Everyone should be aware of the Annual Meeting coming up on Monday, March 8th. You received post cards in the mail and one of the mailings had the wrong date on the card. Please note that the correct date is the 8th, the second Monday of the Month (as is normal).
What isn’t normal is our start time. The meeting will begin at 6:00 PM (and hour early). We need to start promptly and move through our business because we only have the Elk’s Hall until 8PM.
Which brings up a third change! The meeting will not be held at the club facility. Instead, we will meet at the Franklin Elks Lodge (125 S Main St, Franklin, NH 03235). See the below link for the Google Map location if you want to use that for directions.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/FRANKLIN+ELKS+LODGE+1280/@43.4392591,-71.660663,17z
This year’s Annual Meeting agenda will combine the regular annual meeting (required by our Charter, and normally held in January) with our typical March agenda, where we evaluate the number of openings that we have and accept new members. Our charter has a membership cap and so new membership is only available when taking the place of someone who did not renew their membership at the end of last year. As has been the case for several years running, there are more prospective members on the waiting list than there are new openings. Those on the waiting list have been contacted with instructions. Please be in attendance and bring with you the items requested.
Prospective members have been asked to come early to complete paperwork – between 5:00 and 5:30. Anyone who is not there promptly (and has not made specific arrangements) may risk losing their spot on the list to the next person waiting. There are more prospective members than available slots, so please follow directions.
Good morning. I am interested in becoming a member and have a few questions. In one area on your site, you advise to mail in the application. In another area, you advise to bring the application along with the fees to a monthly meeting. Can you clarify which I should do please? Also, is it at the time of application that I submit a criminal records check? Or do I wait until accepted because that could take some time? Lastly, if I do not have a member sponsor, I am to get three letters of recommendation. Is that right? Thank you for clarifying.
-Katherine
Note that the member meeting has been postponed due to the weather forecast for tomorrow night. The meeting will be held instead on March 20th.
Most years, we accept new members only once per year. Once we have met our membership cap, applicants must wait until the next year for new openings. It is our March meeting where we review the available openings and accept new members, reviewing applications in the order in which they are received.
If you are submitting your application well ahead of the membership meeting, you would want to send it in by mail. That would get you a place on the waiting list. If you are submitting immediately before the meeting, bringing you application form with you would be smart, in case the form doesn’t arrive by mail.
You do need to bring the checks for the application and membership fees to the member meeting. The money will be collected only if you are accepted. The criminal records check is necessary before you receive your membership card. The background check (or NH Pistol License) is reviewed at your required member safety meeting, typically within a week or two after acceptance. If you do not have a background check at that time, you’re member card will be held until it is submitted.
Because of the weather postponement and how close the meeting is, I will send you an email to contact the club officer in charge of membership. He can advise you what to do before the meeting.