Empowering Lodges

A Guide to Lodge Building Management from the Long Range Planning Committee

By R.W.B. Richard D. Varner, Junior Grand Warden

The Long Range Planning Committee has been working diligently over the last year on a project which we hope will benefit many of the Lodges in this jurisdiction. In the near future, you will see the fruits of our labors as the finishing touches are put on a Building Management Manual.

The buildings owned by our Lodges are often the most valuable asset of the Lodge. In addition to the monetary value, these buildings are the face of the Lodge in the community and are an integral part of the identity of the Lodge. All too often, Lodges don’t operate their buildings in a business-like manner and run the risk of the building becoming a liability instead of an asset.

This new manual is designed to assist Lodges in evaluating their buildings and planning for their operation and maintenance.

The manual provides suggestions and examples such as:

• Determining who will manage the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the building,

• How to document the building systems and their condition,

• How to set up the finances of the Lodge so that the operation of the Lodge and the operation and maintenance of the building are useful for management decisions,

• How to develop a capital replacement and major maintenance plan and an associated funding strategy,

• How to document the relationship between the Lodge and building users so that misunderstandings and conflicts are minimized.

Much of the success of this project is due to the efforts of R.W.B. Dale D. Wiley who provided a first draft based on our preliminary discussions. Th is allowed the members of the committee to have a framework for providing our input so that everyone’s ideas were considered. Most of the material in the manual has not been available from Grand Lodge as guidance. In completing the manual, we noted that one important piece of the package was already available to Lodges, “Risk Management Strategies For Landlord/ Tenant Relationships” in the Secretary’s Handbook. We chose to include it as an appendix in the manual as it is a great resource for Lodges in managing their buildings.

We are proud to present Lodges with a guide to effectively manage their buildings. We anticipate continuous enhancements to the manual as Lodges utilize it, offering valuable suggestions for additions or revisions. Together, we strive for ongoing improvement and excellence in Lodge management.