Officer Elections
by Mark Steiner
For those of you who don’t know, it’s time to elect new Lodge Officers! Here’s what you need to know:
LODGE ELECTION PROCEDURE, IN BRIEF:
Wagion elects its Lodge Officers at the October weekend on Saturday night immediately following dinner. The adult members (21 years old+) are excused from voting, and the youth members (under 21 years old*) stay in the dining hall to vote. Youth members must remain in the dining hall during the entirety of the election process. Elections end once all 5 offices are filled, and have no time limit.
The 5 officer positions in our Lodge are elected in order as follows: Lodge Chief; Program Vice-Chief; Administrative Vice-Chief; Secretary; Treasurer. The Nominating Committee has exclusive authority in the election process, using the guidelines set for in the Lodge Manual of Administration, Robert’s Rules of Order, and under the optional supervision of the Lodge Adviser and Lodge Staff Advisor. The Nominating Committee shall provide each candidate with time to speak before the initial round of voting for each nominated office.
Each youth member may cast one ballot per office, per round. The voting for each office ends when a candidate receives majority of the votes cast from the eligible voting youth members present. In the event more than two candidates are nominated for any particular office and a majority is not received during the initial voting round, the candidate with the least number of votes received will be dropped. Voting rounds will continue until a candidate receives a majority of votes. Any candidate who does not receive a majority of votes may “drop down” and run for any remaining office. The Nominating Committee Chairman will announce the results for each office immediately after a candidate receives a majority of votes.
In the event of a “tie,” the Nominating Committee Chairman will announce the “tie” and issue a second round of ballots. If in the event of a second “tie,” the Nominating Committee Chairman shall cast the number of votes necessary to secure a majority.
The newly elected officers will be “sworn in” with their headdresses at the Sunday business meeting. Their position will take effect on January 1 of the new year.
OFFICER DESCRIPTIONS:
Secretary
The lodge secretary is in charge of the communications division; that is the communications and web-tech committees. He records the minutes of all lodge meetings for distribution. He deals with communications between other lodges, people, and organizations that the lodge deals with. He is also in charge of reminding the lodge of the time and place for every meeting. At the end of the year, he compiles a lodge history for that year to put on lodge record.
The secretary is a good position for those who are well organized. It is a specifically good job for someone who has a good grip on the understanding of communication by all means. It requires a hard-working attitude and a friendly personality alongside the ability to think outside-the-box and develop newer and better ideas to help our lodge communicate more effectively.
Our current secretary is Robbie L.
Treasurer
The lodge treasurer is in charge of the finance division; that is commissary and finance. He maintains a ledger of the spending in the lodge. He deals with payment of bills through the council service center from the lodge account. He acts as a purchasing agent for all lodge supplies except commissary items. He provides change for registration and the trading post, as well as maintains the inventory of salable supplies in the trading post to help prepare the lodge budget. He submits the lodge budget to the Scout executive for approval before October 15. He then works with finance committee to decide a proper place to allot any surplus balance. Lastly, he must oversee all collection of money in the lodge and issue receipts for section conclaves and national conferences.
The treasurer is a good position for those who understand finances. The treasurer is given roughly 3 months to develop a practical budget for the year to decide what each committee will bring in for the year, and from that must decide what to allot each individual committee. It requires a Scout with a good sense of what the lodge wants, and good ideas of how to help it get there financially.
Our current treasurer is Alex L.
Administrative Vice-Chief
The administrative vice-chief is in charge of the administrative division and can temporarily take charge of any of the committees in that division if he doesn’t feel it is fulfilling its duties; that is the Camping Promo./Unit Elections/Cub Scouting Promo./OA Reps. committee, dining hall committee, first aid committee, membership committee, and ways and means committee. They are the parliamentarian – the government guy – for the lodge. Their job is to make sure that the lodge is following the rules set by the BSA and national OA committee. They also turn over an inventory to the lodge Key 3 every year. As a vice-chief, it is their duty to help the chief with anything he may need help with, especially those things that fall in the administrative department.
The administrative vice-chief is a good position for someone who can quickly pick up on governmental structure. They must also be savvy on lodge rules from reading the manual of administration and be able to make sure those rules are followed. It requires a Scout who is loyal as well as a hard-worker, as the administrative vice-chief is one of the chief’s right hand men and must be ready to help out whenever he is needed.
Our current administrative vice-chief is Adam K.
Program Vice-Chief
The program vice-chief is in charge of the program division and can temporarily take charge of any of the committees in that division if he doesn’t feel it is fulfilling its duties; that is activities, brotherhood, ceremonies, conservation, drum team, dance team, elangomat, ordeal and service. He should create a program, basically a schedule, for each weekend with all of the committees in his division to know what will happen at the weekend. He is in charge of the annual lodge banquet each February, as well as securing a location for the banquet of the following year. He also succeeds the chief if the chief is prevented from serving.
The Program Vice-Chiefis a good position for someone who understands the inner workings of a lodge function. They must be able to make sure every part of the program happens even if they have to do it themselves. It requires a Scout who is motivated to always have a memorable lodge function no matter what. As the right hand man of the chief, they must also be ready to help out whenever they are needed.
Our current Program Vice-Chief is Jacob R.
Chief
All officers report to the chief. The chief is responsible for lodge adhering to national procedures. He presides over all lodge meetings. He provides training to all officers and committee chairmen. He appoints all committee chairmen and is responsible for each committee running properly. If a chairman or officer is not fulfilling their duty, he has the authority to temporarily take charge of their duties until he can find a replacement. However, he should delegate his authority through his vice-chiefs. He selects the theme for the lodge year along with his officers. He undertakes new projects for the lodge to work on along with his advisers. He also attends all Section Councils of Chiefs, Council Executive Board meetings and Council Camping Committee meetings.
The chief is a position that requires more than just knowledge, but also more than just experience. Since he is in charge of training the officers and committee chairmen, he should have prior experience as a committee chairman and/or officer. He must have the drive to set goals for the lodge and help his fellow lodge members attain those goals through proper leadership. He can’t be impulsive about his decisions, but he can’t wait on others. He must have a very good sense of not just what makes sense for the lodge, but also what makes sense for the council, the camp, and what the members of the lodge want. He must be able to give plenty of time to the lodge and spend whatever time is necessary to accomplish the goals he has set. On top of all, he must be able to keep the lodge in accordance with what the national Order of the Arrow committee wants for every lodge and be mindful of getting our lodge the “Quality Lodge” award every year. He must be mindful of every happening at the lodge, but at the same time, delegate jobs to his officers to make sure that all of the jobs that the lodge must do are done with care and quality.
The current lodge chief is Mark Steiner.
NOMINATING PROCEDURE:
If you are interested in running for an office, you should fill out this form OFFICER CANDIDATE RESUME, and submit it to the Nominating Committee Chairman. The Nominating Committee will then “interview” each candidate to ensure the candidate has an understanding of the leadership responsibilities required of the office. Filling this resume out and taking the interview will get you on the ballot and shows your organization and intent for the officer position of your choosing.
Youth members may be nominated off the floor (before the vote) for each office except Lodge Chief. Remember, nominations for Lodge Chief shall not be received off the floor. That is, a candidate for Lodge Chief must submit the OFFICER CANDIDATE RESUME to the Nominating Committee before the end of the Executive Committee Meeting on FRIDAY NIGHT of the October weekend, or the candidate will not be on the ballot for Lodge Chief. (This is not a new policy for this year, it is in the Manual of Administration. If you plan to run for Lodge Chief, do not forget to abide by this policy.)
If you know someone who you think would be an especially good candidate for an office, feel free to nominate them during the Elections. If you wish to nominate someone off the floor during the apportioned time, stand and say, “I nominate _____ for the office of ______.” Each nomination requires a “second.” A candidate may nominate himself. If a nominee does not wish to run for office, the nominee may decline his nomination.
Candidates are free to politick through the hanging of posters and the creation of other campaign materials. Any politicking is to be tasteful and in accordance with the Scout Promise and Scout Law. No campaign materials shall be displayed in the interior of the dining hall during elections. The candidate, at the conclusion of the elections, shall remove any and all posters.
CONCLUSION:
For those of you who plan to come to the weekend, consider yourselves educated on the topics of each officer so now you understand who you’re voting in for what job. For those of you who plan to run for an office, now you can more easily decide which office is right for you!
Yours in Brotherhood,
Mark Steiner