At our lodge’s annual banquet we took a look at our governing
bylaws and some possible changes. These were mostly minor changes
which the Lodge Executive Board had considered and approved.
The changes were presented by the board and then voted on by the
youth members in attendance. The newly changed bylaws will be up
online shortly and will be in the new planbook.
All of the changes, which the members of the lodge received in
the mail, were approved except the change concerning the brotherhood
flap that is given to new brotherhood members and the change
regarding the welcome letter from the lodge chief.
| 1. |
Approved |
Remove “459” from the first line of the bylaws. The
National OA committee recognizes us as, Catawba Lodge chartered to
Mecklenburg County Council 415, and so they have made the lodge
numbering system null and void. |
| 2. |
Approved |
Remove “making a set” from article III section D. The
memorabilia of the lodge is usually not made in the interest of
making a “set” and so this would clarify and remove confusion.
|
| 3. |
Approved |
Change all listing of nationally produced materials to
there current publication names. Some of the materials we use
such as “The guide to Inductions” have changed names and so this
change would allow us to use the current printing of those
materials as suggested by national. |
| 4. |
NOT
Approved |
Remove number 3 from article IV section D which states “A
Catawba Lodge Brotherhood Pocket Flap”. |
| 5. |
Approved |
In article IV section F remove “the lodge adviser appoints
an adult adviser in consultation with the lodge chief and staff
adviser” and “members should be vigil honor members: however, any
member of the lodge may be selected to serve on the committee .
This committee should be composed of 5 to 10 members” and replace
with “shall consist both of youth Vigil Honor members and youth
member of the lodge ineligible for receiving the Vigil Honor in
the current year, under the supervision of the Vigil Adviser”.
Also in the same section replace “The vigil Honor nomination
selection shall take place during Spring Fellowship” and “the
scout office by the march LEB meeting” and replace with “the vigil
adviser or submitted online by the time of the spring fellowship”
This would make our vigil honor selection run more smoothly and
fallow the national guidelines better. |
| 6. |
NOT
Approved |
Remove “a welcome letter from the chief” and “a current
schedule of activities from Article IV section G. We send
these new members a copy of the planbook and the legend which
include a welcome letter and a schedule of activities. So this
would simply save us time paper and money. |
| 7. |
Approved |
Remove “member of the lodge” and replace with “lodge member
in good standing that meets the age criterion” from Article V
section B. This ensures that no one can run for lodge office
unless they are to be under 21 under their entire term. |
| 8. |
Approved |
Remove “elected” from Article V section B. This is
merely a grammar problem and makes the document easier to read.
|
| 9. |
Approved |
Change “should, for any reason, the lodge chief not be able
to fulfill his entire term of office or obligations” to “should,
for any reason, the Lodge Chief not be able to serve his entire
term of office or fulfill his obligations”. This clarifies the
removal process of the lodge chief. |
| 10. |
Approved |
Add section B under article VI and have it read “The Lodge
Executive Board (LEB) will consist of the Lodge Executive
Committee, Lodge Committee Chairmen, past Lodge Chief, Lodge
Adviser, Lodge Associate Advisers, Chapter Advisers, Chapter
Associate Advisers, Committee Advisers and Staff Adviser.”
This change describes the LEB and clarifies who is on the board.
|
| 11. |
Approved |
Remove “The duties and assignments of the lodge and chapter
officers and committee chairmen are determined by the LEB” under
article VI section E. All of this is outlined in addendum #1
and so it is not necessary for the LEB to determine. |
| 12. |
Approved |
Change “Two (2)” to “Three (3)” and remove “have a display
at the scout show” under article VI section H. This describes
how many ordeals we have a year, as most of you know in the past
couple of years we have begun to hold three ordeals a year as
apposed to two. And removes our requirement to present a lodge
display at the annual scout show, because the scout show no longer
exists. |
| 13. |
Approved |
Under article VII section C remove “the Procedure for
adjusting membership annual fees is as follows: recommendation by
the Lodge Financial Committee and approval by the LEB.” And
replace it with “Annual membership fees may only be adjusted after
recommendation by the Lodge Finance Committee and approval by the
LEB.” This simplifies the wording makes it easier to read.
|
| 14. |
Approved |
Under article VII section D Capitalize ”no” and remove
“life member fees” also replace “from Life Members currently in
good standing with the Lodge” to “for Life Membership or for any
related specialty item” also change “pocket flaps” to “patches”
and add “scouters” to include adults. And finally, remove “the
procedure for adjusting new Life Member fees is as follows:
recommendation by the Lodge Financial Committee and approval by
the LEB”. This just clarifies how the money from the life
members is used. And allows us to us any patch as a life member
patch as apposed to only a pocket flap. |
| 15. |
Approved |
Under Article VIII section A remove “several awards” and
add “the following awards”. This is cleaning up the grammar
and flow of the article. |
| 16. |
Approved |
Under Article VIII section A number 1, remove “awards may
be presented” and change “September” to “October” also change
“Vote” to “select” in two spots. Also change “the scout office” to
“the Lodge Adviser or his designee” This adjusts the process
for OA Crenshaw selection to what we have discovered works better
for the lodge. |
| 17. |
Approved |
Under Article VIII section A number 2, remove “Catawba
Lodge petitions to the national committee to present up to two
awards annually” and change “scout office” to “lodge adviser or
his designee”. This would allow us to potentially give more
than two founders awards each year and changes part of the process
to follow what we have found works best for our lodge. |
| 18. |
Approved |
Under Article IX section A remove “general assembly” and
replace with “lodge”. |
| 19. |
Approved |
Under Article X section C change “The supreme Chief of the
Fire is the local person who has final say in all lodge matters”
to “The Supreme Chief of the Fire is the local person who has
final authority in any and all lodge matters” This clarifies
the article and defines it more. |
