mailing list.
The Third District has a recruitment brochure available for all lodges in the district. Since the home office no longer has brochures and other handouts for membership recruitment events, the 3rd district board decided to develop its own brochure that would be generic with general information about Sons of Norway and a space for lodges and zones to put their contact information. I appointed Zone 7 Director, Bill Browning, to chair the effort. I would like to thank Bill for designing the brochure. With input from the other zone directors and after several meetings to fine tune it they had a finished product. Thanks to you all. If you are interested in the brochure for a membership event, please contact your zone director or me and we would be happy to email it to you. You can print it yourself or take it to a printer to have it done.
October is Foundation month in District 3, so please remember to support the Sons of Norway Foundation.
Karen and I had the Privilege of representing the Third District at Washington Lodge’s 80th Anniversary celebration which was very well attended. Also in attendance were District 3 Vice President Diana Syvertsen and her mother Edna and Zone 6 Director Jeanne Addison. It is always great to go to these anniversary events and mix in and talk with members from other lodges. Karen and I very much enjoyed ourselves at the Washington Lodge anniversary party and look forward to celebrating 2 monumental anniversaries in November; Fredheim Lodge and Lodge Brooklyn who are both celebrating 100 years of fraternalism.
Please send all pictures for the Viking magazine to Asbjorn Lageraaen Third District Publicity Director with the proper form with the information about the picture including the names of those members who are in the picture.
The Third District Board will meet on Saturday, October 28, 2023 to continue all the good work that has been started.
Fraternally,
Stephen Helmold