Not all Smooth Sailing, But Lake City, FL Proves Joint Mgmt. Can Work
> Although their transition has been far from completely smooth, the new Business Manager and Board of Directors President of Lake City, FL Moose Center quietly but convincingly made their point Tuesday to nearly 4,000 Moose men and women: Joint Management can be a success.
David Green, a Past Governor of Lodge 624 hired as Business Manager, noted that there was defiant opposition to the Joint Management move among Lodge members. Many derogatory comments were heard and several members quit visiting the Social Quarters, he said.
“In further defiance, four members of the Lodge Board of Officers and two Directors who had been appointed by the Lodge resigned,” Green added.
Stricter rules for behavior were established and enforced— and immediately the patronage in the Social Quarters increased. “After three months, our kitchen made money, for the first time ever,” Green said. “At the end of April sales had increased by 17 percent and the losses had decreased by 90 percent, with the Lodge achieving three membership quotas.”
Green said: “If your Lodge and Chapter elect to participate in the Joint Management program, you will have some detractors ... (but) it is each and every member’s responsibility to support the pilot program for the good of the Lodge and Chapter.”
Nora Terry of Chapter 1399, Lake City’s first Board of Directors President, said they knew they were “guinea pigs,” that there would be kinks in the system, and it wouldn’t be easy. But the result has been worth the short-term problems.
“Joint management has definitely been beneficial for our Center. Profits are up, participation is steadily increasing and I believe that membership as a whole is satisfied,” Terry said. “We function as a democracy, not a dictatorship.”
Terry concluded that “at the first meeting, the Board set a goal to erase a debt of thousands of dollars and end our first year debt free, pay all bills on time and still have money in the bank. I am proud to be able to stand before you and say that through hard work, dedication and teamwork, we achieved our goal.”
For more information on the Joint Management Pilot Program, see the Joint Management section of www.mooseintl.org, or call 630/966-2207.
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‘Profits are up, participation is steadily increasing and I believe that membership as a whole is satisfied.’
— Nora Terry, President, Board of Directors Lake City, FL Moose Center
‘If you elect to participate in Joint Management, you will have some detractors . . . (but) after three months, our kitchen made money for the first time ever.’
— PG David Green, hired as Lake City’s first Business Manager |
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August/September/October 2004
