Article I: Name, Insignia, and Affiliation

1.01: This Lodge shall be henceforth known as Takhone (tah-co-nay) Lodge 7 of the Boy Scouts of America.

1.02: This Lodge shall be affiliated with Pathway to Adventure Council (number 456) of the Boy Scouts of America, under direct administrative supervision of the Lodge Staff Adviser, and under the direct authority of the Council Scout Executive, who serves as the Supreme Chief of the Fire.

1.03: The totem of this lodge is a Canoe Paddle.

1.04: All Lodge branding and logos must be approved by the LEC

1.05: All flaps of the Lodge must be approved by the LEC.

1.06 Chapters shall not have their own chapter flap but may have chapter patches and chapter merchandise subject to LEC approval (see Section 5.11).

Article II: Election to Membership

2.01: The requirements for membership in Takhone Lodge are as stated in the current printing of the Order of the Arrow Handbook, published by the National Order of the Arrow Committee of the Boy Scouts of America, and as defined by the National Order of the Arrow Committee.

2.02: Procedures for unit elections and nominations are as stated in the current printing of the Order of the Arrow Handbook and as defined by the National Order of the Arrow Committee.

2.03: The Lodge will make every effort to hold a unit election or visitation for every unit in the Council annually.

2.04: Every effort shall be made to have unit elections conducted by Order of the Arrow members not affiliated with the unit holding an election. At least one member of the election team must be under twenty-one (21) years of age.

2.05: All unit elections shall be completed annually according to National Order of the Arrow Policy.

2.06: Attainment of the Brotherhood membership shall be in accordance with National Order of the Arrow Policy

2.07: Attainment of the Vigil Honor shall be in accordance with National Order of the Arrow Policy.

2.08: There shall be no honorary membership of this Lodge

Article III: Lodge Executive Committee

Takhone Lodge will be governed by the Lodge Executive Committee (LEC).

3.01: The Lodge Executive Committee shall consist of the following members:

  1. Lodge Officers and Advisers
  2. Chapter Chiefs and Advisers
  3. Committee Chairmen and Advisers
  4. Council Scout Executive or appointed representative
  5. Designated council camp(s) representative

3.02: The Lodge Executive Committee shall have at least eight (8) regularly scheduled Lodge Executive Committee meetings per calendar year.

3.03: The Lodge Key 7, or the Lodge Officers, shall consist of the following members:

  1. Lodge Chief:
  2. Lodge Vice Chief of Operations:
  3. Lodge Vice Chief of Program:
  4. Lodge Vice Chief of Chapters:
  5. Lodge Vice Chief of Inductions:
  6. Lodge Vice Chief of Communications:
  7. Lodge Vice Chief of Finances

3.04: The Lodge Key 3 shall consist of the following members:

  • Lodge Chief
  • Lodge Adviser
  • Council Scout Executive or appointed representative

3.05: The Lodge Chief and Chapter Chiefs can create ad hoc committees when they deem fit

3.06: The minutes and other pertinent information from Lodge Executive Committee meetings will be provided to all members and placed on the Lodge website in a timely manner.

3.07: In the event that an elected Lodge Officer or Chapter Officer shall commit gross misconduct inconsistent with the standard of behavior of a member of the Boy Scouts of America and the Order of the Arrow, or shall fail to perform the duties of their office after being warned by the Lodge Adviser/Chapter Adviser, they shall be subject to removal from office in accordance with the following procedure:

  1. A petition to remove the Key 7 or Chapter officer, which specifies the reason(s) for their removal, is signed and agreed to by three Lodge Officers, and is signed by at least fifteen (15) dues-paid youth members of the Lodge, shall be submitted to the Lodge Adviser.
  2. The Lodge Adviser will forward the petition to the Lodge Staff Adviser and Supreme Chief of the Fire and thereafter convene a meeting with the youth officer in question to review the merits of the petition. In the case of a Chapter Officer, the Chapter Adviser shall be a part of the meeting with the Chapter Officer.
  3. Following such a meeting, the Supreme Chief of the Fire, the Lodge Adviser, and the Lodge Staff Adviser shall determine whether to remove the officer or to allow the officer to continue the term of their office.

3.08: A quorum is defined as four (4) or more members of the Lodge Key 7 being present at a regularly scheduled LEC meeting. The Lodge Adviser or their designee will also need to be present. The designee
must be a dues-paid adult member (twenty-one (21) years of age or older) of the Lodge.

3.09: The rules contained in the most recent Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the proceedings of the Lodge where applicable and not inconsistent with the bylaws of the Lodge. The Lodge Chief or their designee will serve in the position of “chairman of the board” as defined by Robert’s Rules of Order.

Article IV: Officer and Advisers

4.01: The elected Lodge officers and their overall responsibilities are as follows:

  1. Lodge Chief
  2. Lodge Vice Chief of Operations
  3. Lodge Vice Chief of Program
  4. Lodge Vice Chief of Chapters
  5. Lodge Vice Chief of Inductions
  6. Lodge Vice Chief of Communications
  7. Lodge Vice Chief of Finance

4.02: The specific roles and responsibilities of all LEC Members are set forth in the “Takhone Lodge Officer and Chairman Roles and Responsibilities” guide.

4.03: All Lodge or chapter officers and Lodge or chapter chairmen of Takhone Lodge must be under the age of twenty-one (21) for the entire duration of their term.

4.04: Additional duties may be assigned to the LEC members by the Lodge Chief as deemed necessary for the successful operation of the Lodge.

4.05: A vacancy in the office of Lodge Chief shall be filled by a Lodge Vice Chief, succeeding in the order of election (see Section 8.08), until one vice chief is approved by both the Lodge Adviser and the LEC with a majority vote of the votes cast. Vacancies in other Lodge offices shall be filled by nomination of the Lodge Chief, after consultation with the appropriate advisers and majority approval of the votes cast at the LEC meeting.

4.06: A vacancy in the office of Chapter Chief shall be filled by the Chapter Vice Chief. Vacancies in other Chapter offices shall be filled by an election at the next Chapter meeting.

4.07: The Council Scout Executive shall appoint the Lodge Adviser and Staff Adviser in accordance with the “Guide for Officers and Advisers”. All advisers shall be at least twenty-one (21) years of age.

4.08: The Council Scout Executive or a designee, with the assistance of the Lodge Adviser, shall appoint all Advisers in accordance with the “Guide for Officers and Advisers”. All Advisers shall be at least twenty-one (21) years of age.

4.09: Every Lodge Officer and Committee Chairmen, Chapter Officer and Committee Chairmen must have an adult adviser that must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age.

Article V: Chapters

5.01: All Chapters affiliated under Takhone Lodge act as a component of Takhone Lodge and exist to support the district(s) with which they are associated

5.02: Chapters may have their own name and totem as long as they do not conflict with Lodge name, totem, and insignia designated in Article I.

5.03: A chapter may select a new name or totem by a majority vote of dues paid, youth members performed at a regular chapter meeting and the approval of the Lodge Key 3.

5.04: In the event that Council performs a re-districting, all chapter names of the affected chapters shall revert to the name of the district they support (in the event that a chapter supports more than one district, the name shall become a hyphenated version of those districts.)

5.05: With the approval of the Lodge Key 3, the LEC will vote at a regular meeting to form new Chapters or to consolidate existing Chapters. One council district may not have more than one Chapter.

5.06: The elected Chapter officers and their overall responsibilities are as follows

  1. Chapter Chief
  2. Chapter Vice Chief
  3. Chapter Secretary

5.07: The specific roles and responsibilities of all Chapter Officers are set forth in the “Takhone Lodge Officer and Chairman Roles and Responsibilities” guide

5.08: Chapters must elect new Chapter Officers within a month of the election of new Lodge Officers. If the Chapter does not elect officers within that one-month period, the Key 7 will facilitate an election at the chapter’s next meeting.

5.09: Chapters may host their own events.

5.10: The Lodge will conduct all Ordeal and Vigil Inductions. Chapters may host their own Brotherhood induction events with the approval of the LEC.

5.11: All chapter branding and merchandise must follow rules stated in Section 1.04

Article VI: Dues and Finances

 

6.01: An annual budget must be approved by the LEC every Lodge officer cycle and no Lodge money may be spent without a budget in place.

6.02: Any money to be spent that is not included in the budget must be approved by the LEC before the money can be spent.

6.03: Chapters may not have their own financial accounts but are able to have a budget to help support chapter operations.

6.04: Chapters are allowed to fundraise for an explicit predetermined cause approved by the LEC and Chapter. Excessive funds raised will not roll over to the next year of operation. In the case of a larger fundraising operations, the Lodge will hold all funds raised until requested by the chapter and approved by the LEC.

6.05: To receive a reimbursement from the Lodge for expenses, the Council procedures must be followed and are posted on the Lodge website. In addition, all reimbursement requests must be submitted within thirty (30) days of the purchase.

6.06: The Lodge will not accept lifetime membership from any previous Lodges. The Lodge will never offer lifetime membership.

6.07: To be considered a current member of Takhone Lodge, a member must have their dues paid for the current year.

6.08: If the Lodge Key 3 deems necessary, the Lodge is able to take on costs to help send Arrowmen to events and trainings

6.09: Lodge dues shall be made up of two portions: the fee required by National for membership and the fee required by the Lodge. Changes in the National fee shall be automatically reflected in dues collected by the Lodge. The fee specified by the Lodge must be approved by a majority vote of the LEC at the time of budget approval.

Article VII: Lodge Activities

7.01: The Lodge will make every effort possible to hold at least the following events each year:

  1. A winter banquet
  2. At least two (2) Fellowships
  3. At least three (3) Ordeal Induction opportunities
  4. At least two (2) Brotherhood induction opportunities
  5. At least one (1) Vigil induction opportunity
  6. A Service day or weekend for camps not hosting a fellowship
  7. A Lodge Leadership Development Course

 

Article VIII: Election Policy and Procedures

8.01: The election of Lodge Officers will be done by the Chapters. Each chapter at Lodge Officer elections shall have one vote per youth member in attendance up to 10 votes

8.02: Lodge elections will be presided over by a youth moderator selected and approved by the Lodge Adviser and Scout Executive (or their designated representative).

8.03: Where a majority is not achieved, the nominee(s) receiving the least number of votes is (are) dropped and another ballot is taken. This procedure continues until one nominee achieves a majority and is declared “elected”, or until two ballots in succession result in tie votes and the balloting is declared “deadlocked”.

8.04: In the event of a voting deadlock for the election of Lodge Chief, the moderator selects the new Lodge Chief from those nominees still in the election.

8.05: In the event of a voting deadlock for the election of any other Lodge Office, the moderator, in consultation with the newly elected chief, selects the winner from those nominees still in the election.

8.06: To be eligible to be elected as a Lodge Officer, the youth nominee must have an official petition with signatures of the Lodge Adviser and a Parent/Guardian. Youth eighteen (18) years of age and older do not need a signature from their Parent/Guardian.

8.07: To be eligible to be elected as a Chapter Officer, the youth nominee must have an official petition with signatures of the Chapter Adviser.

8.08: The election order is the following:

  1. Lodge Chief
  2. Lodge Vice Chief of Operations
  3. Lodge Vice Chief of Program
  4. Lodge Vice Chief of Chapters
  5. Lodge Vice Chief of Inductions
  6. Lodge Vice Chief of Communication
  7. Lodge Vice Chief of Finance

8.09: All Lodge officers’ terms will begin on June 1st and run until May 31st of the following year. The election of new officers must take place within the 30-day period prior to the transfer of office on June 1st

Article IX: LEC Voting Policy Procedures

9.01: Section 9.01 Any dues-paid Lodge member under the age of twenty-one (21) will be allowed to vote on matters brought up at an LEC meeting

9.02: The Lodge Chief shall only vote in the event of a tie and in that case shall cast the deciding vote.

9.03: In matters of the lodge that require a vote, a majority is deemed to be 50% plus 1 of votes cast at a regularly scheduled LEC meeting when a quorum is present [see Section 3.08], unless otherwise stated in the bylaws.

9.04: Adults Members of the Order of the Arrow twenty-one (21) years of age or older shall have no vote in the decisions of the Lodge or Chapters and may make no motions.

Article X: Amendments to Bylaws

10.01: To amend the bylaws, the proposed changes must have a two-thirds majority vote of all dues-paid youth members casting a vote at a regularly scheduled LEC meeting after a quorum (see Section 3.08) is reached

10.02: The proposed bylaw changes must be posted on the Lodge website and notification to the Lodge provided at least thirty (30) days prior to the LEC meeting at which the vote is to occur.

10.03 For good cause shown, and upon a vote of the LEC Key 7 and 2/3’s of the members at a regularly scheduled LEC meeting, the LEC may temporarily suspend any provision of the bylaws provided such action does not violate Council policy and National Order of the Arrow rules. Notice of such action shall be provided by communication to the Lodge not less than two (2) weeks prior to the LEC meeting at which the vote is to occur.