There's good news and bad news for Local Aeries where their own By-Laws are concerned.
The good news is faster-than-ever turnaround when your Aerie submits a By-Law change to Grand Secretary Chuck Cunningham. His office reviews and approves (or not) all changes to ensure they comply with the FOE Constitution and Statutes.
Currently, Brother Cunningham says submitted By-Law changes will be returned to the Local Aeries submitting them within seven days of his office receiving them. The sole exception, he says, is the time period around the Grand Aerie Convention each year, since the Grove City OH office is relocated to the Convention venue during that time.
I can recall a decade or so ago waiting as a By-Laws Committee Chair over six months for approved By-Laws to come back. In that case it mattered especially since we wanted to change our meeting nights from Mondays to Wednesdays.
If your Aerie doesn't bother to change its By-Laws when you want to change the way you operate, however, you could be in trouble.
The Grand Aerie is now reviewing change requests, Brother Cunningham says, to see which Aeries have not requested any changes in some time. There are, he says, Local Aeries who have not requested a change since 1988 - 26 years ago.
By-Laws aren't meant to be changed on a whim, of course. They're the constant set of rules we set for ourselves for how we conduct Aerie business. It beggars belief that a Local Aerie has not seen the need for change in that many years.
Your Aerie President is required to appoint a By-Laws Committee every year to review them, whether or not a specific change is contemplated. Ignorig an Aerie's By-Laws as they currently exist can put an Aerie and its officers in serious jeopardy.
For more information on what a By-Laws Committee is supposed to do, see my earlier post Procedure 101: The By-Laws Committee.
The Ontario Provincial Aerie and Auxiliary are the umbrella organizations for Ontario aeries (lodges) and auxiliaries of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Ontario's Aeries are in Toronto (Aerie 2311), Sault Ste Marie (Aerie 3991), London (Aerie 4060), Heyden-Goulais River (Aerie 4061) and Webbwood (Aerie 4269). This blog is intended to support membership growth.
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