Lodge Bylaws
The totem of the Lodge shall be the Crawling Indian.
The Lodge Flap shall include the following:
- Lodge Name: “Semialachee 239” or “Semialachee Lodge 239”
- Lodge Totem: The Crawling Indian (unless prior authorization is given by the Lodge Executive Committee)
- Scouting America emblem: fleur-de-lis
- All OA patch sets must have a WWW
The requirements for good standing as an active member in the Lodge are:
- Remain registered with Scouts America in the SRAC #664 including having paid all dues for the current year.
- Have paid all Lodge annual dues for the current year.
All active members in good standing are entitled to:
- Wear the Lodge Flap
- Participate in Lodge functions
- Become a Brotherhood member
- Be considered for Vigil Honor
Active youth members in good standing are entitled to:
- Vote on Lodge matters
- Run for Lodge Office
Membership in the Order of the Arrow is contingent on membership in good standing in Scouts America. All members in the Order of the Arrow must maintain current registration with Scouts America.
Requirements for membership in the Lodge shall follow the policies in the current Order of the Arrow Handbook, or the most current "Operations Update" provided by the Order of the Arrow National Committee.
Procedures for the election of candidates and adult nominations shall be in accordance with the current OA National policies and limited to one (1) election per charter year, per Scouts America, Sea Scouts, or Venturing unit.
Elections for the current year should be held before the council’s Summer Camp Family night.
Procedures for the Ordeal shall be as stated in the current Guide to Inductions, or as prescribed in the most recent “Operations Update” provided by the Order of the Arrow National Committee on the official national Order of the Arrow website.
When possible, the LodgeMaster Inductions portal should be used.
Completion of Brotherhood membership shall be in accordance with the requirements in the current printing of the Order of the Arrow Handbook, or the most current "Operations Update" and the Order of the Arrow Guide for Officers and Advisers.
A Brotherhood sash will be provided by the Lodge.
Attainment of the Vigil Honor shall be in accordance with the requirements in the current printing of the Order of the Arrow Handbook, or the most current "Operations Update", and the Order of the Arrow Guide for Officers and Advisers.
Fees associated with the attainment of the Vigil Honor shall be borne by the Lodge.
The Lodge Chief shall appoint a Vigil Honor Selection Committee Chairperson, who is a Vigil Honor member under the age of twenty-one (21), for the purpose of selecting Vigil Honor candidates for the current lodge year.
The Lodge Chief shall also appoint at least one member under the age of twenty-one (21) who is not yet eligible for the Vigil Honor to be a member of the Selection Committee.
The Lodge Advisor shall appoint an adult advisor for the Vigil Honor Selection Committee. The selection process shall be by vote of the members on the Selection Committee.
The Lodge Executive Officers are as follows:
- Lodge Chief
- Vice-Chief of Programs
- Vice-Chief of Finance
- Vice-Chief of Inductions
- Communications
- Historian
- Chaplin’s Aid
- Ceremonies Chairperson
- Drum & Dance Chairperson
- Previous Lodge Chief
Other Lodge Officers may include Lodge Committee Chairpersons or other Lodge Executive Committee (LEC) members.
The Lodge Executive Officer term of service shall be the length of one year, beginning immediately following officer installation during the Lodge Banquet. Each incoming Lodge Officer shall utilize the time between election and installation to shadow the Officer they will be replacing.
The term of service of appointed or other Lodge Officers shall be from their appointment until their position is no longer needed.
All Lodge Officers must be active members in good standing and under twenty-one (21) years of age for the duration of their term in office.
To run for Lodge Chief the member must have previously served one (1) full term as a Lodge Executive Officer.
Both Ceremonies Chairperson and Drum & Dance Chairperson must be existing members of their respective team.
The duties and responsibilities of the Lodge leadership and Chapter leadership is defined by decision of the LEC in the form of a document entitled “Lodge Officer Responsibilities” and shall be posted on the Lodge website.
All LEC members are expected to attend all Lodge events as well as both Section Leadership Summit and Section Conclave.
The Lodge Chief is required to attend both Section Leadership Summit and Section Conclave.
Members may only hold one (1) Lodge Office at a time (this includes non-voting positions).
The Lodge Chief and/or Lodge Executive Officers shall appoint such Lodge Committees and associated Committee Chairpersons as may be required from time to time.
The Lodge Chief and/or Lodge Executive Officers shall develop a list of expectations, details of responsibility, and which Lodge Executive Officer the Committee will report to.
The Lodge Chief and/or Lodge Executive Officers shall have the authority to remove any Committee Chairperson before the end of their term if deemed necessary.
The LEC membership shall be comprised of the Lodge Executive Officers, Lodge Advisor, Lodge Associate Advisors, SRAC #664 Scout Executive, and Lodge Staff Advisor.
The Lodge Chief may appoint non-voting members to the LEC as needed.
The voting members of the LEC shall include the Lodge Executive Officers except the Lodge Chief who shall only vote in the event of a tie.
The Previous Lodge Chief is not required to sit on the LEC, but may do so at their discretion. Should the Previous Lodge Chief choose to serve as a member of the LEC they will receive a vote but and will not count against quorum in the event of their absence.
In the event that the Ceremonies Chairperson or the Drum & Dance Chairperson Offices are vacant, their reports will be given but they will not have a vote until such time as they can appoint a viable candidate.
LEC voting members are only allowed a single vote.
All LEC meetings shall be governed by the simplified Parliamentary Procedures.
The LEC will meet once every two months or as needed. A special meeting may be called at the discretion of the Lodge Chief, the Lodge Staff Advisor, or the Lodge Advisor.
A quorum of the LEC is defined as one half plus one (50% + 1) of voting members.
Members may attend LEC meetings either in person or virtually.
Any youth LEC member (voting or non-voting) may make motions.
In the event that an officer is unable to attend a meeting, they are responsible for providing a report either via electronic methods or by a member in attendance. This member must be an active Lodge member in good standing and will not receive a vote.
The Lodge Chief may, with the advice and consent of the Lodge Advisor, remove Lodge Officers or LEC members who are negligent in their duties.
Any Lodge Officer or Committee Chairperson can resign with a formal, written letter to the Lodge Chief, Lodge Advisor, and Staff Advisor. For a Lodge Chief’s resignation, the letter shall be addressed to the LEC, Lodge Advisor, and Staff Advisor.
In the event of the resignation of the Lodge Chief, the Lodge Advisor will appoint a temporary Lodge Chief until a special election can be held.
In the event that any Lodge Executive Officer is unable to fulfill their duties, a letter of resignation shall be submitted to the Executive Committee, and a temporary officer to complete the former’s term of office shall be appointed by the Lodge Chief with the approval of the LEC.
Any elected Lodge Executive Officer may be impeached by a majority vote of the LEC. The impeached Lodge Officer shall be notified in writing of such.
If any Lodge Executive Officer is not present at two (2) consecutive LEC meetings without a reasonable excuse, they shall be removed from their office, and the LEC shall take action to replace them.
Replacement of any Lodge Executive Officer shall be in accordance with the vacancy procedures set forth herein. Replacement of Committee Chairperson shall be within the Lodge Chief’s discretion.
Any vacant Lodge Officer position will not count against quorum.
Advisors
Lodge Associate Advisors shall be appointed by the Lodge Advisor with discussion from the Lodge Staff Advisor and Lodge Chief.
The Lodge Advisor and Lodge Associate Advisors shall advise their Lodge Officers and Lodge Committee Chairperson but the decision of the Lodge Officer or Lodge Committee Chairperson shall be final. Any veto by the Lodge Advisor, Lodge Associate Advisors, Lodge Staff Advisor, and/or Scout Executive should be limited to violation of BSA or OA policy, health & safety issues, or proper Scouting decorum.
Lodge Advisors may not vote in any lodge business.
To be eligible to hold a Lodge Office, a member must be under the age of twenty-one (21) and a member in good standing with Scouts America and the Lodge.
Members wishing to run for a Lodge Office must have approval by the Lodge Advisor and the Lodge Associate Advisor for that office two weeks prior to the election. In the absence of the Lodge Advisor, the nominee must have approval by the Lodge Staff Advisor.
Nominations and elections for Lodge Officers shall be held at the general Lodge meeting during the Lodge Summer Ordeal event.
Each nominated candidate will have 3 minutes to speak before the Lodge members present and for the Lodge members to ask the candidate questions. During this time, the other candidates nominated for that Lodge Office will be accompanied out of earshot of the discussion by two Lodge adults (consistent with Scouts America YPT policy).
Each member of the voting body shall have one (1) vote to elect one (1) candidate for each Lodge Office for which an election is being held.
The vote shall be taken by secret, paper ballot.
The candidate receiving the majority of votes cast for each Lodge Office shall be elected.
If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes shall be removed from the ballot and the vote shall be taken again.
If an LEC vote is needed on a matter before the next LEC meeting, then that vote can take place virtually using a SRAC #664 approved communication method.
Proxy voting is not permitted in any Lodge or LEC meeting.
All OA funds shall be handled through the SRAC #664 Service Center using all normal SRAC #664 accounting procedures.
Financial policies are to be suggested by the Finance Committee and approved by the LEC.
Lodge dues are collected annually on a calendar year basis (January 1 to December 31).
Dues of this Lodge shall be monitored throughout the year by the Vice Chief of Finance and the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee will recommend increases in Lodge dues as necessary.
Any increases in dues shall be approved by the LEC no later than November 30th in the year prior to the dues increase taking effect.
Lodge year shall be defined as Lodge banquet to Lodge banquet, unless no banquet is held, in which case the new Lodge year will begin on January the 1st.
The Lodge Bylaws shall be reviewed by LEC at least annually.
Before any vote to amend the Lodge Bylaws, all members of the Lodge must be notified via electronic communication at least 30 days prior to the vote.
Amendments to the Lodge Bylaws can be made by the LEC or the Lodge as follows:
Amendments by LEC
Any current LEC member can propose an amendment to the Lodge Bylaws using standard Parliamentary Procedure.
If the LEC votes to approve the proposed amendment, the advanced notice shall be provided to the entire Lodge that an LEC Bylaw amendment vote will take place at the next LEC meeting (as provided in 6.1.B).
Adoption of the proposed Lodge Bylaw amendment requires 2/3 approval from the voting members of the LEC.
Amendment by Lodge
Any active member in good standing may petition for a proposed amendment to the Lodge Bylaws by acquiring signatures from 1/3 of the active youth members. Signatures can be obtained via electronic methods, but shall be able to be verified.
Once all required signatures are obtained the member may bring the proposed amendment to the LEC who will then notify the Lodge of the voting date for the proposed Lodge Bylaw amendment (as provided in 6.1.B).
Adoption of the proposed Lodge Bylaw amendment requires 2/3 approval of the voting body present as long as quorum has been reached (4.2.A).
The Lodge Bylaws shall become binding upon approval of the LEC.
Any Lodge Bylaw amendments will become effective immediately upon passage by either the LEC or the Lodge.