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Together, We can achieve Membership Activities Growth Interest Communication PROGRAM OF SUPREME CHANCELLOR SIR DAN COWAN 2008 - 2010 MISSION: TO CONTINUE TO REVITALIZE THE ORDER BY CONDUCTING MEMBERSHIP DRIVES; OFFERING A VARIETY OF NEW PROGRAMS WHILE ENCOURAGING LODGES TO CONTINUE PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN PROVEN SUCCESSFUL; PROMOTING IMPROVED COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE SUPREME LODGE AND THE MEMBERS OF OUR ORDER; IMPROVING OUR CHARITABLE AND BENEVOLENT PROGRAMS INVOLVING OUR COMMUNITIES; AND FOCUSING ON OUR POSITIVE ACHIEVEMENTS. MOTTO: VOLUNTEERISM-THE ROAD TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE-HAVE YOU VOLUNTEERED IN YOUR COMMUNITY TODAY? THEME: TOGETHER, WE CAN ACHIEVE M.A.G.I.C.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE: ASK MEMBERSHIP COINS MEMBERSHIP CHAMPIONS M.A.P. INCENTIVE PROGRAM NEW LODGES RANK WORK TRY SOMETHING NEW SUPPORT OUR TROOPS HONOR LODGE PROGRAM COMMUNITY SERVICE AND VOLUNTEERISM

COMMUNICATION DEPUTY SUPREME CHANCELLORS RATHBONE HERITAGE SOCIETY PUBLIC RELATIONS POSTER/VISUAL ARTS CONTEST BOY SCOUTS CONNECTION PROGRAM JUNIOR ORDER MEDALLION PROGRAM ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE

MEMBERSHIP     ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE: ASK
Your Supreme Chancellor is asking that each Knight, Lodge and Domain join in an Order-wide Membership Drive. The continuing decline in membership is the greatest single enemy of our beloved Order. It will take commitment, planning and a great deal of hard work to win a victory over this enemy, but we must and can do it! Your 2008-2010
Supreme Chancellor has included several items in his program to assist Lodges and Individuals to do their part in winning this victory.

ASK
• All Pythians must continue to ASK. Personal contact always works best. We ourselves should be the best salesman for this great Order. We must practice the “3 Rs of Membership”: RECRUIT, REINSTATE AND RETAIN. (Recruit - ask a friend, coworker, or relative to join. Reinstate - check on members who have dropped out. Ask them why they left and what it would take to bring them back into the lodge. Retain - make sure your lodge meetings are worthwhile and interesting to all the members.)

MEMBERSHIP COINS
• In the days when Knighthood flourished, any Knight who wanted to challenge another, threw down his gauntlet. To accept the challenge, the other Knight picked up the thrown gauntlet. As Supreme Chancellor, I challenge each Pythian Knight to actively fight one of our Order’s greatest enemies - DECLINING MEMBERSHIP by recruiting at least three new members during my term. In accepting my challenge, you will pick up this gauntlet, which will be on one of my specially minted coins. This program has shown its success in the last two years of its creation, will you keep this success going strong?
WILL YOU ACCEPT THIS CHALLENGE? Coins will be available at the 2008 Supreme Lodge Convention and at Grand Lodge Conventions from the Official Visiting Supreme Lodge Officer. They will also be available to Deputy Supreme Chancellors who contact the Supreme Membership Chairman, giving the names of recipient Knights (who have brought in three or more new members.)

MEMBERSHIP CHAMPIONS
• Each Grand Domain will be asked to select a Domain Membership Champion (in any manner they decide upon) taking into consideration the number of new Knights and reinstatements the member has been responsible for, new lodges he has helped institute and other membership work done during the 2008-2010 term of the Supreme Lodge. The Deputy Supreme Chancellor will report this to the Supreme Lodge on a form provided, by July 1, 2010. Using the information on these returned forms, the Supreme Chancellor, Supreme Membership Chairman and the Supreme Secretary will select the International Membership Champion. This member will receive $1000 towards a trip to the 2010 Supreme Lodge Convention, where he will be officially recognized.

M.A.P. (MEMBERSHIP ACQUISITION PROGRAM) INCENTIVE
• The purpose of this program is to provide an incentive in the form of “Reimbursement Funding” to qualifying subordinate lodges, groups of lodges or Grand Lodges, for membership recruitment and acquisition, by way of approved membership drives, contests, etc.
• The goals are to achieve a net gain in membership for every participating lodge (year ending 12/31/08 to year ending 12/31/09), and to reward lodges that participate in the M.A.P. by way of reimbursement funding.
• The rules for obtaining reimbursement funding are as follows:
1) The lodge or lodges seeking reimbursement will describe, on a form provided by the Supreme Lodge, the membership activity involved (membership booth at community function, etc.) and the specifics (date, location, estimate of amount to be spent, etc.). This form, verified by the Deputy Supreme Chancellor, must be received by the Supreme Secretary not less than 14 days PRIOR to the start of the event.
2) The lodge will complete a ‘post-activity’ report, on a form provided by the Supreme Lodge, verified by the Deputy Supreme Chancellor, within 30 days of the completion of the event, with a complete listing of the prospective members that have submitted a completed application for membership to the subordinate lodge.
3) Once the applicant(s) are elected and have received the Rank of Knight, the lodge will be eligible to receive the M.A.P. incentive of $10 per new Knight to help offset the costs of the original activity.
4) To be eligible for the M.A.P. incentive, the activity must be held between the dates of October 1, 2008 and April 30, 2010; items 1,2 and 3 must be followed; the cut-off date for completion of item 3 (to still be eligible for funds) is June 30, 2010.
5) The maximum amount reimbursed will be $250 per lodge, not to exceed the total cost of the Membership Acquisition Activity.
6) The Supreme Lodge reserves the right to discontinue the M.A.P. Incentive Program at any time, due to budgetary or activity restraints.

NEW LODGES
• Each Domain is asked to start at least one new lodge. The founder of a new lodge will receive $200 (to be used at his discretion to help cover his expenses involved in setting up this lodge). This money will be presented at the time the new lodge is instituted. Each newly chartered lodge will receive $250 for expenses, plus a set of office supplies, supplied by the Supreme Secretary.
• A new brochure is now available from the Deputy Supreme Chancellor giving details and suggestions on how to start a new lodge.
• If available, a Supreme Lodge Officer will attend the institution of each new lodge.

RANK WORK
• Lodges are encouraged to do Rank Work (even if the approved Short Form Ritual must be used) and initiate new prospects promptly.
• If a substantial number of new members are being initiated, a lodge or Grand Lodge may request to use the Rathbone Bible, by contacting the Supreme Secretary.

TRY SOMETHING NEW
Many of our lodges have become stagnant, doing the same few programs each year. We cannot expect our members to show up for meetings if there is no new business to handle. We need to recruit and retain members. Many lodges seem unable to do this. We cannot keep repeating the same programs and expect different results. We must try some new things.
• The Supreme Lodge offers a wide variety of programs, but few lodges participate in all of these programs. I am asking each lodge to try at least one new program or project in each of the next two years. This can be one of the Supreme Lodge programs or one of your own, but please make an effort to TRY SOMETHING NEW.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS
This program has shown great success these last two years. We’ve shown that regardless of Nationality, we as Americans and Canadians have shown our support for the fine young men and women who are currently risking their lives fighting for our countries. Pythian Lodges can continue to work to support our troops in a variety of ways.
• They can adopt an individual veteran, a military family or a unit, to send cards, Emails of support or small packages filled with the necessities not available to them. Some lodges have started with a family relative of a Pythian and have used that individual as the initial contact to receive such things as soaps, toiletries, snacks, etc., who then in turn distributes the packages to their units to share.
• This is something that even small lodges, lodges with limited funds and lodges with many elderly members can participate in.
• If a unit or veteran with local connections is selected as the recipient, the recruiting of future Knights becomes a possibility.

HONOR LODGE PROGRAM
Subordinate lodges are of prime importance to our Order. There are many subordinate lodges throughout the Supreme Domain that are doing an outstanding job. They are participating in many community activities and are giving much to charity. These lodges are increasing in membership and promoting favorable name recognition for our Order (two of our important goals). The Honor Lodge Program is designed to honor these lodges and their hardworking officers; to spread the word to other Pythians of what great lodges are doing (who may learn from these examples); and to give subordinate lodges an incentive to overview their entire program.
A Knight who feels that his lodge is doing an outstanding job may fill out a form summarizing what the lodge has done in the past year. This must be signed by the lodge Secretary or Chancellor Commander and submitted to the Supreme Lodge Honor Lodge Program Committee Chairman. If the committee agrees that the lodge deserves the distinction of being designated an Honor Lodge, the lodge will receive a certificate and a letter of commendation from the Supreme Chancellor. Periodically, one or two of the Honor Lodges will be featured on the Supreme Lodge website. An honor roll of outstanding Lodges will be published. The Honor Lodges will also be recognized and congratulated by the Supreme Lodge Officer visiting officially at their Grand Convention.

COMMUNITY SERVICE AND VOLUNTEERISM
Benevolence is defined as an act of kindness or of charitable nature.
Charity is defined as an act or feeling of generosity; goodwill toward humanity.
Volunteerism is the act of a person voluntarily undertaking a service of Benevolence or Charity. As your Supreme Chancellor, I would like to challenge our membership to achieve the modest goal of donating 2 MILLION HOURS of Benevolent and Charitable service through Volunteering their time to their local communities.
Here are some examples of where our services are needed:
• Elementary schools; Many children are still struggling with their basic reading skills up to the ages of eight and nine years old. Many local programs exist that accept seniors (retired or not) and all adults willing to donate one hour a week of their time to read with a student.
• Senior Centers; many centers are in need of volunteers that will read to, play cards and board games with, or just talk with the seniors. Just one hour a week can brighten their (and even yours) day.
• Little Leagues, AYSO, Pop Warner and Community Centers; all of these organizations are in dire need of volunteers. What better way do you get to watch exciting sports action and help shape the youth of your community at the same time. Remember, ‘we’re doing this for the kids’.
• Homeless shelters and Women’s and Children’s shelters: during the holiday seasons, extra volunteers are always welcome to help feed our nation’s homeless, and those women and children that are in need. Remember, our first charity after the American Civil War was to take care of our Widows and Orphans, and those with no place to call home.
• Many of our subordinate lodges are fortunate enough to still own their Castle Halls. These lodges need to reach out to their respective communities and offer to other local organizations the use of their Castle Halls. Many High School teams (football, baseball, basketball, etc.) require the use of a large hall in which to hold their annual award ceremonies and banquets. Wouldn’t it be great if they were able to use these facilities at no cost to them. Some lodges already participate in this type of community outreach.
Whether you donate your time in your community to a local school, a homeless shelter, a senior’s center or your local Youth Sporting Leagues, as your Supreme Chancellor, I want to hear about it. The goal of donating 2 MILLION HOURS is very much an achievable goal. This represents a modest average of less than one hour per week, per member, per year. Those members that achieve a minimum of 100 hours per year will be recognized by a special certificate awarded by the Supreme Chancellor, presented at the Grand Convention by the Supreme Lodge Officer visiting officially, and will be posted on the Supreme Lodge website.
Subordinate lodges are encouraged to inquire of each of its members and to record the hours of volunteerism performed, along with the name and type of the organization receiving such services. Eligible hours are from June 1, 2008 through May 31, 2010. Every Deputy Supreme Chancellor will request the names from each subordinate lodge of the candidates that meet the requirements of this special honor and will report the same to the Supreme Chancellor.

WILL YOU DO YOUR PART IN ACHIEVING THE GOAL OF 2 MILLION HOURS?

COMMUNICATION
My goal is to continue encouraging communication between and among the Supreme Lodge, Grand Lodges, Subordinate Lodges and all members within our Pythian family of organizations.
• The Pythian International has always been our best source of communication with all members of our Pythian Order However, with the ever increasing costs of printing and mailing, the need to revise the format of the Pythian International is now. Printed editions of the Pythian International will be reduced, with additional editions to be posted on the Pythian Website.
• Deputy Supreme Chancellors are the most vital link of communication between the Grand Lodges and the Supreme Chancellor. They will be encouraged to have a thorough understanding of the Supreme Chancellor’s program. They should review this program with incoming Grand Lodge officers and discuss with them how best to implement it within their Domain.
• Each lodge is encouraged to have at least one Knight appointed to publicize to the community the good works that the lodge and its members are doing (using local media, such as local newspapers, radio and TV).
• Grand and Subordinate lodges are encouraged to publish newsletters to keep their membership informed. (All Supreme Officers would appreciate receiving a copy, too)
• Grand and Subordinate Lodges should consider starting a website promoting their Domain or lodge. These should be linked with the Supreme Lodge website.


DEPUTY SUPREME CHANCELLORS
The roll of a Deputy Supreme Chancellor is much more than an honorary position. DSCs will have important leadership and communication duties.
• DSCs should be very familiar with the programs of the Supreme Chancellor.
• DSCs are responsible to be sure that the programs of the Supreme Chancellor are properly disseminated to Grand and Subordinate lodges.
• Each DSC will be required to make a full, complete, fair and honest report of all activities involving membership acquisitions, M.A.P. Incentive Program, membership champions and volunteer hours, three times a year, to the Chief DSC. A new reporting form with reporting dates will be provided. These reports may be sent via regular mail or Email. (Should a DSC be unable to report promptly or otherwise fulfill his duties, a new DSC will be appointed)


RATHBONE HERITAGE SOCIETY
The Rathbone Memorial is located at the burial place of our Founder, Justus H. Rathbone, in Utica, NY and is a shrine to our Pythian Order. Please consider purchasing a paver block to honor your lodge, or a devoted Knight or Sister. This is an excellent way to memorialize a Brother, Sister or loved one who was a Pythian Member.
• Brochures are available from the Supreme Secretary’s office.

PUBLIC RELATIONS
Strive to improve name recognition of the Pythian Order in our local communities.
• Participate in local events such as parades, fairs and festivals. (Be sure to properly display the Pythian name)
• Seek local publicity for all charitable activities performed by your lodge.
• Contact the Supreme Public Relations Chairman for assistance.

POSTER/VISUAL ARTS CONTEST
• Any two dimensional medium may be used. (computer graphics, photography, stenciling, drawing, painting, etc.)
• The theme for submissions for the years 2009 and 2010 will be: Volunteer-Make a difference in your community. Students can show various ways they volunteer their time to make their communities a better place to live.
• Lodges are encouraged to contact the schools and teachers early in the school year. Not only art teachers, but guidance counselors, computer graphics teachers and club sponsors can help promote this contest to their students.
• The Supreme Secretary will distribute the rules for this contest well in advance of the start of the school year.

BOY SCOUTS CONNECTION PROGRAM
Continue the Eagle Scout / Queen’s Scout patch and certificate program. Whenever possible, have officers and members of the lodge present the patch and certificate at the appropriate Award Ceremonies.

JUNIOR ORDER
A Junior Order Chapter can be a big asset for any lodge. They can provide help on lodge projects and are prospective future members.
• Promotional packets are available from the Supreme Secretary.
• $100 ‘start-up’ money will be given to each newly initiated Junior Order Chapter.

MEDALLION PROGRAM
Bronze and Silver Pythian medallions are available from the Supreme Secretary.
• Presentations of one of these medallions is an excellent way to honor a local hero, police officer, Fire Fighter, teacher or outstanding citizen. This can also help to gain name recognition for the Order.
• These medallions can be used to recognize and honor outstanding Pythians.

ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE
Our Order is based upon the principles of Friendship, Charity and Benevolence. Please remember to keep this in mind when conducting all Pythian interactions. The Pythian Order has a great deal to offer good men of character, of all ages.
• Avoid petty bickering, actions based upon personal prejudice or jealousy at lodge meetings. Many potentially good members are lost or ‘turned-off’ this way.
• Acknowledge those men who have done a good job for the Order. Sometimes, we tend to take for granted those men who continue to serve at difficult jobs.