16-01 Dues Notices and Dues Cards Overview

Secretary’s How to Guide

DUES RENEWAL NOTICES & DUES CARDS: Overview

A Master Mason is required to show his dues card any time a request is made by the Tyler or Junior Deacon. The Tyler should be at his position before all Called and Stated Communications. If in doubt of the membership status of any Brother attending Lodge, it is his responsibility to inspect the Brothers dues card. Recalling the opening ceremony, the Junior Deacon ensures that all present are either Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, or Master Masons, depending on which Lodge is being opened.

Every Master Mason who has paid his dues for the current year is issued a Dues Card by the Secretary. The Dues Card process starts when the Secretary receives notification from the Grand Lodge that the Secretary can order Dues Notices and Dues Cards for the ensuing year. It is very important that the Secretary be prompt in returning a Dues Card to any member who has remitted his dues for the ensuing year.

Not only is it important to process the dues in a timely manner, this is an opportunity for the Secretary to reconcile his membership information with that of the Grand Lodge. If the Secretary maintains a membership database such as is suggested in the Secretary’s How to Guide using Excel, then the Secretary should verify that his list matches the list of Dues Cards from Grand Lodge. The status of each member, such as regular, Exempt, Emeritus should also be verified at this time of year. Also, when a dues payment is received, the Secretary should verify that the address information between the payee, the Lodge records, and the Grand Lodge records are all the same.

It cannot be stressed too much as to the importance of returning a paid up dues card as soon as possible after the Dues payment is received. Just think how embarrassing it would be for a member to visit another Lodge after December 27th, be asked for his dues card, and to find that his is not current. The Secretary is that members view of the Lodge and in such situations, a member would not be proud of his Lodge if his dues card had not been returned promptly after he sent in his payment.

Having a process in place such as using Excel and QuickBooks makes the Secretary’s job easier when it comes mailing out delinquent notices and responding to a member’s inquiry about when he paid his dues. By updating the Excel Membership list with an indication of when dues are paid, it is a simple task to create a delinquent dues reminder letter by using the mail merger feature of Word for Windows. By using QuickBooks for recording all the information associated with a Dues payment, the Secretary can provide a member with payment information related to his dues payment , or lack thereof. If a Brother thinks he paid his dues, and the check was not deposited in the bank, then the members can take due notice and act accordingly. If the deposit was made, then the Secretary can further research his records and determine why the member has not received his card.

During the Dues Renewal period, the Secretary is also required to certify the status of all Emeritus members. After ascertaining if a member still qualifies for Emeritus status, the Secretary needs to bring the matter before the Craft so that a vote can approve the continuation of the Emeritus status. Dues cards should not be sent to an Emeritus member until after his status is re-certified.

Dues card should be sent to 50 Year Exempt and Perpetual members as soon as the new cards are received from Grand Lodge.