Becoming Master Councilor

The following blog post is from Brother Daniel Amon, Senior Councilor of Northeast Chapter and State Senior Steward for Pennsylvania DeMolay.

Hello, my name is Danny Amon, currently Senior Councilor of Northeast Chapter, and I am going to be running for Master Councilor of our next term. The reason I want to become Master Councilor is because I feel that I would do a very good job guiding the other officers in my chapter and helping them become better leaders. I also think I would do a good job teaching the other officers to be more responsible and to be loyal to one another. 

     

One of the main things I will be focusing on during my term is fundraising. In order to have a stable DeMolay chapter, you will need to have money, and in order to get money, a chapter must raise funds. Second, I will be focusing on membership; not only to get members into DeMolay, but to keep the members that we get active. It's nice to have numbers on the books, but I'd rather see them at activities and meetings as well. Last, I will be focusing on brotherhood, respect, and leadership. Brotherhood and leadership because without these two very important factors, the chapter will not be stable. Courtesy is one of the most important precepts in DeMolay. Respect involves being courteous to each other, and this is very important to have a successful chapter.  

Here are some of the goals I plan to accomplish during my term. I want us to bring in at least 4 new members for Northeast Chapter and to keep them all active. I would like all the members of this chapter to advance into a higher position. I would like at least 5 members at every event that we will have, and all members to attend every meeting. I plan to have at least 4-5 fundraisers this term. When it's all said and done, I'd like to have a fun and successful term. In order to make these goals a reality, I know it will take a lot of work from myself and the members of the chapter, but I'm up for the challenge. I'd like to invite everyone reading this blog post to Northeast Chapter's Installation of Officers, which will be held at the Tacony Temple in Northeast Philadelphia on Sunday, October 15th at 2 PM.   

Respect - what does it mean to you?

This post is part of series of entries written by the Elected State Officers of PA DeMolay. Each of them have been assigned topics to discuss and offer their opinions on. Today's post is offered by Bro. Matt Maple, State Senior Councilor. Enjoy!

Most of us have a Facebook, twitter, or some other means of social networking.  When you sign on, you almost always see someone posting something that is disrespectful. It is bound to happen, but as DeMolays we should set the example and be respectful while on social networking sites. We have taken an obligation to be good citizens and to always be respectful. Let us show that we are good citizens by not posting anything offensive or disrespectful and furthermore, be respectful at all times.

All DeMolays are expected to be the “good kids,” the ones you almost never see get into trouble.  We also live in a metaphorical fishbowl. We are in this fishbowl because we are expected to be leaders, and everything that we do, good or bad, can and will be seen. One advisor for PA DeMolay is fed up with some of the disrespectful things that he has seen on Facebook. He posted the following:

“New Year’s resolution: if you are on my friend list and your posts contain offensive language..... I will unsubsribe you, esp. if you belong to one of the 3 youth groups.”  

This was posted by “Dad” Mike Larkin, and by saying this he is taking one step forward in try to push members of not only DeMolay, but the other Masonic Youth Groups, to live up to these expectations and be the young men that we are expected to be.

We are also expected to always be respectful to those around us and especially to our elders.  When we are in a meeting at a sports tournament, or any other DeMolay event, we need to make sure that we are listening to those running the meeting and not talking.  This has not been the case recently and we need to change that.

Let us all strive to earn the respect of others and show them how much the organization of DeMolay can do by turning us all into respectable young men.