Moose Magazine Online

August/September/October 2005

Feature Articles:
Updates on Technology Changes, Joint Management > Director of Membership Retention Deborah Meyer began her remarks during Tuesday afternoon’s General Session with an excerpt from a letter: “I was never made to feel like I was truly a part of my Lodge. I was never given any of the orientation mentioned in the Moose Magazine, nor was I ever asked to be a part of any activity in the Lodge... how can members be treated this way in our Moose homes, the friendliest place in town?” Meyer said the letter indicates how important it is to show interest in our new members--and how easy it is for a new member who is ignored, to drop out! Other frequently quoted reasons for dropped membership are: • Lack of activities for individuals or families. • Poor leadership. • Limited information and lack of communication. • The appearance of the Moose home as either unclean or too smoky. Florida/Bermuda Regional Manager Rodney Hammond related that when Merritt Island, FL Lodge 2073 decided to strictly enforce the state statute prohibiting smoking in any workplace, it experienced unexpected increases in both participation and membership--up more than 7% in two years. New Jersey-New York Regional Manager Ed Kerfien reported that Binghamton, NY Lodge 1013 moved into a new building with less than 220 members on the rolls. Their membership as of January 2005 stood at 428 members with only seven in arrears! And, Ohio Regional Manager Dwaine Brown explained how his state’s Lodges have utilized marketing techniques to enjoy success. Brown also announced that during the 2005-06 year, the Membership Retention Team will be tracking the retention success of every Lodge and Chapter. At the end of the fiscal year, they will determine which Lodge and which Chapter has retained the most members. The two winners in each Association will be presented with plaques by official visitors at 2006 annual conferences.		.	Please click on any photograph below to view a larger image. Meyer noted that her office is developing new membership-retention tools to help Lodges and Chapters keep the members they enroll. General Laws Amendment Highlights Following are summaries of the most significant of the 17 amendments to the General Laws approved in a unanimous vote by International Convention delegates Tuesday, June 21. Click for clarification. • Adds a new sentence to clarify and document existing policy pertaining to holders of higher degrees. • Allows for the possibility of an initial standardized application fee and first year’s dues for all Lodges in the fraternity. • Allows for the retention and/or refund of fees paid. • Allows for the introductory fees to include first year's dues. • Allows a dropped member to reinstate, but not re-enroll, into his home Lodge. • Clarifies that “special meetings” are included as official meetings requiring attendance. • Requires that an elected Administrator serve for a term of satisfactory service as determined by the Board of Officers. • Eliminates wording that states Administrators meet requirements set by Moose International, as Administrators are no longer commissioned by Moose International. • Requires that an applicant must be enrolled in order for a sponsoring member to receive credit. • Allows for the Lodge to vote to set the Administrator’s compensation. • Prohibits a Lodge or Chapter officer from volunteering as a Social Quarters Manager. • Allows Associations the option of including Chapters, if the Chapters want to belong, and there is compliance with procedures approved by the General Governor and the Grand Chancellor. • Allows for binding arbitration of fraternal disputes if a mediator is unable to resolve an issue.
LCL.net Overview Orients Members on New Technology Lynne Reeder Lynne Reeder of IntellaLearn, a consulting firm which has been working closely with the Fraternal Education Department, explained the benefits of LCL.net (which stands for Lodge, Chapter and Legion united) during a workshop Monday afternoon. The new system has many advantages: easy data transfer from Moose International; less costly than CIS, LIS and LOOMIS; easy navigation; centralized information and managing members in a user-friendly format. Reeder and Information Systems Director Joe Meyer led audience members on a tutorial of the system, and showed how LCL.net is both easy to learn and is efficient for Administrators, Recorders and Secretaries. Click for a video presentation of LCL.net.			Reeder’s charts showed the benefits of LCL.net, and just how easy it is to use!
‘Our Future is Dependent on Men and Women Working Together’ Jerry O’Connor Assistant General Governor Assistant General Governor Jerry O’Connor provided an overview of the Joint Management program, and how it can improve the success of a Moose operation during Monday afternoon’s workshop. Joint Management provides many benefits, including the opportunity for the direct business involvement of both men and women. Many women have extensive experience and expertise in business, and we should fully utilize their talents to best run the day-to-day operations, maintenance and utilization of the Moose Center, O’Connor said. The goal is to help make the business operation more effective, efficient and profitable, to ensure that revenues are available to sustain the Moose Center, today and in the future, he added. In most Moose operations, the labor and financial assistance provided by the Chapter are essential to the Lodge’s economic and fraternal survival. Women are successful in raising money and managing funds properly and should be part of the financial planning and management of the Moose Center, O’Connor said. O’Connor said it is time to recognize that “our future is dependent on all men and women working together,” and we also must have the courage of conviction to make it happen. Click here for more information.			O’Connor stressed how willing the General Governor’s office is to work with Moose operations on Joint Management.
New System, Centralized Dues Are Ready To Go Joe Meyer Director of Informations Systems The Moose fraternity is--finally--taking advantage of “living in the midst of one of the greatest technology revolutions in history,” Director of Information Systems Joe Meyer told attendees at Monday morning’s General Session. “I stand before you today with great pride to inform you that we are meeting the challenges of the future.” Meyer declared that as of this summer, Moose International has a state-of-the-art member-relationship management system in place, custom-built to meet the current and future needs of our fraternity. “MMMS,” standing for the “Moose Membership Management System,” gives us an Internet-based ability to support organizational restructuring and revised business processes on an ongoing basis, Meyer said. The MMMS rollout is planned in three phases: Phase I is underway right now, Phase II is scheduled for January 2006 and Phase III in August ’06. “As each phase is completed, we will experience greater enhancements to how we communicate and operate our fraternity,” Meyer said. “We now have the ability to communicate instantly with Lodges, Chapter and Moose Legions,” Meyer said. He said advantages of using this new technology include: • Availability of the new Moose LCL.Net program for Lodge, Chapter and Moose Legion officers • Moose memberships in multiple Lodges and Chapters. • Enabling field staff to provide more timely assistance. • Centralization of dues-on which Director of Membership Retention Deborah Meyer spoke.			‘We now have the ability to communicate instantly with Lodges, Chapters and Moose Legions.’ Joe Meyer
Deborah Meyer Director of Membership Retention Deborah Meyer said that with the new Centralized Dues system in place beginning with members whose dues in September, members whose dues remain unpaid 30 days after their dues expiration will receive a reminder notice from Moose International. All notices mailed will include a payment coupon for the members’ convenience in remitting a dues payment. “It is no longer necessary for our Lodges, Chapter or Moose Legions to prepare or mail these notices,” Meyer said. “This is one example of how Centralized Dues is making life easier for our Administrators, Recorders and Moose Legion Secretaries. If the members’ dues remain unpaid at 60 days past their dues expiration date, an electronic report will be sent to the fraternal unit. This provides the Lodge or Chapter with the documentation to make personal contact with a member and remind them how important they are to the fraternity, Meyer said. The back of the new dues renewal notices will contain complete instructions on payments. In addition to check or money order, new options will include credit card payment by mail or online via the Members Only area of www.mooseintl.org. Meyer said that along with Centralized Dues comes the new heavier-plastic membership card with magnetic strips to allow for cutting-edge technology advancements. “In the near future, we can register for State or International Conventions and track our attendance at required training sessions with just a swipe of our membership cards,” she said. Deborah Meyer also discussed standardized Introductory Fees (including first-year dues) for new members--not going into effect until May 1, 2006--to bring additional funds back to the fraternal unit:			‘(As of August) it is no longer necessary for your Lodges, Capters or Moose Legions to prepare or mail these (dues) notices.’ Deborah Meyer
Loyal Order of Moose introductory fee: $60. For each member enrolled, $25 will be returned to the Lodge.
Women of the Moose introductory fee will be $40. The Chapter will receive $20 for each member enrolled.
Moose Legion introductory fee: $30, with $15 returned to the individual Moose Legion unit. [Back to top]