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Written by: Nominations Committee

Published: 08 February 2019

In following the by-laws of the Fraternity, we have formed a nominations committee for the exclusive reason of accepting applications and reviewing applicants for all board officer positions for our lodge. So, we are calling all Vienna Loyal Order of Moose Members! We are looking for enthusiastic business types to help lead our board into the future. If you are interested in running for an elected office, please make your intentions known by writing a message down and giving it to a board officer or nominations committee member. Please write your name, title of interested office, date, and signature on the letter.

Please address envelopes to the LOOM Nominating Committee.  Below is a list of important dates to remember!

 The following positions are accepting nominations:

• Governor
• Junior Governor
• Prelate
• Treasure
• Trustees (1st ,2nd ,3rd)

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Written by: Prelate Reporter

Published: 07 February 2019

Update 2/12/2019:  Gerry Piddington is having a celebration of life at the American Legion Post #177 on Thursday, February 14, 2019, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.  Everyone is invited to attend.

The Vienna Moose lost a chapter member on February 7, 2019.  Jenny Piddington died after an extended battle with cancer.  She and her entire family have been a huge part of this lodge for 40 years.  It hurts to know she is gone.  While she is known so well in our lodge, she is best known as a wife, mother, aunt, and godmother.  We ask that you please keep her and her family in your prayers.  Jenny, please know you have many friends that will miss you dearly.

Arrangements:

Friday, February 8, 2019:

• Viewing at Cloherty’s Funeral Home in Lilly Pennsylvania from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
• Service at 7:00 pm.

Saturday, February 9, 2019:

• A celebration of Life at Skols Club from Noon to 4:00 pm

A message from the family (Blair Piddington):

The support today has been so amazing. It’s lifted us up and made us realize how special my mom was, which we already knew.

In Lieu of Flowers, we are asking for donations to Grane Hospice in Altoona. They were amazing and took great care of Mom.

We are excited to have as many people as we can. We know we have a lot of people from out of town, and a lot from in town. If you can make Friday and Saturday, that would be amazing. If you can only make Saturday night, that would be great too. We want to celebrate Moms life with all the people she has reached through the years.

Please spread the word since this won’t be in the paper until possibly Saturday. Having Social media is an amazing tool. We know it’s a quick turnaround but family needs to be there and Saturday is a great day for us to celebrate. She loved some ice cold beers and loved people. Come out and see us.

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Written by: MIKE LEUER/General Governor

Published: 05 February 2019

Each lodge is preparing for the annual election of lodge officers. This article is an overview of the election process to help your lodge in this important task. The General Laws and the "Election of Lodge Officers Handbook" should be consulted. References to the sections below are from the General Laws.

1. Qualifications:

A. Governor/Jr. Governor/Prelate: Must be member of lodge at least six (6) months preceding the date of election. Treasurer/Trustee: An active member of the lodge. (Section 33.5)

B. Governor: Must have served a full term (12 consecutive months) in another elective office in lodge (not combination of offices). (Section 33.5)

C. Candidates for office must submit their names to the Nominating Committee at least one (1) week prior to the date the committee is required to present its report to the lodge. (Section 31.3)

D. All members submitting their names to the Nominating Committee for an elected office must have had training or will attend a training class within 60 days of being elected. 

2. Nominating Committee:

A. Appointment: Governor appoints members and generally is chairman. (Section 33.2)

B. Composition: Eight (8) elective officers of lodge, five (5) past Governors in order of juniority, five (5) members of lodge who are either appointed officers, committee chairman or Past Governors (more, if necessary.) (Section 33.2)

C. Responsibilities: To select at least one (1) member for each elected office to be filled. Must consider any qualified candidate for office who submits his name. Nominations must be based upon the members' qualifications, his desire to run and availability to fulfill the duties of the office. May nominate more than one (1) member for a particular office. (Section 33.3)

3. Petitions:

A. Any eligible member, who submitted his name for a specific office, but not nominated, still desiring to run for that office, shall have his name placed on the ballot by petition. (Section 33.4)

B. The petition must contain signatures of lodge members in good standing (active) of not less than 10% of the first 500 members plus 5% of the members over 500. (Section 33.4)

C. All petitions must be submitted to the Administrator at least one (1) week prior to election. (Section 33.4)

D. Any member nominated who declines the nomination may not then petition for the office declined. (Section 33.4)

4. Election:

A. Only members in good standing and physically present are eligible to vote for the election of officers – no absentee ballots or proxy votes allowed. (Section 33.8)

B. Conducted at the first (regular) meeting in April. The election must follow the report of the Nominating Committee by at least two(2) weeks. (Section 33.3)

C. Governor appoints three (3) good standing members, who are not candidates for elective office, to serve as an Election Committee. (Section 33.6)

D. If a majority of the membership votes at a meeting at least two(2) weeks prior to the election, the Australian ballot maybe used. (Section 33.8)

E. The lodge is NOT required to send out notice of the election to membership or post in lodge. 

5. Questions?

Carefully study the portions of the General Laws pertaining to elections, and the Election of Lodge Officers Handbook that can be found on-line at www.mooseintl.org.  Inquire by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or fax questions to 630-966-2208. Call 630-966-2207 if necessary to answer your questions.

* Please note: All Governors and Administrators are required to attend all state, association, International Conventions and conferences by virtue of the office they hold. Lodges will be held accountable if either of these officers (or the lodge's alternate delegates who may serve as a representative) does not attend unless an excusable reason is given. Penalties can range from lodge social quarters being closed or action against the officer.

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Written by: Dan Sullivan

Published: 08 January 2019

Registration and housing for the 2019 International Moose Convention in Las Vegas are now open via the Moose International website. The June 27 – July 1 Convention promises to be exciting for first-time attendees as well as those that have participated in the past. New workshop offerings, more concise general sessions and first-class evening events promise to deliver a memorable week for all involved. Bally’s Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas will be our host hotels for this event and all meetings will take place within these interconnected properties. For more information, please visit www.moose2019LasVegas.org or the Moose website www.mooseintl.org.

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Written by: Mike Wright

Published: 21 December 2018

During this season of giving and thanking, we wanted to express our appreciation to you for being part of the Moose community in 2018.

As this year comes to a close, I would like to reflect on the past year.  We have endured many tough issues that have tested our lodge’s metal.  We are glad to finally turn the page on our former lodge administrator that has been jailed and is repaying the lodge for past transgressions.  While this first part of this message is partly negative, we have so much to be positive about at this year-end.

As we move forward, we are working hard around the lodge to improve our lodge’s infrastructure.  This last month you may have noticed the first phase of media improvements to the main hall like the two new 70-inch TV’s.  This is to help us in gaining and acquiring new business rentals.  We even managed to rent the main hall three times since December 1st.

Continuing with the infrastructure improvements, we have also installed a new commercial dishwasher with the help of our generous benefactor Newmarket Gaming.  They greatly helped in the cost of the project.  It should be noted that Newmarket also helped in our hugely successful Birthday / Christmas party too.  Thank you, Newmarket Gaming, for helping us with our projects!

We also want to mention that we are in the third phase of our acquiring a Wine License through the state of Virginia.  The lodge has jumped through many hurdles to get this approved including weeks of announcements in the Washington Post, new employee training, and resending duplicate documents many times.  There should be nothing more the lodge needs to do before we have our new license in the coming year!

Now onto our community donations and volunteering, to update everyone this holiday season, we have donated to the Shepherd's Center that supports and enriches the lives of older adults, enabling them to live independently, with lives of purpose and dignity.  We also made a donation to the Optimist Club of Vienna that helps students who are attending James Madison High School, George Marshall High School, Oakton High School, as well as local scout troops, sports teams, and youth groups too!  And finally, we will be holding our jacket and blanket drive through the end of January 2019.  We have already dropped off three box loads of jackets and blankets to the non-profit “Committee for Helping Others” in Vienna.

As the Christmas holiday is upon us, I would like to personally thank all the members that have helped in so many ways.  I want to thank my amazing board of officers Carl Thomas, Joe Glass, Dan Sullivan, John Sabo, Jaime Connelly, Greg Kunstbeck, Bruce Chappell, Gerry Piddington for their continued support.  To Matt Steel for joining our team as our newest bartender, to Gwen Smith for her unending work to feed the troops and guests with her amazing culinary skills, to Sharron for helping us to keep our books straight, to Bunky Clark for filling in where needed, thanks!  If I missed thanking someone, thanks to every one of our lodge.  You make working here a pleasure.

As we continue our efforts in 2019, we are expanding with even more events. We have a great New Year’s Eve party for the 31st.  If you want to come, we have tickets available in the Social Quarters and online.  We are hosting a new Cornhole league on Tuesday nights here at the lodge in January.  This will bring in a whole new group of new members to our lodge.  We hope you will all join us and invite your friends for some fun games.  These games will coincide with a new membership drive too.  Stay tuned for the amazing details in January! Oh, and don’t forget about the NFL playoff games starting in January too!  Gwen is planning on themed food for each playoff game!

In closing, while we have had some tough points in the past year, we are on a better footing as a lodge than we were a year ago.  And, I equate it to the positive work and energy from so many members like you.  As we celebrate our 60th birthday as a lodge, I invite you all to rededicate yourself as a Moose member and find your own way to help in any way you choose. If there is something you want to help out with, just say so.  Please join a committee to make our lodge and community better.  Here is to an even better 2019!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Written by: Dan Sullivan

Published: 06 November 2018

As the weather starts to cool and the holiday season is upon us, it reminds us that it is that time of year that gives us so much joy.  And, no it is not eating too much turkey at Thanksgiving or the gifts we receive at Christmas.  It is that our lodge finds its self-able to continue to give back to our community.  For our first quarter of the year, our lodge received a community service report grade of "Excellent" for our giving from Moose International.  Our second quarter report has been filed.

During the last quarter, we gave to three community service projects.  Our first and biggest was to the Moose International Centennial fund (www.moosehaven.org).  The Centennial Fund is to help build and maintain our newest addition to Moosehaven.  The Moosehaven Centennial Project is a three-story, 105-unit apartment building that will serve the purpose of accommodating the growing population at Moosehaven.  As a substantive, dynamic housing option the Moosehaven Centennial Project will improve the quality of life for traditional residents by offering in-house kitchen and dining, up to date technologies, modern construction, and other superior amenities.

Our second donation for the second quarter was to Safe Surfin Foundation (www.safesurfin.org).  Through its interactive website, special events, printed materials, PSAs, and other educational opportunities, Safe Surfin' educates the public about Internet crimes involving children. Safe Surfin’ works with the U.S. Department of Justice, school systems, public libraries that offer Internet access, law enforcement agencies, and corporate sponsors to expand its educational outreach. Safe Surfin’ seeks donations from individuals and corporations to further its mission.

And finally, our third donation was to TAPS (www.taps.org).  The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) offers compassionate care to all those grieving the loss of a loved one who died while serving in our Armed Forces or as a result of his or her service. Since 1994, TAPS has provided comfort and hope 24/7 through a national peer support network and connection to grief resources, all at no cost to surviving families and loved ones.  TAPS has assisted more than 80,00 surviving families, casualty officers, and caregivers over the years.

We want to thank the members that continue to frequent our lodge and make purchases in the Social Quarters.  It is your purchases and donations during the 9’O clock ceremony each week that allows us to do more.  As always, we are looking for those members that wish to help out with our community service projects.  If you are interested in helping or forming a committee to work for our community, please let a board officer know.  We need everyone’s help this holiday season.  Again, thanks for everyone’s help.  Here is wishing you and your families a safe and happy holiday season.

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Written by: Dan Sullivan

Published: 27 October 2018

It is with sadness and a heavy heart that we report that Violet Gale “Gay” Neary died yesterday on Friday, October 26, 2018.  Gay was a long-time member and employee at our lodge.  We have very little knowledge of her death at this time.  Please keep Gay and her family and friends in your prayers as they go through this tough time.  Our thoughts and prayers are with her.

Update 10/29/2018:

Gay's family will be having a funeral service on Thursday, November 1, 2018, from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM at Jefferson Funeral Chapel (5755 Castlewellan Drive Alexandria, VA 22315).  

For more information and an obituary please, click here.

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Written by: Moose Leader Reporter

Published: 25 October 2018

With an impressive array of dignitaries present, Moosehaven on Oct. 19 formally dedicated the Moosehaven Centennial Building, the largest celebration to-date as the three-year project continues.

The Centennial Project also includes conversion of Vivian Borom Hall to the Vivian Borom Activity Center as well as a new parking area for bicycles and tricycles. The Centennial Building is the centerpiece of the $10 million project, and its estimated cost is $9.7 million. The entire project is set to be completed in 2019.

Construction on the Centennial Building continues. Move-in of residents will begin following completion. Among improvements to Moosehaven residents’ living experiences in the new building are: 

• Larger apartments with individual outdoor spaces and fully-compliant Americans With Disabilities Act bathrooms.
• Wider hallways to accommodate indoor scooters, including power chair parking.
• Improved technology and two-way nurse call communications. 
• A centralized dining hall and adjacent kitchen. 

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Written by: Walt Zurowski

Published: 22 October 2018

Oftentimes when visiting and meeting Lodge members or attending a Moose Legion Celebration in another Lodge or jurisdiction, I am frequently asked by members, “Why should I join the Moose Legion?” or “What benefit is there in Moose Legion membership?” My response is normally “Why would you not want to join?”  Just think of the many benefits that await you if you elevate to the Degree of Service.

Moose Legionnaires are members of a higher degree with the purpose of assisting our Lodges by supporting fraternal programs and having fun in the process.  Moose Legion membership gives you an opportunity to participate in the many activities and events of the Lodge and to also provide you with the ability to do even more for your Lodge.

Not only is your Lodge membership critical to the success of our fraternity, but you also enjoy the family bonds unique to the Moose.  Our members typically look out for one another while our Lodges provide a safe environment for your family and friends which the Moose Legion is noted for.

It is also Moose Legionnaires that are in the forefront when it comes to supporting the many aspects of Moose Charities.  Typically, these committees lead the way during our monthly committee meetings and often are first to support the Cradle or Rocker fund appeals.  Our current President’s project is to provide a projector for the Mooseheart campus while also providing commercial washers and dryers for our residents of Moosehaven.  Again, another case of Moose Legionnaires are leading by example.

Additionally, elevating to the Moose Legion gives you an advantage for advancement that others lack.  Moose Legion membership is the first step for advancement to the higher degrees of our Order, specifically the Fellowship and Pilgrim degrees.

There are, of course, more tangible benefits to becoming a Moose Legionnaire but foremost is the fulfillment of our sacred pledge “To do some go thing for someone each day.”  If you are currently a Moose Legionnaire, thank you for your membership and remaining current.  We ask you to offer your fellow Lodge members an opportunity to join our cause and invite them to become a Proud Moose Legionnaire.  Eligible new members can be found.  You probably already know some.  Just ask; “Are you a Moose Legionnaire?”

If you love the Moose Legion as much as I do, please continue to renew, recruit and retain our members.  Moose Legionnaires are Moose on a Mission and we do indeed support all aspects of the Moose fraternity.  It is an honor to continue to serve beside all of you.

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Written by: Mike Rios (Membership Chairman for Moose International)

Published: 17 October 2018

I was recently sitting alone contemplating my journey in life and questioning my contribution to society. We all have moments when we wonder whether or not we’re making a difference or whether or not anyone is paying attention.

From my phone came a familiar tone, indicating a new text message on Messenger. It was a Moose brother that I had never met, encouraging me and pledging his support. He had no way of knowing that I had “one of those days” and just how much I appreciated the message. What does this have to do with membership, you ask? EVERYTHING!

Sometimes we forget that we are a part of something bigger and we all need to work together and encourage each other. I do what I do to give back to something that has given me purpose. Sometimes, we all need a little encouragement. We’re all different but we’re all the same.

We inherently want to do good things and we want to see the fruits of our labors. We have the same purpose but (sometimes) different ideas. We understand that we can’t help everyone, but we can certainly help someone. We need to reach out to others within our lodge, chapter, Moose Legion, Moose Riders or Valued Veterans. We need to recognize the quiet member sitting in the corner or someone we haven’t seen at the lodge in a while. We may be surprised to find that they are just waiting to see if someone even cares enough to send them a message or pick up the phone and call to check on them.

The “sign and forget” process should be a thing of the past. I’m going through the list of all the members that I have signed and encouraging them; will you do the same? Our membership production is great but our membership retention is horrible! Maybe it’s time we personalize our efforts. I’m willing, are you? Let’s make it our personal mission. We are MOOSE and WE are definitely ON A MISSION!