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