Volume 6, Issue 4 December 2009
SPECIAL ATTENTION
The December Meeting will be held on December 10, 2008. Also, a Special Nomination will be held for the positions of President and Trustee at this meeting. All members are encouraged to attend.
Message From The President
By Dennis Tomlian
Brothers and Sisters:
I hope everyone had a great summer hard to believe it is over and we are already into the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays. For those that were not there we had a fantastic golf outing the weather was superb and the course was in great shape and the food was excellent. I need to thank Dave Willis Jr., Bill Willhite, Bobbi Jo Craft, Ron Kapycinski, and Ken Willis and many others for their dedication and hard work to make this golf outing a success. Special thanks go to Father Mike, who won over $300 in the 50/50 and generously donated it back to the lodge. We are now in the planning stages of our next golf outing with hopes it will be bigger and better than the last.
It is dues time so please remember to pay your dues. Thanks to our hard working treasurer Ken Willis your dues can be paid online through PayPal at our website www.foplodge187.org. This should make it easier for members that don’t write a check.
The $20 dollar raffle tickets are available through the secretary Bill Willhite please purchase one and help your lodge, remember if we sell our allotment the lodge gets $10 for every ticket sold please make this year a banner year for ticket sales, they make a perfect stocking stuffer for Christmas as the ticket holder can win all year long and possibly be a grand prize winner.The Secretary of State now requires proof of membership in order to get an F.O.P. license plate. So you must be a member and have an active or associate membership card in order to get an F.O.P. license plate.
Remember our December meeting is the SECOND WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 10th, due to a special event at the hall on the first Wednesday.
This meeting will be my last, as I am resigning my position as president. We sold our home in Armada and will be moving to Jamestown Tennessee on December 30th. I wish to thank the executive board and all the members for their support over the years in my different lodge positions. I will miss everyone but hope to stop in on occasion. I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
Fraternally Yours
Secretary’s Report
By William Willhite
It's been a long year of collecting dues for the lodge. I can say that I am finally done tracking down people and collecting their 2008 dues. We unfortunately had to drop 21 members for non-payment. We did however pickup 11 new members. I would like to welcome those new members to Lodge 187 and hope that you enjoy your time listening to some of the new stories as well as some of the old stories while taking in your beverage of choice and relaxing at the meetings. Even if you are unable to attend the meetings, your dues help many of the charitable causes that Lodge #187 supports as well as efforts in Lansing and Washington that benefit officers.
We will be carrying 271 regular members and 64 associate members for the first half of 2009. That brings me to the 2009 state raffle tickets. Last year, we had a horrendous year selling the tickets with approximately 160 tickets sold. With that amount, we did not get our full reimbursement of $10 per ticket sold. The ticket sales are one of our largest fundraisers for the year. It helps us donate to the many worthy causes that our lodge helps support. In order for us to continue being the generous lodge that we are, we need to sell one ticket per member to get the full $10 reimbursement from the state. For those that haven't purchased a ticket yet, please include another $20 with your dues and request your ticket, I will mail it to you along with your 2009 membership card.
With a year under my belt as secretary, this New Year should go smoother than last. I apologize to those that were affected by some of my errors. I have worked with our treasurer, Ken Willis and I believe some of our efforts have been streamlined, mostly due to his knowledge of a computer and my lack of computer knowledge, but Ken is beating me with his laptop trying to get me out of the 19th century. It will still take some time for me to give up my pen and hand written notes.
Now, this is what you have all been waiting for…DUES ARE DUE!!!
This year’s dues remain $30 for retirees, $60 for regular members and $70 for associate members. They can be mailed to our P.O. Box, paid at the meeting or given to any of the board members and forwarded to me. New this year is PayPal that I'm sure Ken Willis will cover this in his article. Dues are due by January 1st but no late charges will incurred after March 1st.
I could ramble for pages with all the things that need to be covered, but in closing I would like to wish all Lodge members and their families a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Treasurer’s Report
By Kenneth P. Willlis
Brothers and Sisters:
I presented the Executive Board with a budget for 2009. We discussed ways to save money in these economic times that we face. A goal for this organization is to have a home, our own lodge. To do this, and still provide the same service to our members without raising dues, we are planning a few more fund raisers for the upcoming year.
I will be mailing or emailing invoices for 2009 membership dues in the next couple weeks. Please be sure to pay your dues as soon as possible. This year our lodge has implemented a late fee if dues are not paid by the designed due date. The late fee will be $10.00. Each year our lodge has to prepay the per capita for the upcoming year and in recent years we have had to remind certain members to pay their membership dues. These reminders cost the lodge money in paper, printer ink, and postage. This was the reason behind the addition of a late fee.
Now our membership has the option to pay their dues using a credit card via PayPal. Just go to http://www.foplodge187.org/dues.html and follow the directions. There is a small service fee to use this option but our members can earn points for airfare, hotels, and car rentals when using certain credit cards.
Please be sure to check out F.O.P. Lodge #187 website at http://www.foplodge187.org. The site is constantly being updated with meeting dates, time, and menus. There is an event gallery with pictures from events that our lodge has attended. Also, this newsletter will be posted on the website. So, check it out.
The Christmas season has come upon us once again. This is the time of year let us remember those who we have lost this year: Brother James Treadwell and Brother Joseph Golembiewski, may you both rest in peace. You may be gone but you will never be forgotten.
May all of you have a Merry Christmas (or Happy Holiday Season) and a Happy New Year. Be Safe. See you all next year.
2009 SUPER RAFFLE
Brothers and Sisters:
Beginning in July, our lodge will be selling State of Michigan F.O.P. Super Raffle tickets for the upcoming year. It is important for each member of our lodge to purchase at least one ticket. Proceeds from these sales help our lodge contribute to local charities. This is our second biggest fundraiser each year. So, please buy a ticket and continue to support our lodge.
This raffle begins on January 1, 2009 and goes through December 31, 2009. Things to keep in mind: Each day of the year two $25 winners are selected, each week of the year a $50 winner is selected, and the grand prize drawings are in December. The First Grand Prize Winner has a choice of a Harley Davidson Motorcycle or $15,000 in cash, the Second Grand Prize Winner gets $2,500 in cash and the Third Grand Prize Winner gets $1,500 in cash. Also, even if you win your ticket is placed back the raffle for another chance to win!
Sell 20 Super Raffle tickets and the lodge will wave your 2009 Membership Dues!!!
