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Illini Moose Magazine Illini Moose Magazine July – August - September Volume 2009 Issue 3 Inside This Issue Moose International Announces President’s Letter P.2 New Membership Campaign Regional Manager 3 IMA Secretary 4 Director General, Bill Airey announced our new Membership Campaign on Friday, May 22nd at the 121st Rambler Football Sch 5 International Moose Convention held in Chicago. Entitled I.M.A. Golf Outing 5 ―Be a Piece of the Solution‖ puts a positive spin on our future challenges in a struggling global economy. Pilgrim Class 2009 6 The four major components to the ―Solution‖ are the Community Service 7 4M‘s: Mooseheart, Moosehaven, Membership and Money. The main goal of our mission is to keep the doors open at Council of Higher 8 Degrees Mooseheart Child City and School, and Moosehaven – Our City of Contentment. These objectives can not be LOOM Membership 9 obtained without a growing membership which translates Intl Ritual Winners 9 into money for our philanthropic endeavors. If we deliver a positive message to the general membership and work the Moose Deputy Grand Regent 10 Fraternal Program, our goals are within reach. It is no secret that the fraternal units, WOTM Membership 11 that utilize the tools that Moose International has set at our feet, are successful and have been able to increase their membership and net worth, thus being able to help Gimme Five 12 our objectives monetarily. Graduation 12 Community Service is also a key component to the ―Solution‖. Our good works not only help those targeted, but aid in carrying our message to potential members. Premier Lodges 13 Membership Retention (another piece of the solution) is not possible if we do not Vice President Letter 14 deliver on our promises and follow the guidelines for a successful operation. Famous Moose 14 Every speech at Convention was riveted with positives about our future. Confronted with declining revenues and increasing costs, the Supreme Council and State Convention 15 Grand Council have had to make some tough decisions. Costs have been cut on Illinois Day 16 both campuses. Positions have been eliminated without a decrease in services. Salaries have been frozen. In fact, our Director General, Bill Airey, took a Moose Charities 17 significant cut in pay and has agreed to forego any chance of an increase through- Jacksonville Lodge 18 out the remainder of his term in 2014. Bill Airey explains, ―Besides the priorities of Membership and Money, we must Mt. Vernon Lodge 19 add Marketing to the top of the list. We must boast of our accomplishments and Taylorville and River 20 good works within our communities; we must tell others of the benefits of Park Lodges membership; we need to contact our community leaders; we must ask someone to join our great Belvidere, Bellwood 21 & Woodstock Lodges fraternity at every opportunity.‖ The Moose has survived recessions and even the Moose Legion News 22 ―Great Depression‖. Over the years we have depended Sudoku 22 on the dedication and loyalty of the men and women of this great fraternity. We are doing that now. You are Letter from Editor 23 why we survive. Bill referenced a quote credited to Illini Order Form 23 Vivien Greene: ―Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...It‘s about learning how to dance in the rain!‖. Letter from the President Summer is finally here and we have just finished attending the 121st International Convention in Chicago. What I took away from the convention is that we can all be a piece of the puzzle. That will be the solution that will help our lodges grow in membership and financial stability. When I was much younger, I worked puzzles. The first thing I would do is find the corner pieces. The solution to our puzzle are the four corner pieces: Mooseheart, Moosehaven, Membership, and Money. As we piece together the puzzle, opportunities arise. The aforementioned "Four Ms" are where we have to start. We will no longer do membership quotas. What we are asking of the lodges, chapters, Moose Legion, and Council of Higher Degrees is to have one more member in good standing that they had the previous year. That is why retention is one of the key pieces to the puzzle. I would like to take this time to congratulate the brothers and co-workers who have received their higher degrees. Please congratulate these outstanding people in our fraternity not only because they received a higher degree but for what they do for our Children at Mooseheart, Seniors at Moosehaven, and their Communities. To the lodge officers and co-workers who took office on May 1, 2009, as your Association President, I say thank you for your year of service to your lodge and chapter. I would also like to take this time to say thank you to all those who raised funds for the Association Special Projects and to those who donated. The ―Walk for a Cure‖ at Mooseheart, organized by District 2 was quite a sight to see! A special thank you to Dave Kuntzman, President of District 2, and his officers for their hard work. My term as President is drawing to a close and will end in August at the State Convention. It has been an honor and privilege and I am very proud to have served in this capacity. We want to thank you for the hospitality and kindness you have shown me and my family in our travels. In closing, I would like to thank the members of the Executive Board, Brad, Gordy, Jack, Ron, and Butch, and our Regional Manager, Ron Kozuszek, for their hard work in resolving some tough situations. May God Bless all of you as we take on our opportunities by ―Being a Piece of the Solution.‖ Fraternally, Tom Bilderbeck I.M.A. President 'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands Protect them as they protect us Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.' 2 Solutions The dictionary defines solution as an “Answer to a Problem”. There are those of us who Believe in what the Moose stands for and how Mooseheart and Moosehaven have matured from a dream to a reality of opportunity for our youth and security for our seniors. It is truly Beyond Belief what a group of men and women called Moose have accomplished in less than 100 years through hard work, dedication, and pride. Our long and honored history has not been without its fair share of trials and tribulations, but in those times of hardship someone was always been there to be a “Piece of the Solution”, whether it was Davis, Giles, Stoehr, Schmitz, Heliman, or O’Hollaren, someone has always been there to be “A Piece of the Solution”. Our current leadership has passed the torch along with the obligation of continuing our heritage of being a “Piece of the Solution”. In order to have a solution you must first admit there is a problem. Once you have identified the problem then you must establish a plan to find the solution. Lets start at the lodge level. Is your lodge the friendliest place in town? If not, what are you going to do to be “A Piece of the Solution? Is your lodge respected in your community? If not what are you going to do to become part of the solution? Was the last food event at your lodge terrible and the food didn’t taste good either? What can you do to be “A Piece of the Solution”? When you open a jigsaw puzzle you don’t see the finished picture and when talking about the challenges facing your lodge, you may not see the total picture. The jigsaw puzzle and the challenges facing your lodge have one thing in common. They can only be solved one piece at a time and you control how that piece is used as “A Piece of the Solution”. I heard someone saying as we left the opening session of the convention “don’t dance in the rain”, as suggested by the Director General “Be a Piece of the Solution” and buy an umbrella. Whatever it takes to find the solutions to make the Moose stronger, JUST DO IT! Bulk Mail Release: FYI The first point of contact for Lodges, Chapters, Moose Legions and Moose members should be their Regional Manager. Comments, complaints or praise regarding virtually any Moose related activities or occurrences within a Regional Manager's territory, that are received at Moose International, are referred back to the Regional Manager. Contacting the Regional Manager directly can expedite the response. Ron Kozuszek Illinois Regional Manager 1184 Candlewood Road Elgin, IL 60123 [email protected] 847/841-1292 (h) 618/795-1476 (c) 3 Letter from the I.M.A. Secretary At the 121st Moose International Convention enthusiasm was everywhere, especially at the joint installation of officers. Congratulations to all who received appointments, Mary Becker from Bloomington Chapter 173, was appointed Deputy Grand Regent, Joe Serwa was appointed Supreme Sergeant-at-Arms, Jim Brewer and Ralph Newton were appointed Deputy Supreme Governors, and Dave Kunstman, Chuck McGrath, and Brad Cunningham were appointed Moose Legion Ambassadors. The International Campaign is ―Be A Piece of the Solution‖. The Membership Committee should have a short-term campaign in place along with the International and IMA campaigns. It is so important that a Lodge recognize their sponsors for their efforts. The Lodge should begin now to advertise their Preferred Members party for next year. Proper orientation is mandatory for the new candidates. You must tell them of the activities of your Lodge and tell them why they should join your Lodge.
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