Věstník (West, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 49, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 5, 1979 Page: 4 of 32
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4
VĚSTNÍK
h) How does a lodge go about electing
its delegates?
Nomination and election of delegates is
made by whatever proceduře is termed
most convenient and expedient by the
local lodge. Remember that if you use a
nominating committee, nominations
From the floor must be permitted, and if
you are going to elect more than two
delegates and substitutes, a secret ballot
may be ušed. (Art. 4{e)3.
i) How does a lodge determine who is
eligible insofar as attendance at meetings
is concerned?
Every lodge should háve a sign-in book
(or some other method) whereby
members record their names when they
attend meetings. The other qualifica-
tions should be determined by the íocal
lodge as set forth in Art. 4(d), 1 through
7.
j) What if a lodge was only recently
organized?
A lodge organized less than three years
preceding the election of its delegates
may elect its ‘delegáte (s) and substitute
(s) from among those members having
attended a majority of the lodge meetings
from the dáte of its organization. See
Art. 4(c).
k) Does the delegáte háve to be present
during the election?
Yes, unless he is absent due to
unavoidable circumstances acceptable to
the membership.
l) If a member transferred from one
lodge to another during the last three
years, is his attendance at the previous
lodge valid at the new lodge?
Yes, the attendance record of the
previous lodge will be accepted.
m) What if a lodge loses a number of
members by death or transfer after the
election of delegates has been held?
Article 4 (d) states that a lodge losing
the required number of members
between the íime of the election of
delegates and convention will not lose
delegáte (s) due to such change.
Comment: This provision míght háve to
be amended so that the same members
are not counted twice in two different
lodges in determining the delegáte
strength from those lodges. For example,
as it is now, if an election of delegates is
held in December, the number of
members in that lodge at that time is
ušed to determine the number of
delegates from that lodge. If, subsequent
to the election, X number of members
transfer to another lodge they will of
course be counted again to determine the
delgate strength in the new lodge. I will
submit a proposal to the By-Iaw
Committee that would preclude this from
happening, although the instances might
be quite rare.
n) How does a delegáte know how
many votes he will cast in the
convention?
This number will be related verbally to
the delegates by the president of the
Supreme Lodge shortly after the
convention is officially convened.
Delegates divide the votes equally among
themselves and the odd vote or votes are
cast by the delegáte receiving the largest
number of votes in the annual meeting.
o) When a substitute delegáte
advances to the position of delegáte how
is his vacancy as a substitute filled?
It one of the substitute delegates
advances to the position of delegáte, the
lodge may hold an election to replace
him as substitute, but probably does not
háve to because each lodge elects not
more than 10 substitutes and it is
unlikely that all 10 would be exhausted.
The substitute becoming a delegáte
relinquishes his substitute position; if he
chooses not to become a delegáte, he
forfeits both positions. He can’t háve it
both ways. Should it become necessary to
elect additional substitutes between now
and 60 days before the convention, a
lodge could elect them during this
period.
SL Secretary-Treasurer Mikeska has
sent the lodges forms and delegates’
credentials to be signed by the president
and secretary of the local lodges, who
must certify the election of the delegates
and their substitutes. (Read Article 5 of
our by-Iaws).
In summary, it behooves all members to
read and become well acquainted with
Article 4 through about 25 on questions
relating to delegates and our conventions
in generál. In the meantime, if any lodge
or individual member has any questions
that háve not been touched on in this
report, they might forward them to me,
and if they are of generál interest to the
membership, I will try to provide an
answer in the Vestnik. If I do not know
th*» answer I will consult with others.
Finaliy, for those of you who may háve
forgotten, the Convention is scheduled
for Monday, ‘June 9th, through
Thursday, June 12th, 1980 in the
Convention Center (Hemisfair Plaza) in
San Antonio, with arrival and
registration on Sunaay, June 8th,
commencing at 1 p.m.
***
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
In the above report, I had stated that
as many substitute delegates are
elected as the lodge has delegates, not
to exceed ten. Not necessarily so. The
by-laws do not statě how many
substitutes are to be elected, except
that it limits the number to ten. In
recent days and weeks it has come to my
attention, and as a result of personál
observation, the number of substitutes
that a lodge elects is pretty well left up
to the lodge itself. Most certainly,
lodges should elect ONE substitute so
as to determine the substitute with the
highest number of votes in čase it
becomes necessary to send an
additional delegáte or to replace a
delegáte who is unable to go to the
convention. In a recent meeting of a
local lodge having ten delegates, the
lodge chose to elect only five substitutes
and this was in order. You can always
elect additional substitutes if and when
it becomes necessary.
Questions keep arising as to who is
eligible to be elected a delegáte and
who is eligible and qualified to vote in
the annual meeting when the delegates
are elected.
Article 93 of our by-laws states that:
“Active members are eligible for
election as officers of local lodges, in the
district, and as delegates...” An
“active” member is defined in Art. 1 (i)
as being “...a member who is still
paying premiums, dues and assess-
ments, if any.”
What about paid-up members?
Article 72 (c) states that: “Members
who háve their certificates paid up in
due course, according to the terms
thereof and who wish to remain active
members, must pay the local lodge dues
and assessments as prescribed by the
lodge to which they belong, payable
ANNUAy/T in advance.” This simply
means that the member holding a
paid-up policy who wishes either to hold
offíce, be elected a delegáte, vote in
lodge meetings, nominate, and
deliberate in lodge meetings, must first
pay local lodge dues a year in advance.
Any member attending a lodge meeting
and wishing to exercise the rights of an
“active member” must háve his
mortuary premiums AND lodge dues
paid and current at the time of the
meeting, according to the records of the
Financial secretary. (Of course, sociál
members are not eligible to vote or hold
office, but háve the right of deliberation
and may serve on a committee, with the
permission of the local lodge.) (See
Article 73).
This question has arisen: If a lodge is
entitled to so many delegates and only
that number are eligible, how many
substitutes can you elect?
This may best be answered by giving
an example. If your lodge is entitled to
elect four delegates and there dře only
four members eligible. you obviously
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Sefcik, R. J. Věstník (West, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 49, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 5, 1979, newspaper, December 5, 1979; West, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth624958/m1/4/?q=music: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas.