Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/192534
Constitution & Laws Revisions Mandated by the Delegates of the 2010 National Convention By definition, our Constitution and Laws is a framework. It is a legal document that defines the fundamental principles and laws adopted for the regulation and governing of NCSF. Since the early days of our Society, our document has undergone partial revisions multiple times. Then, during the 2010 National Convention, the delegates recognized the need for taking a total look at our Constitution and Laws. The motion they passed says: " move that a committee be established to carefully go through the current Constitution and I Laws of the National Catholic Society of Foresters to look for wording and concepts that should be changed in order to meet the current needs of the Society and its members; and that said committee include persons who are knowledgeable on current legal considerations affecting the governance and functioning of entities such as NCSF, and that the committee make its recommendations to the national delegates who are the governing body from the time of this 2010 quadrennial convention until the 2014 convention." Thus, the work of doing a thorough revision became the responsibility of the current Board. In 2012, the American Fraternal Alliance Conference provided workshops that proved to be a tremendous help in this revisions project. NCSF Board members and executive officers had the benefit of a session that was devoted specifically to constitution changes implemented by other fraternals. We asked Mel Rambo, the presenter of that AFA workshop, to assist NCSF with fulfilling the mandate of our delegates. During part of our December board meeting, Mr. Rambo guided us through our entire document, making suggestions toward revising words and concepts. The Board received additional comments and input from Harvey Bergholz (the consultant from Jeslen Corporation), from NCSF attorney Michael Ciesla and from Illinois insurance department examiners. Equipped with guidance from these professionals, the constitution task force and other Board members began the revision work. Then, the full Board met in July 2013 for a special session to continue analyzing the document while factoring in the requirements of Illinois insurance law as well as the comments, suggestions, and recommendations of the experts. One recommendation from Mr. Rambo was that the articles pertaining to courts (Articles VIII through XI) become part of a court handbook rather than be included in a foundational document like the Constitution and Laws. As this magazine issue goes to the printer, the revisions of our Constitution and Laws are almost ready to go to the 2010 delegates and to the State. A representative from the State of Illinois Insurance Dept. said that they are very busy right now with these kinds of requests from others who have had conventions and are revising their Constitutions. We will try for expedited handling in order to have ours back as soon as possible. AUGUST 7-10, 2014 is the NATIONAL CONVENTION!! Attention Members: The Call for Candidates will be in the Winter 2014 issue of the magazine (in homes January 2014)! Qualifications for positions, as well as all other details, will be included. Fall 2013 — www.ncsf.com 15