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Grand
Chancellor
Robert Kaufman |
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Five years ago, when I became the Grand
Outer Guard, I pledged my time, my energy, and my commitment to
all of my Brother Pythians in every lodge throughout the domain.
We have accomplished much, in these past
five years, but there is more work to be done. In their
messages, my predecessors, spoke of the need for all Pythians to
work for the betterment of the order. Never was that truer or
more important than now. To paraphrase a famous president, “Ask
not what the Pythian order can do for you, ask what you can do
for the Pythian order.”
Be proud of your Lodge. Be proud of your
districts. Be proud to be a Pythian. What we do is necessary.
What we do is important. What we do matters. What we do makes a
difference in peoples lives.
Our precepts of friendship, charity and
benevolence are more important now than ever. How we treat our
Brothers, and our neighbors, will determine how we are regarded.
A kind word goes much further than an insult. A charitable deed
shows what we are capable of doing.
Benevolent actions show our compassionate
side. However, most of all we must reaffirm the friendship that
has guided our history.
My vision is to bring the Grand Lodge and
our subordinate lodges closer together in the truest spirit of
trust and accountability. This administration will be available
to furnish whatever help a lodge or lodge brother needs.
I have selected as my Chief Deputy Grand
Chancellor Sir Barry Weiner of Esquire Good Fellowship Lodge,
and have given him the task of managing my program that will
have the Deputies and Assistants to the Chief, spending more
time at the lodges in their districts. It is my way to implement
programs within every lodge throughout the domain.
Their responsibilities will be to act as
conduits to the Grand Lodge. They will discuss our programs, our
committees, and answer questions, because this Grand Chancellor
as you will quickly learn is truly interested in your every
need, is responsible to your lodge, and committed to your
continued success.
My team will become fully knowledgeable
about our Grand Lodge Committees, and will work on these
committees. I also invite any lodge brother who desires to
become a member of a Grand Lodge Committee to do so. You do not
need a title to work for the order, just the desire and the
effort to help us continue doing great things. Keep in mind that
“With Effort Comes
Success.”
I am forming a committee to accomplish two
main goals. Firstly, to meet with the line officers of our
subordinate lodges offering instruction as to their
responsibilities during a meeting night and proper protocol
during an honor night. Secondly, to meet with the incoming
deputies and assistants to the chief to instruct them in their
duties and responsibilities as they visit their lodges. These
meetings will take place throughout late summer and fall, in
centrally located areas.
After visitations, the deputies will
prepare reports for the Assistant Chiefs, who will then report
to the Chief Deputy. Periodic progress reports will be presented
to the Grand Council to show which lodges are functioning well
and what lodges need further assistance. I promise you that we
will continue our efforts to restore the pride we had in our
glory years.
The most important need of this or any
administration is its membership and membership retention. The
ability to attract new members, and bring back those that we
seem to have lost, will determine the lasting future of the
order. Through recent years we have seen a severe loss in our
membership, and we must reverse this destructive trend.
Each lodge in the domain must have a
membership and retention committee. Each membership chairman and
each Chancellor Commander is automatically a member of the Grand
Lodge Membership Committee, and you will be notified when
meetings take place. Attend these meetings and learn how the
Grand Lodge can help your lodge bring in new members and retain
those who have left. We can no longer just write off brothers
who do not pay their dues. We must try to bring them back.
We will be using the technology and
publicity committees to develop membership strategies. We WILL
re-enter the 21st century. The three committees will
work closely together to create a comprehensive membership
program, a program that will continuously evolve for years to
come. This will take a positive and dedicated effort.
“With Effort Comes
Success.”
Our Youth Commission will be closely
aligned with our junior order.
We will continue to offer various contests to the High
Schools in each area.
We will contact school principals to arrange the essay
and poster contests. We will go to the schools to make the
presentations. Further it is my intent to revisit our Boy Scout
and Eagle Scout programs. We may find some Junior Pythians from
the scouts and maybe new members from their parents as well.
The Humanitarian Fund has been one of our
most efficient committees. With extended support from our
brother and sister pythians, and the superb efforts from our
committee members, we continue to provide much needed support to
our Pythian charities. We will continue to get even better.
The steady flow of packages sent to our
servicemen and women overseas, is among our most rewarding
efforts, and the constant receipt of thank you letters from our
troops, serve to remind us, that what we do is right and proper.
Funds from you, shows good citizenship as the Humanitarian Fund,
makes this possible, and we will not stop until all of our
troops are home safely.
Camp Sunrise is a summer day camp for
children with cancer, accompanied by their siblings. The Knights
of Pythias has become a corporate sponsor for Camp Sunrise. We
sponsor these children at the camp through our Humanitarian
Fund. Similar to the way the Veterans donations are funded. We
participate in their camp walk every June, and we are included
as a sponsor on all of their literature, including T-shirts. It
is another way for us to gain attention and publicity for the
Knights of Pythias.
Another valuable program supported through
the Humanitarian Fund is our Scholarship Program. A child of a
Pythian whose home lodge is in New York can apply for a college
scholarship when they graduate from High School. Increased fund
raising has allowed us to steadily increase the amount of these
scholarships, which will be used as a tool by our membership
committee. If you have a friend, relative, coworker, etc. with a
child that is a sophomore in high school, get them to join the
order.
The Dr. Morris Smoller Fund continues to
provide funds to area nursing facilities and health related
facilities. This enables our senior members in ailing health, as
well as parents of members, to have access to these facilities
when the need arises. As the members of our order become older,
the Dr. Morris Smoller Fund becomes more and more important. We
must continue to give it our ongoing financial support.
The Pythian Camp committee has always been
a great source of pride for our order. The tradition of sending
deserving sons and daughters of both Pythians and non-Pythians,
has never wavered. Every year we provide these worthy children
to a summer camp vacation they otherwise might never have
received.
We will, through the efforts of our camp
committee, begin to focus our attention on expanding the various
ways to best distribute our fund raising dollars. We will allot
monies for special needs children. Kids with cancer, diabetes,
asthma, and other debilitating illnesses, also deserve the
opportunity to have a summer camp experience.
The Diabetes Research Committee moves forth
to aid in the battle to find a cure for both Type 1 and Type 2
diabetes, through street fairs, golf outings, walks, and other
fund raising events. We have to date distributed about 1/2
million dollars since the committee was formed by the late Past
Grand Chancellor Sir William Rubin, in 1998.
At the last J.D.R.F. Award meeting, where a
group of us attended, there was scientific evidence presented,
that extreme progress was being made in finding the cure for
Type 1 diabetes. Our donations have been an important part in
finding that cure.
Through AHF, the Associate Health
Foundation, every new member will receive a complimentary silver
card, which allows him immediate access to a hospital in time of
need, and savings of such medical needs as crutches,
wheelchairs, ambulance service and more. All Pythians should be
members of AHF, so that we can continue to provide these
services.
The Pythian website, KOPNY.com was
established to be an information highway to the lodges and
members of New York. The website provides a calendar for Grand
Lodge events and a calendar for lodge events including Deputy
Visitations. When your lodge is having a special night, or
special function, post it on the website. Advertise to the rest
of the order what your lodge is doing. This is a perfect way to
meet members of other lodges. Support each other. Find a new
friend. “With Effort
Comes Success.”
Working in concert with the website, the
technology committee will be working on linking us to sites such
as facebook, twitter and others. If we want to expand our
numbers, we must be where our prospective members are. This will
allow people on these sites to log on to KOPNY.com. and learn
about the Pythian order.
We will of course continue our close
relationship with the Pythian sisters. The Grand Temple does
much needed fundraising and always supports the Pythian
charities. Many women work with the men on the camp, diabetes
and humanitarian committees. They are important to our
fundraising and I have pledged our support for their causes. We
look forward to a most harmonious relationship.
And of course we will always be strongly
allied with our brothers to the distant north, Albany, Utica
Justus Rathbone and Rochester Jay Lodges have been supportive
leaders for the programs of the Grand Chancellor, and we will
reciprocate with support for their programs. They are a strong
vital and important part of our Pythian order, and they always
will be.
I have outlined a program for the 2011/2012
Pythian year that is intending to be far reaching and takes
important steps forward to get us into the upswing again. We
simply must begin to increase our membership. This must be
everyone’s main goal. It is quite simply, the only way we can
continue to exist.
Remember, however, that with any series of
program, changes may occur. Even as I prepare this message,
there are additional plans in formulation stage.
There may be a possible Health fair in
conjunction with AHF, where we will hope to screen people for
Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Prostate Cancer, and more. We are
always preparing new ideas to increase membership.
We will not accept less than 100% effort
from my team, and I expect each of you to give 100% plus effort
to your lodges.
I have always believed that effort is
contagious, and remember
“With Effort Comes Success.”
Robert Kaufman
Grand Chancellor
Domain of New York
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