Constitution And Bylaws

Your lodges Constitution and Bylaws are the rules that govern your lodge. Many times members will ask if something can be done or a specific action taken. The first place to check is in the Constitution and Bylaws for your lodge. If it is not covered there, look at the Constitution and Bylaws for the Kansas State Lodge. If it is not covered there, look in the Grand Lodge Constitution and Bylaws. If you are still unable to find the answer, it doesn't mean you can't do it, it only means that it is not covered by any of the Constitution and Bylaws that govern your lodge. If your lodge does not have a Constitution and Bylaws or you are unable to locate them, check with me as I might have a copy of them. If they do not exist, they will have to be created. If creating them you should use the Grand Lodge and Kansas State Lodges as a reference and a guide as to the areas that should be addressed in your lodges Constitution and Bylaws.

Meeting Minutes

As lodge secretary you are the person that documents the meetings of the lodge. This includes regular meetings, special meetings, and any meetings that the Executive Board of your lodge holds. It is important that the minutes of these meetings are accurate and reflect what happened at the specific meeting. Many times members will want to know why something is being done. With accurate minutes, you are able to recall what meeting the vote on the action being questioned was approved. Chances are the members questioning the action were not present at that meeting nor did they bother to read the copy of the minutes that you sent them.

Incorporation

The decision whether or not to incorporate your lodge is a fairly straightforward one. If you do not, and for some reason, the lodge gets involved in a legal battle of some type, not only the Lodge Treasury is up for grabs, but also the personal finances of the members of the Executive Board. If you incorporate, only your Lodge Treasury is at risk. You do have to file a yearly report with the Kansas Secretary of State, (NOT the state secretary) and pay a $25.00 fee. Pretty cheap insurance. This is strongly suggested by the Grand and State lodges.

Insurance (Bonding)

Speaking of insurance......and not the life or accidential death and dismemberment types, but the kind that covers losses that occur when the member of the lodge runs away with the lodge treasury. Just like auto insurance that we buy for our cars, we hope we never have to use it but we are very glad it's there when we need it. This type of insurance is called Fidelity Bonding and it should cover anybody that is in a fudiciary (money handling) role in your lodge. Try to get a policy that has either no deductable or a low deductable. Obtain the amount ofcoverage that you need that closely matches the normal balance of your lodge treasury. This is a requirement of the Grand Lodge Constitution & Bylaws.

Membership Files

While the state secretary and the national secretary keep computerized databases of lodge members, it is a very good idea for the local secretary to also keep some type of listing of their membership. Some secretaries have very complex computer programs and others use loose leaf notebooks. The method is not important as long as it works for you and is understandable. You should always know how many members your lodge has and where to go to find out if a person is a member or not.