Vol. 126, No. 12
INSIDE Muehlstein award nominations open ➤ Pg. 11
Make a Difference Day ➤ Pg. 12
Camp news ➤ Pg. 13
hermannsonslife.org
December 2023
BYLAW CHANGES FOR 2024
Updated Bylaws needed to ensure compliance and consistency By CECILY KELLY Vice President of Member Benefits SAN ANTONIO – In today’s landscape of our fraternal organization, two key topics keep coming up in conversations, compliance and consistency. As we navigate the challenges and opportunities that keep presenting themselves, the Home Office took on the task of reviewing and revising the Local Lodge Bylaws to assist lodges not only with consistency, but with compliance in order to keep our important not-for-profit designation. Compliance isn’t just something the Home Office need to be diligent about, but it also needs to be of the utmost importance to our lodge and Home Association officers and members. The bylaws have been updated multiple times since Hermann Sons Life was chartered. So, this is nothing new. We have adapted the current version of them to align not only with Hermann Sons Life laws, but with the latest laws and legal standards required of Fraternal Benefit Societies. Consistency breeds trust and trust is the glue that keeps our organization thriving. The bylaws are a standard that all lodges should be following. To maintain a united front, these bylaws should be clear, unam-
biguous and applicable to all. By reviewing and revising these bylaws when necessary, we pave the way for a more uniform application of rules and expectations. Knowing that the rules apply to everyone and will be followed by everyone fosters a sense of unity. When we started this process, we enlisted the help of a fraternal attorney that serves as legal counsel for more than 40 fraternals across the nation. He is also the general counsel for American Fraternal Alliance, to which we belong. He reviewed the Bylaws of local Lodges and made the necessary updates for compliance with applicable laws that we must abide by to keep our 501(c)(8) designation, as well as to ensure that we’re modernizing our organization in order to remain relevant and competitive with other fraternals. Once he submitted the changes, the Bylaws of Local Lodges Committee met to review and adopt them. The final step was to have them presented to the Board of Directors. They amended some of the changes and approved them. Here are some of the changes that everyone should be aware of: Article II Section 2 has been added: Fiscal Obligations: Each lodge will be ex-
pected to meet fiscal obligations set by Hermann Sons Life annually in order to remain an “Active Lodge.” This will include the financial reporting required as described in these Bylaws. The Home Office may audit all financials of the Local Lodge at any time. Article IV Section 1 has been amended: The elected officers of the Local Lodge shall be President, Vice President, Financial Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, and three (3) Financial Trustees. (We removed Treasurer and combined the Finance Committee and Trustees) Section 2: Local Lodge Officer- Qualifications: Verbiage was added: No Local Lodge Officer, elected shall hold more than one elected officer position. A Local Lodge Officer elected or appointed, if possible, should not hold more than one appointed officer position in the Local Lodge at the same time. If a Lodge is unable to fill the majority of the elected Local Lodge Officer positions, the Lodge may be deemed “inactive,” and Hermann Sons Life may merge the lodge with another subordinate lodge. See BYLAW, Pg. 14