Message from the EO: Regional Representatives

Some of you may be wondering how effective I could be in the role of Executive Officer, given that I live out-of-state.  I think of the position as an administrative one: deciding on appropriate policies and guidelines, overseeing the state-level adult staff and programs, and dealing with issues and questions as they arise.  Principally, everything I do as Executive Officer should help the Chapters be successful.  To that end, I want to thank Tom and his staff for doing exactly that over the last 17 years!  Some staff members are keeping the same assignments, and others are changing – please don’t consider this a reflection of anybody’s poor performance.  With some areas, I simply wanted to take a new direction.

The most significant shift I am making is in transforming the role of the Deputy Executive Officers.  That title is gone.  Based on the feedback I’ve received from all of you, I want to introduce the new role that is replacing this concept: Regional Representatives.

I have divided the state into 8 geographic regions, each with 2 or 3 Chapters, and assigned a Regional Representative to each one.  They will chiefly represent me to those Chapters, and would be the Advisory Council’s first point of contact to ask questions, raise concerns, and so on.  They will be attending an annual Advisory Council meeting of those Chapters, and help remind the Chapters about deadlines and honors and awards.  They will also attend each Chapter’s Installation, and install the Advisory Council annually in conjunction with that ceremony.

Most importantly: they will be attending one meeting of each Chapter, per term, partnering with a State Officer.  Please consider these as “official visitations” rather than “inspections”.  They will not be grading you, nor will they give a critique at the end of the meeting.  Rather, they are there to ensure that each Chapter sees state-level officials on a regular basis, and encourage the Chapters to do their best at these meetings.  Speaking from experience as a Chapter Advisor, my DeMolays always put in extra effort when they had visitors.  The adult and youth Regional Representatives will report back to me and the State Master Councilor, so we can know how best to help each Chapter.

Once the youth Regional Representatives are announced, each pair of adult/youth Regional Representatives will reach out to the Chapters to schedule the visitations.  Please start to consider these visitations as you work with your next Master Councilors in crafting their term plans!

Following is the list of Regional assignments – these staff assignments took effect on May 1^st.

Region A: Erie, Lorraine: Mark Haffley

Region B: Templar, Lincoln, Joppa: Bruce Neubauer

Region C: Westmoreland, al-Aksa: Joe Pullin

Region D: George Washington, Carlisle, Pilgrim: Allen Moyer

Region E: Elizabethtown, Riverside: Tom Moyer

Region F: Susquehanna, Crusade: Paul Mossberg

Region G: Reading, Allentown: Bud Willard

Region H: FBC, Northeast, Chester Pike: Lou GrowMiller

Thanks very much to these 8 dedicated Advisors!

In my next blog post, I'll be outlining the rest of the state-level staff and discussing some new roles that I've created.  In the meantime, please continue to do what you're doing for DeMolay!

Fraternally, Greg

The Man Behind the Curtain

In the world of DeMolay, the Executive Officer of a Jurisdiction often acts as the front man for DeMolay in his area. When things are going well, he gets the glory. Conversely, when things are going poorly, he gets the blame. However, in some Jurisdictions, Pennsylvania being one of them, the Executive Officer is the leader of a much larger team of adults who help to keep the program going. But, like any team, there is one player who really stands out. In Pennsylvania, that person has been the Executive Secretary - the man behind the proverbial curtain.

Since the inception of PA DeMolay, the Executive Secretary has played an important role in the day to day operations of the Jurisdiction. He has been, and remains, the right hand of the Executive Officer. He manages the day to day office work so the Executive Officer can concentrate on more "big picture" ideas, as well as being the face of the organization.

First, check out our gallery of Past Executive Secretaries, here: http://www.pademolay.org/people/past/pes.html

We've had 9 Executive Secretaries in Pennsylvania. Three of them have gone on to become Executive Officer - Labagh, McCulley, and Fisher. On average, they have served 8.5 years in the position, with "Dad" Alfred Baker, the first Executive Secretary, serving the least amount of time, and "Dad" David W. Berry, the current ES, holding it the longest - with more than 20 years of service. Of the 9, 7 hailed from the Eastern part of the State, with only two coming from other areas - "Dad" Baker was from Pittsburgh, while "Dad" Deeter was from St. Mary's.

It's also important to point out that the last 3 Executive Secretaries,  prior to "Dad" Berry, have all remained active with DeMolay in some way. It's a testament to their love of the organization that have kept active.

While the EO might be the face of DeMolay, we can never forget the work and effort the Executive Secretary's have put in to make our Jurisdiction great!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

 

History Nerds Unite!

I'll admit it. I'm a history nerd. I enjoy learning about the past; finding out about how people lived, what they would have been like, and how their daily lives were. This week has been a great one for me in regards to this enjoyment. Thanks to a link my father sent me, I've spent several nights poring through old newspapers from the turn of the century. I read about the founding, height, and steady fall of fraternalism in the United States. I also spent some time reading about the early days of DeMolay in Pennsylvania. That's when I managed to make a discovery.

Since I took over the PA DeMolay website, which was roughly three years ago, there has been one glaring hole in our historical section. In 1937, a man named Arthur S. Rodeniser was named Executive Officer of Pennsylvania DeMolay. That pretty much summed up everything we knew about "Dad" Rodeniser. When I first went in search of a photo of him a couple of years ago, I found a newspaper article from the 1920's that mentioned in his name in conjunction with the Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania. That led me to believe that he was probably involved in that group to some extent. However, much beyond that, the information I could find was limited. I let the missing information slip to the back burner, but I never forgot that we were missing a portrait and information on one of our past EO's.

So, this week, as I'm going through old newspapers, lo and behold, I come across his name! What luck! After a quick search or two, I found out that "Dad" Rodenhiser was Right Eminent Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Pennsylvania in 1945. Eureka! Now that I had some information about him, I could dig further. I remembered that the Grand Commandery office, in Philadelphia, had recently been remodeled, and that a portrait of every Past Grand Commander hangs on the wall there. I called the Grand Recorder who confirmed that it was the right fellow and that he did indeed have a photo. He offered to send me a copy of the proceedings (like the minutes a Scribe takes) from the year that "Dad" Rodeniser was Grand Commander. I received them in the mail yesterday. Not only are they a valuable piece of information, they had a great picture of "Dad" Rodeniser!

Not wanting to miss any good information, I started to dig through the book, looking for any other details that might be useful. In his report to the Grand Commandery, "Dad" Rodenhiser stressed the importance of DeMolay in Pennsylvania and encouraged all the Commanderies to sponsor a DeMolay Chapter. It was obvious that he was a huge proponent of the program! The other important tidbit that this book contained was a list of the Past Grand Commanders and their years of service. Beginning with "Dad" Rodenhiser, I worked backwards, looking for important names. The next name that caught my eye was Louis U. Strassberger, another Past Grand Commander, who served as EO at the same time as "Dad" Rodeniser. I see that confused look on your face! Let me explain.

You see, in the early days, Pennsylvania was a rather large state that didn't have great means for travelling across it. It was thought that a single Executive Officer wouldn't be able to manage DeMolay on both sides of the State. Therefore, PA was broken up into Eastern and Western Jurisdictions. "Dad" Rodeniser would have served the Western half of the State, while "Dad" Strassberger kept an eye on the Eastern side. PA DeMolay would actually continue like this until World War II, when PA DeMolay was closed for a few years because of the war. After the war was over, transportation had improved, and a single EO was able to handle the entire Commonwealth. Now, back to our regularly scheduled story.

Continuing down that list of  names, I found another important one. In 1923, "Dad" Ralph C. Mineheart, the man who brought DeMolay to Pennsylvania in the first place, served as Grand Commander. We knew that "Dad" Mineheart was a well known figure in the Grand Commandery, and it's quite possible that he and "Dads" Rodeniser and Strassberger would have been friends and talked about the future of DeMolay in Pennsylvania. Thinking my search was complete, I readied to close the book, when one last name caught my attention - Thomas Ranken Patton.

Yes, that Thomas Ranken Patton - the founder of the Patton School and the namesake of Patton Campus here in Elizabethtown. He served as Grand Commander in 1921, just two years before "Dad" Mineheart. That means there is certifiable proof that "Dad" Mineheart and Thomas Ranken Patton not only knew each other, but were probably pretty well acquainted, as both were high ranking Templars. It's interesting to think that in 1921, as DeMolay was coming to Pennsylvania, and Thomas Ranken Patton was preparing to fund his school, that Patton was building an institution that would later house and continue the dreams of "Dad" Mineheart. While we know Patton would have loved his school, I like to think that he would approve of it being used to further the causes championed by Ralph Mineheart.

So, with lots of research complete, I headed to the website to put up the picture of "Dad" Rodeniser and to update the information on our Past EO's. After getting everything just right, I scanned the page one more time for any changes. I realized that one EO, "Dad" William Gregg, didn't have any information under his name. It was quite obvious from his photo that he was a Past Potentate of Syria Shrine in Pittsburgh. I recalled that "Dad" Labagh has a book about the history of Syria Shrine, which I retrieved from the shelf. I flipped through the pages and found the picture of "Dad" Gregg, who served as Potentate in 1946. This was great, as I could now add just a bit more information to the site. Again, I was ready to close the book, when a name nabbed by attention. The Potentate of Syria Shrine in 1947, the year after "Dad" Gregg held that position, was none other than "Dad" Clarence Head, Past EO of PA and Past Grand Master of DeMolay International (not to mention his time as Secretary General of DI after the death of "Dad" Land.) So, it would appear that we have two more men, who were most likely good friends, who helped to guide DeMolay in Pennsylvania for several years. I'm sure "Dads" Gregg and Head spent many nights talking about DeMolay and planning for its future.

These men took control of DeMolay in Pennsylvania and steered a course for many years to come. While we can't say for certain if they had "Unplugged" as advisors, we do know that without them PA DeMolay wouldn't be what it is today.

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Inquiring Minds Want to Know...

...when the 2009 Financial Report Forms will be sent to the PA DeMolay Chapters! I am happy to let you know that the forms went out in today's mail to all Advisory Council Chairmen and Chapter Treasurers who have requested a copy of the form.

The completed reports - with copies of all year-end bank statements - need to be returned to the PA DeMolay Office with a postmark of March 15, 2010 (or earlier!)

Please be sure that a committee of DeMolays is involved with the auditing of the receipts and expenditures of the past year and with the completion of the financial report. This is an important opportunity for our young men to gain an understanding of managing the money that they earn and spend, better preparing them for the personal budgeting that they will need to understand and practice as adults.

Inquiring minds have also been wondering when the Insurance and Endowment Fund Invoices will be sent to the Chapters. These will be in the mail on Monday, January 25th. The DeMolay International Insurance Premium is $12.76 per member and the PA DeMolay Endowment Fund Fee is $1.00 per member.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at your convenience.

"Dad" Dave Berry
es@pademolay.org

Now, How Hard Was That?

A BIG THANK YOU to all Deputy Executive Officers, and Advisory Council Chairmen in particular, but to ALL Pennsylvania Advisors in general ,for your cooperation in filing the annual Advisory Council Registration papers. According to "Dad" Jeff Kitsmiller, Executive Director for DeMolay International, only SEVEN jurisdictions in DeMolay International have 100% of their Chapters fully certified-- Nation's Capital(2 Chapters), Idaho(12), New Mexico(6), Pennsylvania(25), South Carolina(5), Aruba (1) and Italy(7). It is interesting to note that 18 jurisdictions have not submitted a single ACR, and 427 Chapters have yet to report any advisors. That just further amplifies the fact that YOU DID IT RIGHT, AND ON TIME! We know how much we all love to do paperwork, and how easy it is for the stuff to sit around and be ignored or forgotten, so I have a tremendous amount of appreciation for your efforts!

And let's all give a special thanks to "Dad" Dave Berry for helping keep the paperwork straight-- he is indispensible to Pennsylvania DeMolay!

Sincerely and fraternally,

"Dad" Thomas R. Labagh

Executive Officer