We held our monthly officer's meeting Wednesday night. Back in the 90's, the officers met on a weekly basis (Wednesday nights) which I think is commendable, but also unrealistic for men to attend regularly as they have other commitments. This, plus the regular weekly meetings, inevitably started to burnout people and our younger officers slowly dropped out of the line one by one. As a result, we experienced holes in the line which became increasingly difficult to fill with each passing year, and the management of the Lodge noticeably suffered.
Because of this, we experienced a backlash whereby the officers rarely met at all (maybe four times in two years). This complicated communications and organization, and the Lodge stumbled forward.
To overcome this problem, we changed our Stated Communications from twice a month to once a month. We also changed our starting time from 7:30pm to 7:00pm. We then re-introduced regularly scheduled officer meetings, but just one per month and just prior to our Stated Communications. This allows us to properly review what is going on and plan the coming Stated Communications and next few months.
Personally I don't have a problem with meeting at the Lodge every week on Wednesday night. In fact, I'm there regularly to check on paperwork and other miscellaneous items. It happens to be convenient for me to do so, but I recognize it is not convenient for everyone. If we were to force the officers to meet weekly again, I'm sure we would again find ourselves in a mutinous situation and the Lodge would suffer.
Officer meetings are extremely important, and I encourage people to schedule them regularly, but the Master has to recognize when it becomes a burden as opposed to a benefit. Remember, we live in a fast paced society today where our time is at a premium. If people feel their time is being wasted, they will inevitably drop out, and we can hardly afford this anymore.
Until next time.
All the Best,
Tim Bryce, PM, MPS, MMBBFMN
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Dunedin Lodge No. 192 F.& A.M.
http:/www.dunedin192.org/
Dunedin, FL, USA
"For the Good of the Order"
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