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Radical540

Registered User
The line of progressive officer chairs. One of the best experiences I've had is entering the line from the gate and progressing through the chairs one year at a time.
That seems like a pretty aggressive process and I suppose that also assumes nobody else is vying for "the next chair" - otherwise, in a decent size lodge it seems like it could take years!?
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
That seems like a pretty aggressive process and I suppose that also assumes nobody else is vying for "the next chair" - otherwise, in a decent size lodge it seems like it could take years!?

In many lodges it is more common to skip chairs to fill holes than it is to sit the same chair more than one year to give the brothers behind you time to catch up. I think of the line like a conveyor belt that produces one PM per year. Not all officers who enter the line complete the entire sequence so some have to skip chairs. Having to repeat chairs to let brothers catch up is a worse sign for lodge health than having to skip chairs to make up for a brother who fell out of the line.

My first pass through the line didn't include either a skip or a repeat - JS pro tem, SS, JD, SD, JW, SW, WM, sideliner and degree team member. I considered that ideal.

My second pass included both - JD, skip, JW, skip, WM, repeat WM, TL, SD, skip, SW, consolidate with another lodge for lack of new members entering the line, sideliner and degree team member. The fact that I had to skip meant brothers were falling out of the line. The fact that I had to repeat to give a borther time to catch up was a bad sign. The fact that I had to cycle back into the line was a very bad sign. Choosing the right lodge to consolidate with to form a healthy lodge is very important.
 

Warrior1256

Site Benefactor
The line of progressive officer chairs. One of the best experiences I've had is entering the line from the gate and progressing through the chairs one year at a time.
I had originally decided that I did not want to go through the line right off the bat. I have changed my mind and look forward to it. I really want to learn the rituals.
 
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