Congratulations go out to Mark Smith, our newest Fellowship degree member.  Most members know Mark Smith as a hardworking, generous, and giving person around the lodge.  So, it comes as no surprise when he was recently given a great honor by Moose International.  Mark Smith at this year’s national convention was inducted into the third degree of service, the Fellowship degree.  During a once a year meeting, our own Fellowship committee comes together to show its admiration and respect for other Moose members within our ranks.  This process highlights the generous nature of our members.  This is quite an honor for Mark Smith and our lodge.

As members, you may not realize the degrees of service that the Moose fraternity follows.  The first degree is your membership in our fraternity.  Upon your joining our lodge as a member, you become eligible for the second degree of service.  The second degree of service is the Moose Legion.  The third degree of service is the Fellowship degree of honor.  There is even a fourth degree.  The fourth degree is the Pilgrim Degree of Merit.  All of our higher degrees of service are given as rewards for exceptional devotion to the principles and ideas of caring for children and seniors, and is generally earned by members who have given years of service to the Loyal Order of Moose and its primary benevolent endeavors of Mooseheart and Moosehaven.

Your eligibility for conferral in the higher order of the Fellowship is based on rules that are set by Moose International.  To become part of the Fellowship, you must have five years continuous service in the Loyal Order of Moose and one in the Moose Legion.  You need to have sponsored at least one Moose Legionnaire and is working towards membership in the Moose 25 club within our lodge.  The current fellowship committee members, around the October - November time frame, convene an invitation only meeting to determine who is worthy of the next degree of service.  They review the member’s "Moose Record of Service" and other documents.  Upon the decision of the Fellowship committee, they forward all documents to the Virginia Moose regional manager.  The Fellowship committee’s process and selection is done in secret.  The chosen member is unaware of his selection in the higher degree.  In January, the regional manager continues the process and forwards the local selections to Moose International.  This process concludes with the final decision by Moose International.  Moose International mails invitations to the Fellowship candidates for acceptance.

So, as you can see, there is a lot that goes into becoming part of the Fellowship degree in our fraternity.  To become part of the Fellowship, it means you have earned the respect of your fellow Moose members, not just by having drinks with them in the Social Quarters, but by the sweat of your hard work and perseverance in the promotion of our fraternity.  So, Mark, it honors us to see you receive this award.  Congratulations on becoming part of the Fellowship degree of honor!