National Sojourners CLUBS · • New Club Checklist (as provided by HQ) ... 5 of NR12.7 says simply that Chapters with six or more local active members may對 request reversion to
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National Sojourners Chapters, Clubs, Detachments Mid-Winter Meeting – Orlando 2017 – Committee of 33
National Sojourners Chapters, Clubs, Detachments Mid-Winter Meeting – Orlando 2017 – Committee of 33
PROBLEMS • NR 12.7.5: Struggling chapters may revert to club status (refers to NR 12.8)
• NR 12.8 focuses on creation of clubs from scratch; reversion to club -> afterthought • Circular reference to 12.7 for “guidance” which points back to 12.8
• NR 12.8 does not address how a reverted chapter (club) returns to chapter status
• NR 12.8.5 “Detachments” addressed briefly without further detail
• NR 12.8.6 outlines sponsoring Chapter responsibilities (sketchy)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
At this point, you can choose to mention that Detachments are 2 or 3 persons in a remoted area – and comment that we believe having a “detachment” authorized in the NR is not only unnecessary, but unwise.
C-33 TASKS 1. Review current applicable NR’s
2. Identify areas which need amplification/clarification
3. Develop procedures, especially for chapter reversion to club and return
4. Recommend amendment(s) to NR’s as appropriate
BASICS: Governing Regulations for CLUBS
• National Regulation 12.8 (National Sojourners Club)
• National Regulation 12.7 (Formation, Dissolution and In-Memorialization of Chapters and Chapter Mergers
Additional Information Available on Request
• New Club Checklist (as provided by HQ)
• Formation of a New Chapter (guidelines from HQ)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
National Regulation 12.8 is the PRIMARY source for guidance on CLUBS – formation and operations. NR 12.7 talks about “clubs” in the sense that a struggling chapter may opt to revert to club status in an attempt to eventually regain activity/vitality and return to its chapter status. But, this instruction leaves a LOT to be desired regarding just HOW a chapter reverts to a club and then eventually returns to chapter status – the fact that a chapter already has a charter and perhaps a CAMP complicates the process. The “New Club Checklist” from HQ is an INFORMAL document, provided by HQ as a set of “guides” to assist forming a club from scratch – and does not address the reversion of a chapter to a club. It has NO standing from a National Regulation point of view. There is no signature by the National Secretary OR National President. The “Formation of a New Chapter” is, like the New Club Checklist, an INFORMAL document that walks a potential chapter through the process to get a charter. It is distributed by HQ, signed by the National Secretary, but again does not carry the weight of a National Regulation or any Administrative Instruction signed by the National President. And, “clubs” are only discussed in passing under the “Membership Requirements” section of the document.
Specific Provisions for CLUBS
• 12.8.1(c): Authorizes Club formation by chapter or organizer request
• 12.8.1(d): Authorizes a dissolving chapter to continue as a club under aegis of an active chapter
• 12.8.3(a): Club authorization requires written request from existing chapter OR six or more Club “organizers”
• 12.8.3(c): Chapter Requests: Must assume responsibility for the new club Organizer Requests: HQ will ASSIGN “sponsoring” chapter after
coordination with Regional and Area Representatives
• 12.8.3(d): National Secretary will provide written authorization when approved by National President
Presenter
Presentation Notes
12.8 (3A) requires a request from either a chapter OR six or more club “organizers” 12.8 (3B) says struggling chapters may revert to club status IAW NR 12.7. Paragraph 5 of NR12.7 says simply that Chapters with six or more local active members may request reversion to Club status IAW NR12.8 (this is a CIRCULAR reference, and provides NO GUIDELINES or instructions for the chapter to follow). 12.8 (3C) says that chapter requests MUST include a statement ASSUMING RESPONSIBILITY for the new club, and include endorsements from the Regional and Area Representatives. It continues that IF the request comes directly from organizers, that HQ will initiate the proper coordination with Regional and Area Representatives before ASSIGNING a sponsoring Chapter. 12.8 (3D) says that the National Secretary will provide the club and sponsoring chapter with WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION to form the club AFTER the National President has approved the request.
CLUB STATUS (NR 12.8.4)
• Club is RESPONSIBLE TO the SPONSORING CHAPTER (NR 12.8.4(a))
• Goal: Attain Chapter Status normally within two years
• When 18 active members on rolls, petition for charter
• NOT authorized HEROES CAMP (NR 12.8.4(e))
• Begin to form programs and committees IAW NR 8.2.12 (Chapter Revitalization and Chartering Committee (CR&CC))
Presenter
Presentation Notes
RESPONSIBLE TO THE SPONSORING CHAPTER – NOT TO NATIONAL HQ! This is important as we go through this presentation and development of procedures. Goal is to become a chapter in two years, but is NOT mandated. Some clubs may take longer, some may not ever become a chapter – it will depend on individual location and membership situations. A one-size-fits-all approach will NOT work. It does not say when you get 18 ACTIVE members, you MAY (or may not) petition for a charter, it says you WILL petition for that charter. (again, this is important later) HEROES CAMPS are SPECIFICALLY NOT AUTHORIZED FOR CLUBS. They must be members of the CAMP associated with the sponsoring CHAPTER, if they are eligible and elected to membership in the Camp by those members. (Again, important later) As a club grows from the minimum six members, they will be able to assume increasing responsibilities for traditional Sojourner committees and activities, which is why they are instructed to BEGIN forming these programs.
CHAPTER RESPONSIBILITIES (NR 12.8.6)
• Club “vitality,” “growth,” and “functioning.” (NR 12.8.6(a))
• Reporting Club Membership - new members, NPD’s, etc. (NR 12.8.6(b))
• Indicate “Club Members” as such on appropriate reports (NR 12.8.6(b))
Presenter
Presentation Notes
NOTE: at no point does the NR indicate HQ has ANY responsibility for Club operations or organizational structure UNLESS the HQ Chapter is assigned as the SPONSORING CHAPTER for that club. Reporting club operations/status is ENTIRELY up to the sponsoring chapter to satisfy themselves that the club is vital, growing (or at least not shrinking), and working well. ALL aspects of MEMBERSHIP in the club are the responsibility of the CHAPTER – meaning the Secretary of the chapter (and Treasurer if a separate function) are “on the hook” to communicate ALL aspects of Club Membership. Meaning, they collect dues, submit them, communicate directly with club members who are delinquent and so on. For all intents and purposes, this NR places the responsibility DIRECTLY on the Secretary to include AND SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFY Club members as a PART OF their annual chapter reports.
NSI HQ
National Secretary/ Treasurer
Elected
Janine
Staff
Heather
Staff
Field View Of National Sojourners Headquarters
National President
Elected
Sojourner Ritual
Committee
Committee 33 Elected
Americanism Committee
Incentives & Awards
Committee
Publications Review
Board
Membership Committee
Gifts & Bequests
Committee
Fraternal Liaison
Committee
Bridge of Light
Committee
Education & Training
Committee
CR&CC Committee
Area & Regional
Representatives
IT Committee
National Secretary/ Treasurer
Elected
Janine Staff
Heather Staff
National Commander
Elected
National Hero Line
Elected
Hero manual Committee
National Sojourner
Line PE; 1st, 2nd, 3rd VP
Trustees Board
Legend
Operations
Staff
National Sojourners Headquarters
NEW CLUB CHECKLIST (Guidelines) • NO CLUB CAN BE FORMED WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL OF THE AREA/REGIONAL
REPRESENTATIVE PLUS National Sojourners (implies HQ)
• Submit a request to form a club, including a preliminary membership roster
• Submit: • Expectations and Responsibilities of your Club • Electronic Copy of Club’s Constitution (subject: Club Name’s Constitution)
• Checklist currently not available online – only by request to HQ
Presenter
Presentation Notes
The first and most significant guideline is that AREA AND REGIONAL Representatives MUST approve of the formation before it is submitted to National HQ/President for their actions. (Goes back to NR 12.8.3(C)) What this really means is, National HQ and the National President CAN NOT authorize or direct the formation of a club without approval of the AREA & REGIONAL Reps. It also means that HQ cannot “ASSIGN” a sponsoring chapter without proper coordination with the AR/RR AND the prospective chapter before moving forward. There is NO recommendation as to boilerplate for a constitution, so presumably they will rely on the SPONSORING CHAPTER to help them draft an appropriate Constitution for submission. In fact, there is a skeleton Constitution on the Sojourner web pages, but it is hidden behind the “Sojourners Only” section. And, because there is a potential for NO current Sojourners to be involved with a club startup, HOW THEN are they supposed to know about the EXISTENCE and LOCATION of this boilerplate? Most Chapter Secretaries will not know about it either, because their Constitutions are already “in the books” and approved. “So You Want to Start a Chapter” handout has boilerplate By-Laws, but nothing on a Constitution. There is NO place where thi Checklist is available to any interested individual except by asking for it from National HQ. So, how does ANYONE know about it’s existence? Simply put, again, people will not know the procedures to form a club (they aren’t allowed access to 12.7 OR the checklist) and most chapters won’t know or care about it either.
FORMATION OF A NEW CHAPTER Handout
• Provides detailed guidelines for forming a chapter, resource sheet, a checklist for starting a chapter, and forms for a Petition for a charter.
• “CLUBS” are mentioned in passing under “Membership Requirements”
• The handout is NOT available online; must be requested from HQ
Presenter
Presentation Notes
This is a GOOD document for those forming a CHAPTER. BUT … “CLUBS” are only discussed by saying that you must have a minimum of six or more (doesn’t say how many might be the TOP number) to start a club, AND at least THREE of the “organizers” must be NEW or REINSTATED members. NR 12.7 DOES NOT REQUIRE or even discuss three organizers having to be new or reinstated members. The handout does not specifically make that same requirement on chapters requesting to create a club (and again, NR 12.7 does not address this topic). This stipulation falls into the one-size-fits-all format and may well be counter-productive in starting up a new club – and technically has no standing or enforcement by NR.
CRITICAL ELEMENTS FROM NR 12.7
• CHAPTER selects name, drafts bylaws and constitution, submits to HQ for approval
• Details procedure for surrendering charter, NOT for reverting to CLUB status
Presenter
Presentation Notes
This implies that a group PETITIONING for a charter selects their name and does the bylaws and constitution for approval BEFORE the charter is granted. It does NOT stipulate that the HQ can ask a club for its proposed NAME so they can assign a chapter number to a club for administrative purposes. If a proposed chapter is NEAR (or at) the location of a previous but now defunct chapter, it is RECOMMENDED (but not required) that the old chapter name and number be adopted by the new chapter organization. While it specifically identifies Chicago and National HQ chapters as being unnumbered, if you go to the current ROSTER and look, CHICAGO is nowhere identified – as an active, chapter at large, or in-memoriam chapter. “CLUBS” (and “DETACHMENTS” which are not discussed here) are simply addressed by a cursory “wave of the hand” rather than dealing with the procedures for establishing and operating such organizations. The instruction does talk about the procedures for MERGING two chapters, which – if you really think about it, is closely akin to what must be done when a failing chapter petitions for club status under the “aegis” of a sponsoring chapter. If the sponsoring chapter is RESPONSIBLE for the activities and members of the club, they are MEMBERS OF THE SPONSORING CHAPTER until such a time as the club returns to chapter status (if it ever does).
Recent EMAIL from National Secretary Friday, December 16, 2016 9:36AM (MT) I believe we are overdue for assigning a number and name to the Montana Club that your chapter is assisting in standing up. I have been reading in your newsletters about your progress toward forming a Chapter. Are they meeting in Montana? Even as a club they need to have selected a Secretary and President. The Secretary would then be the point of contact providing all information exchanges to you the sponsoring Chapter AND to National Headquarters. At this point other than the newsletters we have been kept in the dark. The name and number assigned will be for the Chapter as well. The practice has been, when a new chapter stands up, if it is in the same area as a previous chapter the old chapter name and number will be assigned. This is preferable to assigning a brand new number. There have been 4 chapters in Montana: Fort Missoula Chapter #124 at Ft. Missoula chartered 1934 closed 1949 – John Millins Camp Camp Crowder Chatper #253 at Neosho/McElhany chartered 1945 closed 1947 Great Falls Chapter #313 at Great Falls chartered 1950 closed 1960 – Col William Fisk Sanders Camp Elwood V. Bosshard Chapter #429 at Grand View AFB chartered 1956 closed 1963 – Jos. Boggo Camp Members being initiated would be to this Club/Chapter name and number, not to Cheyenne #5 so they do not need to transfer when the Chapter officially stands up. (continued)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
DON’T READ SLIDE – focus on red How can we possibly be “overdue” in assigning a number to a CLUB when numbers are ostensibly assigned to a CHAPTER, and this Club hasn’t petitioned for a charter yet and isn’t eligible to do so (almost, just not quite). WHERE ELSE would the MONTANA CLUB meet if not in Montana? The CLUB is RESPONSIBLE TO THE CHAPTER, and the CHAPTER (NOT THE CLUB) is RESPONSIBLE TO THE HQ per the existing NR’s. Why would the NRs stipulate that the SPONSORING CHAPTER is responsible for reporting club members as such on THEIR annual reports, if the club members were NOT members of the chapter? Per NR, shouldn’t the involvement of the RR/AR & CR&CC be addressed in this email? And shouldn’t they logically be involved BEFORE HQ goes directly to the chapter (not merely as cc:’s)?
Recent EMAIL From National Secretary (cont’d)
(continued) … If none of these are in the general vicinity (within 60 miles or so) of where the new Chapter will be based let me know and I will assign a new Chapter number with the Chapter name that is selected by the chapter members. A chapter does not have to meet at the same place all the time if they want to move around the State to accommodate members but would state that in the By-Laws with something like “meetings to be held at locations determined by the President to be announced one meeting in advance” or something like that that explains the procedure to determine meeting location. The chapter must have a base location however. This could be the Secretary’s home location. I look forward to hearing how the Club wishes to proceed either adopting one of the names and numbers above or if requesting assignment of a completely new name and number along with the base location. I would like to do this prior to the Mid-Winter Meeting in January if possible.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
AGAIN, DO NOT READ – focus on Red comment There should be NO sense of “time-urgency” associated with a club petitioning for a charter. It should come when they are ready and satisfy all the requirements stipulated in the NR.
Q&A from National Secretary-1 • Who does the club pay dues to?
• To National DIRECT, not to the sponsoring Chapter
• What is the responsibility of the sponsoring chapter toward the club? • According to National there isn’t much other than to ensure they are doing things according to
National Regulations.
• What paper work is required? • They don’t do any paper work – for instance year end – because they are not required while in a
club status.
• EIN or IRS # Required at this time? • This is not required because there is no money in the bank. They can have the SPONSORING
CHAPTER put the Club’s money in their account if they want. The only problem with that is they have no access to the money to do anything with it.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Paying club dues to National DIRECT is in violation of NR 12.8.6(b) which assigns the responsibility to collect and submit dues for club members to the sponsoring chapter. NR 12.8 does not say the sponsoring chapter doesn’t have much responsibility – it outlines SPECIFICALLY what is expected of a sponsoring chapter. The CLUB does not have any annual paperwork BECAUSE IT IS SUBMITTED with the sponsoring Chapter’s annual reports with specific call-outs identifying Club members in those reports. The club CAN get an EIN if they wish (not required). But, if they want to have a separate bank account, most banks will demand it. So, if they collect DUES (as National Secretary said they COULD, if desired) it would force them to maintain a CASH box rather than a bank account. Saying that they would not have access to funds if they asked the sponsoring chapter to keep safe any funds is overly simplistic. There are ways to ensure they have access, and if nothing else, all they need to do is notify the secretary (or treasurer as the case may be) of their need and the sponsoring chapter should be RESPONSIVE to those needs (part of the chapter’s responsibilities).
Q&A from National Secretary - 2 • When the club is formed the members join the club, not the sponsoring Chapter.
Reason being once they become a Chapter, they have to pay a fifteen dollar transfer fee to National.
• The NR states they can be in a club status for up to two years, then they have to form a Chapter. This really isn’t upheld at National because there are two other clubs that haven’t converted to Chapter status for at least three years.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
NR 12.8 does NOT say that club members join the “club” and not the sponsoring chapter. When the Montana Club was established, HQ directly contravened that statement because the then National President initiated a couple of members and ASSIGNED THEM TO CHEYENNE, then notified Cheyenne that they were members and would be forming a club under them. Water over the dam, so to speak. But it clearly demonstrates that new members to the club MUST be initiated BY THE CHAPTER until the club is large enough and has PERMISSION from the Sponsoring Chapter’s President to do so. (See NR 3.1.5 - Initiation/Obligation: ALL elected candidates for active or honorary membership shall be initiated and obligated into the Order in accordance with National ByLaws Article 17.1.2). National ByLaw 17.1: Ceremonies of National Sojourners will be conducted in accordance with “The Order of Ceremonies” as published. These include: 17.1.2: Initiation Ceremony Page 3 of the Order of Ceremonies: “The President of the CHAPTER (not the club) is responsible for the proper performance of these ceremonies; but can delegate parts to other officers, when in his judgment the impressiveness of the effect is promoted.” Thus, as a sponsoring chapter, UNLESS the president specifically, and in writing, designates a member of the club that is authorized to conduct ceremonies, including initiation and obligation, this can’t be done by the club. This means, obviously, that the CLUB is subordinate, as an organization, to the CHAPTER and is not an independent body as presumed by the National HQ. NR 12.8.4(b) does NOT mandate chartering after two years – it says the GOAL is to do that, but leaves the door open for a longer term.
CLUBS CURRENTLY SHOWN IN THE ROSTER
• Pittsburgh Club #38 (Isaac Craig Camp)
• Heidelberg Club #304 (Von Stauhen Camp- sic) – (should be: Von Steuben) • http://nationalsojourners.de/chapters/Heidelberg/index.html
• North West Arkansas Club #551 (no camp; IRS 46-0735048)
• Shriner’s Club #1000 (no camp; IRS #80-0587615)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
BECAUSE Pittsburgh has an associated CAMP of HEROES shown, it may safely be concluded that Pittsburgh is one of those chapters that reverted to CLUB status. BUT, CLEARLY, as NR 12.8.4(e) says, a club may NOT have an appendant CAMP. Therefore, this club is in violation of National Regulations, OR, HQ has failed to remove the camp from the roster entry and retrieve the original camp charter. Same situation for Heidelberg Club. Except there is no such person as Von Stauhen, and it should be Von Steuben – as any student of our Revolutionary War History would know. Check out the Web Site for Heidelberg – you will see a list of MANY European chapters of Sojourners (most of which are now inactive and thus not listed in the roster) If, as previously indicated, a club does not need a bank account or IRS number, why do #551 and #1000 have them? (Because they have NO SPONSORING CHAPTER? – again, a VIOLATION OF NRs) NOWHERE in any of the entry information does it indicate WHICH CHAPTER is the “sponsoring chapter” for these clubs. Yet, per NR, a sponsoring chapter is REQUIRED. Further, the National Secretary has indicated that, to his knowledge, there are NO sponsoring chapters for these clubs. Other than the fact that these clubs have NUMBERS assigned, WHY would the roster show a “club” under the heading of “Chapters By State”?
• Peter R. Rasmussen #510 • Annual and Semi-Annual ACGL Communications • William Prescott CAMP of Heroes of ‘76 • President: SSG Paul Michael Curran [email protected] • Email contact: [email protected] (also POC for Heidelberg Club)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
It would appear that this “CHAPTER” only meets 2x a year at the Communication of the ACGL (American Canadian Grand Lodge) in Germany. It probably would behoove us to communicate with the two email addresses shown on the web pages to (a) make sure they are still valid, (b) find out WHY National doesn’t know about them, and (c) determine whether or not this “chapter” (or club) is legitimate. In any case, Looking at the CR&CC, it’s not clear WHO would be the responsible AR/RR for European clubs/lodges … and we certainly do not know WHICH CHAPTER is sponsoring Rasmussen OR Heidelberg.
• Paris Chapter #98 • Jacques DeMolay Camp, Heroes of ‘76 • Secretary: Pierre M. Meste (French National) • President: Dominique Madej (French National)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Brother Bill Hickey was the moderator of the international freemasonry-list for many years. Pierre Meste was an active contributor to that email list, and is a known French national. How is it that a chapter can have a CAMP of HEROES of ‘76 given the ceremony of initiation to the camp – with French nationals in charge? A liberal interpretation of the PREVIOUS (and current) membership criteria does allow for foreign nationals to join National Sojourners under very specific conditions – having served during a time of war as an allied nation force officer (or honorary member) but it certainly doesn’t justify a camp of Heroes comprised of non-US citizens. I SUSPECT, but do not know, that Paris #98 does not submit annual reports as required. If they do, it would be interesting and instructive to examine them and compare them to an alpha report for that chapter. In fact, the chapter itself may well be defunct, and is only being listed on the European web page for historical reasons.
EUROPEAN CHAPTERS ON THE WEB
From: www.nationalsojourners.de (German Website) National Sojourners, Inc., is a national fraternal organization meeting the needs of military Masons and advancing programs that promote love of country. Membership in National Sojourners is open to citizens of the United States who are Master Masons in good standing in a duly constituted Lodge of Master Masons recognized by and maintaining fraternal relations with a majority of the Regular Grand Lodges in the United States and who are serving or have served honorably as: •a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer of the uniformed services of the United States, (E5, 6 & 7 prior to 1958 - E7, 8 & 9 as of 1958), •have served in time of war as a Commissioned Officer or Warrant Officer or the equivalent in an armed service of a nation allied with the United States, •a Commissioned Officer or Warrant Officer of the uniformed services of the United States, •or are regularly elected to Honorary Membership.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
NOTE: the wording on the web page is now OUT OF DATE. This probably means that the person or persons maintaining the web page do not know of the changes, or perhaps even that the sponsoring “chapters” (if there are any) or “clubs” aren’t really active and paying attention to the new criteria. As well, PNP Higdon was working on a revision to the NRs to CLARIFY the wording of membership eligibility and requiring that ALL members be U.S. Citizens – period. FYI, we should investigate the situation with all of these “clubs” and their situations in Europe. If appropriate, we should recover their chapter/camp charters and put them to rest. If they are active, then we need to make sure they are in compliance with current NR’s and we should also make sure there is a “sponsoring chapter” somewhere. Now, it COULD BE that the National HQ chapter would stand up as the sponsor, and that would be OK, but they would still be required to provide the reporting information for the record. And, the CR&CC chair would obviously be VERY INTERESTED in their vitality and viability.
CONCLUSIONS 1. Current NR’s inadequately address procedures for creating and operating a club.
2. Current NR’s do not address procedures for HOW a chapter goes about reverting to
club status or eventually returns to chapter status.
3. We need to be CONSISTENT in handling CLUBS if we are going to allow them.
4. HQ needs to revise its interpretations of Club/Chapter responsibilities
5. A complete re-work of 12.8 is needed to CLARIFY the procedures and options clubs and chapters have.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
CLUBS were always an AFTERTHOUGHT in the regulations. As a result, they simply do not help the chapter OR the club in setting up their relationships and operations. The current procedures for creating, operating, and overseeing a club, migrating a club to a chapter, or reverting from a chapter to a club and then returning to chapter status are not addressed in NR’s and are convoluted at best, and obscure or nonexistent at worse. We need to make it simpler, not more burdensome. Our HQ staff are certainly overworked and understaffed for the jobs they are currently doing. There are things that CAN AND SHOULD BE off-loaded to committees and designated assistants to allow them to focus on taking care of the administrative support we all need from them Our HQ should not be directly involved in a relationship between the SPONSORING CHAPTER and CLUB. These are OPERATIONAL concerns, and HQ should be providing ADMINISTRATIVE advice and support rather than inserting itself into “operations” unless asked. We (Randy Geck, Denny Norris, and Bill Hickey) have been working the complicated issue of Clubs/Chapters and their evolution for months – we recommend continuing that work with the goal of revising 12.7, 12.8, and any other impacted documents to reflect “best practices” for helping members in the field have the best possible experience as National Sojourners – whether it is as a member of a club or chapter.
BEST PRACTICES STUDY
• Developed flow charts and narratives for “SHOULD BE” procedures
• Advocate appropriate Checklists to be used by Chapters and organizers
• Are available in PDF format for anyone to review and comment upon
• TOOK A LONG TIME TO DEVELOP – CAN’T BE COVERED IN A “SHORT” BRIEFING
Presenter
Presentation Notes
We started by examining how things are done today – making a flow chart of the process as it is documented. Then, we looked at how it SHOULD BE to make the process easier to navigate for the sponsoring chapter officers as well as the club members. Sometimes, it indicated a dramatic change in the way we currently do business. The focus was not on how we do it today, but how we SHOULD do it. In the process, we decided that using a flowchart wouldn’t be all that helpful to some, so a “checklist” for the process would be appropriate and developed a high level one based on the steps we saw in the flow charts and which were described in the verbal narratives. We strongly recommend CMTE33 members take the time to examine the handouts and work to date. Further, we recommend that CR&CC chair be the Point-of-Contact for any comments/recommendations that come out of your examination and may or may not be incorporated into the various activities under this task.
RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Committee of 33 TASK: complete workup of best practices, checklists, flow charts,
and draft recommended changes to NRs addressing CLUBS. Develop POA&M.
2. Focus on making the process of creating a club, chapter reversion to a club, and a club returning to chapter status as simple and straightforward as possible
3. Strengthen the involvement of CR&CC in the oversight process
4. Advocate distributive access to appropriate membership information to CR&CC, AR, RR
National Sojourners Chapters, Clubs, Detachments Mid-Winter Meeting – Orlando 2017 – Committee of 33
