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FROM THE DESK OF
THE ADMINISTRATOR
December
26, 2009
Christmas
is over and the new year is about here. It has been a tough year. Our
financial position is worse now than when we started the year, due to
steadily increasing prices on everything we purchase, non-participation of
a lot of our members, high maintenance cost on the old building, increased
utility cost and ridiculous high insurance cost. We have had to reduce our
prices, like everyone else, in order to get people in the door. A lot of
our members are under the impression that by paying their dues, the lodge
is able to operate on this income alone. Nothing could be further from the
truth. With our current membership, our portion of the dues that the lodge
receives is a little over $13,000.00 for the year. Our insurance cost
alone is double that. So if you do see price increases or unwanted
changes, please understand that it’s not that we want to increase prices
or make controversial changes, but it may be required for us to survive.
Even though it’s been a rough year, we are still in better shape than
others and we may have to make some sacrifices in the coming months, but
all in all, we are in pretty good shape considering the economy.
One area
that is a big problem is volunteers. The same few people end up doing all
the work with very little help from other members. These volunteers are
burned out. One example is someone to man the door and check cards. For
this simple duty, we cannot get enough volunteers to even cover the door.
If you can help, even one day a month, please let us know. Talk about
volunteers, an unknown fact about some of our personnel is that they
donated their time almost all year on Sundays and Mondays, so we could
keep the lodge open for you. A special thanks to Deb, Frankie and Steff.
One the
most important things that you can do is sign new members. This alone will
help the lodge more than anything else. Also several members have not
renewed their dues. In an effort to get them to keep current with their
dues, so they can continue to enjoy the lodge, we will post a list of
those that haven’t paid and we ask that if you know them, give them a call
and try to get them to pay their dues. A lot of them may have misplaced
their renewal or don’t even know they are in arrears, so a call from
someone they know may make a difference.
Our
current drive to help under privileged children “KIDS AGAINST HUNGER”
didn’t bring in what we had hoped for, but to date you have donated
$168.00 and about 70 pounds of food, a special thanks goes to Frankie and
Bret, who are doing most of the work on this important project.
Election
of new officers will be upon us before we know it. Please consider taking
an office, we need new blood. It is very easy to get in a rut and I
believe that if we have new people in office, it can only help. The
positions open are as follows: Governor, Jr. Governor, Prelate, Treasurer,
3 year Trustee, Administrator and an appointed officer Outer Guard.
In closing, I
believe the worst is over and believe we can take the lodge to new heights
if we all work at it. Come on out and enjoy your lodge.
Sincerely
Tom
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