We wanted to keep the membership up to date with our current membership drive. Yes, we know there is a pandemic going on. We know these are trying times. But we are an extended family that cares about each other. So, I am asking all of you to call and make a buddy check with someone you know within the fraternity. It doesn't even have to be a member of our lodge! If you are a member of one you are a member of all lodges. If you have not seen someone in some time or not seen them post on Facebook (if you are on Facebook) for some time check in on them.
This year's membership quota for this 2020-2021 year is 55 new members. We are well behind our previous year's new member rate at this point in the year. We would hate to see us not make the quota for this year. So, do you know of a worthy friend, family member, or maybe someone you meet at a local restaurant or bar that might make a wonderful Moose member? So far this year, we have signed up "7" new members since the last May. We only have five months to sign up 48 more members. We really need your help.
Virginia Moose Association Membership Info
Remember they do not have to sign up the first time they come to the lodge. Why not bring them in for breakfast some week in the future and show them around! We are serving breakfast each Sunday now!
With that plug for our lodge breakfasts, we know many are staying away right now. We get it! We know your family's safety is paramount to you! But, when you don't come in and frequent the lodge, the money we have to pay employees, pay the electric bills, and purchase food and drinks for the members dries up. We need your help to stay vibrant and supporting of our communities. I didn't want to sound so dire! But our situation is not unique. It is happening to all lodges all across the United States. To everyone that reads this, thank you for all you do to support this lodge and our community. You always make us proud to call you members/friends/family!
We hope you, your family, and extended families have been safe during this trying time. We know this has been hard for all of you. We are pleased to have not heard of any lodge members stricken by this virus. We have heard many stories of friends and other families that have not been so lucky. At the beginning of this pandemic, we made the decision to furlough all paid employees until times were safe to start again. We want to thank all the amazing volunteers that continued to help the lodge pay the unending bills during our Grab & Go meal services. Without their help, we would be in an even bigger hole.
Meanwhile, the nation's leading infectious diseases expert warned Americans that the nation is still "knee-deep" in the first wave. With all the states around Virginia showing an uptick of new infections and hospitalizations, the board of officers made the hard decision to continue our closure until Tuesday, July 28, 2020. As you know many of our lodge members are of an age and have underlying medical conditions that make them more at risk than the general population.
Our current plans (that are subject to change based on future information), we will be opening the main hall as the temporary Social Quarters. We will be abiding by all CDC, State, and Fairfax County regulations on functioning during a pandemic. Face masks are not optional, if you cannot wear a mask please stay home. If you need a mask we have one for you. We have been rearranging the Main Hall to include the movement of the gaming machines downstairs.
We cannot stress the value of our volunteers during this time. We also want to thank all the members that came in and made a purchase of any size during this time. Because our volunteers were getting tired, we also decided to give them a break. We will not be holding Grab & Go’s until we re-open.
Finally, we started holding our General Membership Meetings outside in the pavilion the first and third Thursdays of each month at 7:30 pm. At the last meeting, we announced to the membership the slate of board officers running for the 2020 - 2021 year. Below is the list of candidates. We invite all members to come out for our election on July 16, 2020.
As we get more information, we will be reaching out via our website, Facebook, email blast, and text messaging. Meanwhile, please be safe! We want to also let members know that we will be holding the Bull Run 185 Celebration on Sunday, July 26th. We will be posting the schedule soon.
To all members of the Moose,
As members of the Commonwealth of Virginia and as members of a fraternity that prides itself on helping children and seniors in need, we want to step up and help those in need. In the coming days, we are asking that if you are a member (lodge affiliation is not a determining factor) over the age of 60 and contracts the COVID-19 virus we want to hear from you. We will be helping all that we can if you live near the lodge. We are starting within a few miles of the lodge. This requirement is adjustable based on your condition and need. We are just setting a baseline.
This list will be used to check in on you, and procure needed items during your illness. We see this as a way to give back to our amazing members and community. So, if you are sick and in need, please contact the lodge. You can do this by sending an email, calling the lodge, or telling us of someone in need.
We are going to also need volunteers to help in this effort. We will need members for transportation of stuff (technical for anything) and needed items to sick members. Please let us know if you can volunteer! We have a few to start, but will need others! Now if you can, please donate in any amount you can to help support this effort. Now for safety, we will communicate with the sick member and find out a transfer place where both will be safe from infection.
No matter if the lodge is open or closed, we will continue to try to help in any way we can. This is an open invitation for all members of the fraternity. We will help members from any lodge that is nearby! Everyone has a role to play during this national emergency, this is ours!
Thank you in advance for all your efforts and help during this time of great need.
In accordance with the General Laws of the Loyal Order of Moose, because of resignation from the current Board of Officers, we announced a Nominating Committee at our General Membership meeting on Thursday, August 15, 2019. We are now accepting nominations to join the board of officers. The position that will be opening will be for the Junior Governor position.
We want to thank Greg Kunstbeck for his work with the board over the last few months and the help he has provided over the last year. We understand the pressures of being on the board and how they conflict with family life and work. We understand that he's leaving the board in no way means we will not see him around the lodge. If you get a chance please thank him for all the work he as done for the lodge.
The special election will be held on the first Thursday of October 3, 2019, at 7:30 pm. If you have wanted to help the lodge more, now is your time. If you have the intent to help the lodge more, but don’t want to join the board, please consider joining one of our many committees. Please remember, the members make the lodge! Your help is needed, welcomed, and appreciated!
Our lodge has a new Fellow! Carl Thomas was presented at this year's 2019 Moose International Convention in Las Vegas the third degree of service, the Fellowship Degree of Honor! Many of you know Carl as a caring, hardworking, Moose rules and laws following, giving person around the lodge. So, it comes as no surprise when he was recently given a great honor by Moose International.
Carl has always given so much to the lodge! To list all of what he has done for the lodge and our fraternity over the years the list would be very long. Here are some highlights of his great work: being our Governor from 2010-2012, Junior Past Governor 2013 and 2015, Moose Legion Chairman for 3 years, Moose Riders Chairman for 3 years, Community Service Chairmanships that include work with "Jill's House, JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund), Spirit Equine, and Wounded Warriors", being a member of the Moose 25 Club for signing up new members, and our current Lodge Administrator.
As members, you may not realize the degrees of service that the Moose fraternity follows. The first degree is your membership in our fraternity. Upon your joining our lodge as a member, you become eligible for the second degree of service. The second degree of service is the Moose Legion. The third degree of service is the Fellowship degree of honor. There is even a fourth degree. The fourth degree is the Pilgrim Degree of Merit. All of our higher degrees of service are given as rewards for exceptional devotion to the principles and ideas of caring for children and seniors and is generally earned by members who have given years of service to the Loyal Order of Moose and its primary benevolent endeavors of Mooseheart and Moosehaven.
So, there is a lot that goes into becoming part of the Fellowship degree in our fraternity. To become part of the Fellowship, it means you have earned the respect of your fellow Moose members, not just by having drinks with them in the Social Quarters, but by the sweat of your hard work and perseverance in the promotion of our fraternity. So, Carl, it honors us to see you receive this award. Congratulations on becoming part of the Fellowship degree of honor!
Each year, there is a time when lodge's around the county turn a new page in their path into the future. Last night was our night. We want to thank last year's board for their hard work. We could not have made it through without your continued help and support. We also want to thank all the members that came out to vote for our new board. This last year has been a time of growth and stretching forward and the year ahead will surely have some bumps along the way. But one thing is true, we are restoring our prosperity and promoting the cause of the Moose.
The lodge torch has been passed to a new board of officers for 2019 - 2020 year. Please join me in congratulating the new board of officers.
| The Vienna Moose Board of Officers for 2019 - 2020 |
|
| Office | Person |
| Governor | Daniel Sullivan |
| Jr. Governor | Greg Kunstbeck |
| Treasurer | Bunky Clark |
| Prelate | Jamie Connelly |
| 1 Yr Trustee | Gerry Piddington |
| 2 Yr Trustee | Bruce Chappell |
| 3 Yr Trustee | Tom Rockett |
The Nominating Committee is now done with their work reviewing and approving members for office for the 2019 - 2020 election year. Below are the qualified candidates for elected office for this next year. We would like to thank the outgoing officers for their dedication and work this last year. They have brought us through another tough year. The next year will have many of the same issues and problems addressing this coming administration. I know the next administration will be looking to the membership for ideas and understanding when dealing with the issues that will influence the lodge.
The coming administration will also need help with filling the positions of committee chairpersons. We really need some new enthusiasm coming to the new committees. Please consider running for a committee. You do not have to be the chairperson. You can run for a position in that committee. Committee’s run a lot of the lodge. It could be a very fulfilling position for you. If you think you might want to be on a committee, please let one of the new officers know as soon as possible. They will definitely need your help! If you do run for committee chairperson, please know you will not be doing the job alone!
Finally, we need you to come out and vote for the nominated officers. The election is going to be Thursday, April 4, 2019, during normal business hours and ending at 7:00 pm. We will be tabulating the results and announcing the next board of officers this night! We look forward to seeing you for the election!
| Nominating Committee Official Approved Members for Elected Office for 2019 - 2020 |
|
| Office | Person |
| Governor | Daniel Sullivan |
| Jr. Governor | Greg Kunstbeck |
| Treasurer | Bunky Clark |
| Prelate | Jamie Connelly |
| 1 Yr Trustee | Gerry Piddington |
| 2 Yr Trustee | Bruce Chappell |
| 3 Yr Trustee | Tom Rockett |
Have you noticed? Have you noticed all the new faces, new activities, new websites, new communications, and the updates around the lodge in the last year? Not only has our membership been busy making these things happen, but you have also been hard at work signing up new members.
To give you a bit of membership background, our lodge has not made it's assigned new member quota in many years! But that has now changed, with everyone's hard work, we made quota this year with three months to go! As of writing this, we have attained 115.69% of our quota. That means we have signed up 59 of 51 new member applications.
This is amazing! But, while we made our Moose assigned quota, we set our own lodge quota goal! Our lodge goal total is 66 new member applications for the 2018 – 2019 year. For our lodge to continue to be healthy, we need to grow each year! This year has been a year of exciting changes, positiveness, and the making of new friendships. And, there is still more to do!
So, I am asking each and every member and the new member to think of something they can do to help the lodge move forward. Do you think you can help run a committee? Maybe you can help in calling bingo numbers, come up with a fun idea to run, or volunteer to help in a committee? A lodge is only as good as it's committees and volunteers! Remember, members make this lodge what it is! This next year will be another year of struggle and stretching for goals. I want to personally thank Kelsey E. Ferguson and Dan Sullivan for there hard work in signing up new members. They are both on the Virginia Moose's Top 25 list for signing up more than 18 new members. I also want to thank everyone that signed up even one new member, your help is also so necessary!
In following the by-laws of the Fraternity, we have formed a nominations committee for the exclusive reason of accepting applications and reviewing applicants for all board officer positions for our lodge. So, we are calling all Vienna Loyal Order of Moose Members! We are looking for enthusiastic business types to help lead our board into the future. If you are interested in running for an elected office, please make your intentions known by writing a message down and giving it to a board officer or nominations committee member. Please write your name, title of interested office, date, and signature on the letter.
Please address envelopes to the LOOM Nominating Committee. Below is a list of important dates to remember!
| 2019 Important Loyal Order of the Moose Nominations Committee Dates | |
| Date | Note |
| February 7, 2019 @ 6:30 pm | Nominations committee formed and the first meeting |
| February 21, 2019 @ 6:30 pm | Nominations committee meeting |
| March 7, 2019 @ 6:30 pm | Nominations committee meeting and last day for member names to be submitted for consideration for the ballot |
| March 21, 2019 @ 6:30 pm | Nominations committee meeting and a slate of candidates will be read to the membership at 7:00 pm general membership meeting |
| April 4, 2019 | Election Day at the lodge, voting will be all day and results will be read at our general membership meeting |
The following positions are accepting nominations:
As the weather starts to cool and the holiday season is upon us, it reminds us that it is that time of year that gives us so much joy. And, no it is not eating too much turkey at Thanksgiving or the gifts we receive at Christmas. It is that our lodge finds its self-able to continue to give back to our community. For our first quarter of the year, our lodge received a community service report grade of "Excellent" for our giving from Moose International. Our second quarter report has been filed.
During the last quarter, we gave to three community service projects. Our first and biggest was to the Moose International Centennial fund (www.moosehaven.org). The Centennial Fund is to help build and maintain our newest addition to Moosehaven. The Moosehaven Centennial Project is a three-story, 105-unit apartment building that will serve the purpose of accommodating the growing population at Moosehaven. As a substantive, dynamic housing option the Moosehaven Centennial Project will improve the quality of life for traditional residents by offering in-house kitchen and dining, up to date technologies, modern construction, and other superior amenities.
Our second donation for the second quarter was to Safe Surfin Foundation (www.safesurfin.org). Through its interactive website, special events, printed materials, PSAs, and other educational opportunities, Safe Surfin' educates the public about Internet crimes involving children. Safe Surfin’ works with the U.S. Department of Justice, school systems, public libraries that offer Internet access, law enforcement agencies, and corporate sponsors to expand its educational outreach. Safe Surfin’ seeks donations from individuals and corporations to further its mission.
And finally, our third donation was to TAPS (www.taps.org). The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) offers compassionate care to all those grieving the loss of a loved one who died while serving in our Armed Forces or as a result of his or her service. Since 1994, TAPS has provided comfort and hope 24/7 through a national peer support network and connection to grief resources, all at no cost to surviving families and loved ones. TAPS has assisted more than 80,00 surviving families, casualty officers, and caregivers over the years.
We want to thank the members that continue to frequent our lodge and make purchases in the Social Quarters. It is your purchases and donations during the 9’O clock ceremony each week that allows us to do more. As always, we are looking for those members that wish to help out with our community service projects. If you are interested in helping or forming a committee to work for our community, please let a board officer know. We need everyone’s help this holiday season. Again, thanks for everyone’s help. Here is wishing you and your families a safe and happy holiday season.
