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Officers' Seminar a Big Success
The Nebraska Elks Association's "Officers' Elect Seminar" was held in Grand Island at the Mid-Town Holiday Inn of February 26th and 27th. Twenty of 23 Nebraska Elks Lodges were represented with 17 ERs, 11 Secretaries, 6 Trustees, and 3 other officers.
The Saturday session started shortly after lunch and the officers were divided into three groups--Exalted Rulers, Secretaries, and Trustees. The session for ERs was newly developed and was intended to teach the new incoming ERs specifically how to organize, plan, follow-up, and to have a successful Lodge year. To this end two recent ERs who had just finished double years with great success were recruited to be the presenters--Kevin Crook of Grand Island and Mike Ohren of Omaha. This was very successful and plans are currently being developed to expand the information for building a successful Lodge year.
In the second session for Trustees, state president Dick Metz and 3rd VP Chuck Meisinger delivered a comprehensive program on the responsibilities of Lodge Trustees. In the third session, Joe Thomspon, 2nd VP, and Rod Deuel, Secretary of the Superior Lodge, gave a comprehensive review of the responsibilities and duties of the Lodge Secretary.
Saturday evening a hospitality room and dinner served as building blocks to strengthen the Nebraska Elks Association by bringing the people together to chat in an informal setting where they can realize that they are not alone in their efforts and can also learn from one another about solving problems that are not unique to their Lodge. As with the afternoon sessions, plans are underway to improve the evening sessions--one of the things that will happen is to move the dinner to a less congested and noisy area.
Sunday morning's session was devoted to information about the function of the various committees and the filing of reports that the committees will be dealing with in the upcoming year. In addition, information about the State Convention in North Platte in late April and early May as well as the Grand Lodge Convention in Reno in July was distributed. Presenters at these sessions included past and current state officers as well as committee chairs and persons.
Sunday's session also included a ladies get-together hosted by Leanna Kramer in which several ladies addressed responsibilities of officers' spouses and some of the important functions and activities that would be forthcoming in their Lodge year. Terry Kramer, incoming President of the Association, also spoke to the spouses on his goals and plans for the year.
A special Elks "Hats Off" goes to James Vleck, his Seminar Committee, and all the presenters and participants for their excellent work and a great learning weekend. The Seminar participants' critiques were very positive and indicated that the participants learned a great deal about the operation and responsibilities of their office. The critiques also indicate that if your Lodge ER, Secretary, and Trustees were not represented, you need to find ways to get them to the Seminar in future years--"The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious."