Greetings! I am not an OES member but my wife joined at the start of the year and is enjoying every minute of the experience - as I type this she is away at a multi-chapter event across the mountain in Charlottesville. My question is, how strict are the requirements for a candidate to have a familial relationship to a current or past Mason? I ask because her chapter numbers have dwindled as senior members aged and became less active, to the point now that the chapter is in serious danger of having to either merge with one any miles away or fold altogether. She does know several ladies who would make excellent additions to the craft, however the requirement for that Masonic connection is not there with them.