Chad Watson
Communications Chair
(619) 993-4940
anexussystems+cnma@gmail.com

Now that all these great family activities, sports events and community service projects are going on in your Lodge, it’s important to communicate with your members and your community.

The Communications Committee’s responsibilities are twofold:

1. It communicates news and information about the Lodge to its members via a regularly published Lodge newsletter as well as through various forms of electronic and social media; and,

2. It conveys a positive image of the Lodge and the Fraternity, and communicates information about the good works of the Lodge to the outside community, through the development of a good working relationship with the appropriate editor (not the advertising staff!) at the local newspaper and/or radio station.

The Chairman of the Communications Committee is responsible for the editing, production, and distribution of the Lodge newsletter on a regular basis, preferably monthly, but at least once every two months. While the chairman may designate, with the approval of the President, any member of the Lodge as Editor, it ultimately remains the chairman’s responsibility.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of producing a good Lodge publication; indeed, for the relatively inactive (but still dues-paying!) member, the Lodge publication may be the only regular connection between them and the Lodge, a connection that can spur them to renew their membership, or not. The Communications Committee may also be designated by the President (unless they have delegated this responsibility to the Administrator) to establish and/or regularly update a Lodge/Chapter website. The Department of Communications at Moose International can offer a wealth of information, advice and materials to help produce newsletters better and more efficiently, and to establish and help update websites. The committee Chairman and/or the Editor can obtain dozens of sample pages from excellent Moose newsletters, and a full set of the Fraternity’s logos and emblems (available either for downloading or “scan ready,” in the 36

“Communication Resources” and “Forms and Documents” portions of the Members-Only section of www.mooseintl.org) at no charge! If you are missing any of these items, contact the Department of Communications at Moose International.

It is also the Communications Committee Chairman’s responsibility to see to it that the Lodge complies with Section 46.11 of the General Laws by maintaining a valid Publications Permit. Contact the Department of Communications at Moose International for details.

Regarding media relations, the Department of Communications at Moose International can offer a step-by-step primer on how to establish and maintain a pleasant and productive relationship with editors of local newspapers and news directors of local broadcast outlets. For further details, again, contact the Department of Communications.