Click on the link for the details for the weekend
Greetings Sheiks and Samaritans,
We’re excited to invite you to attend the Annual Gathering of the Central Division from Friday, June 16-Saturday, June 17, 2023 in Tuscola, Illinois. Tuscola is known for its nearby Amish communities featuring unique shopping and dining experiences. We invite your spouses to travel with you and spend Saturday meandering through Amish Country. A volunteer has been confirmed to drive a carpool and be the trip guide. As a special treat, we have confirmed that several of our International Officers will be able to attend!
CLICK HERE to view/download Invitation
CLICK HERE to view/download Hotel Form
This is the Calendar that was created from all heads of the order at their meeting on December 10, 2022 through October 2023
Please sign up if you plan on attending a Regional Meeting and answer the questions on the bottom of the form if you are replying for your lodge we want the number of members coming and the second question is how many candidates will you be bringing. This will help the hosting lodge know how many people to prepare the meal for, and give the degree team an idea of how many candidates they will be working with. Thank you for your assistance with our planning.
REGION #1 – Otttawa, IL – April 1, 2023
REGION #2 – Farmington, IL – February 25, 2023
REGION #3 -Mt. Zion, iL – March 18, 2023
REGION #4 – Waterloo, IL – March 4, 2023
REGION #5 – Flora, IL – April 29, 2023
Please visit our Forms page to view and download the IOOF Scholarship forms.
All applications are due March 1st, 2023! Any received after the deadline WILL NOT be considered.
Since 1985, the Scholarship Committee has awarded $606,000.00 in Scholarships to deserving students throughout the state of Illinois. Which is an average of $17,823.53 per year and 20-30 scholarships per year.
Also, be sure to check out the scholarships available through the Sovereign Grand Lodge at https://odd-fellows.org/programs/education-foundation/
The Grand Lodge is looking into a group insurance program to insure lodge building around the state. We want you to understand this is a voluntary program, but preliminary results show possible savings as well as improved coverage. To be able to proceed we need some help from your lodge. Please fill out the online questionnaire below or print out the physical copy and return as soon as possible.
CLICK HERE TO FILL OUT THE QUESTIONNAIRE
Friendship
You gain a new family in the members of your Lodge and a vast network of Brothers and Sisters worldwide. By joining Odd Fellows with your friends it helps to give a deeper purpose and meaning to your friendship. We are a diverse organization and have members of all faiths, races, genders, occupations and abilities with over 600,000 members in over 10,000 Lodges in 26 countries.
Love
The historic command of the Odd Fellow is to “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.”
You get to take an active role in helping your community and the world be a better place. Local Lodges help out their communities in any way they choose and are unified together in State/National/Worldwide projects.
Truth
Be a part of the HISTORY and the MYSTERY. As an Odd Fellow you get to be a member of one of the world’s oldest and largest fraternal Orders AKA “Secret Societies”. Secret password, rituals, symbols, and more, all designed to “elevate and improve the character of mankind.” By taking these lessons to heart you become a better person and in turn make help to make the world around you a better place.