Valleys of Excellence

by Joann Williams-Hoxha, Content Manager

Valley of South Bend Went Back to Basics to Achieve VOE

For the Valley of South Bend, Executive Director Robert F. Keuper, 33°, said achieving Valley of Excellence (VOE) status was as simple as putting more effort into what the Valley was already doing. Whether it was summertime picnics, first responder training, degree rehearsals, or reunions, Brother Keuper said refining their programs and events to achieve an optimal member experience was what helped them achieve a 90.29 Valley of Excellence rating.

Aside from the pandemic putting a strain on in-person meetings, Ill. Brother Keuper said keeping the officers and committees focused and engaged on the Valley of Excellence goals was perhaps the biggest challenge. The most difficult VOE category to tackle was the membership piece—particularly, the Brotherto-Brother calling program, as their database had outdated or incorrect contact information. Updating phone numbers, emails, and mailing addresses remains a work in progress.

“Put quite simply, if you plan quality and enjoyable events that members and their families will want to participate in, you are well on your way to becoming a Valley of Excellence,” Brother Keuper added.

Valley of Worcester’s Recipe for Success

Brother Robbie Burnett, 33°, MSA, Secretary for the Valley of Worcester, said one of the biggest hurdles to becoming a Valley of Excellence was making sure that his Valley’s report was filled out properly.

“As a secretary, business manager, and project manager, I had lots of questions for Bob Kefalas [Assistant Director of Valley Relations] about filling out the report, and he was so helpful,” Brother Burnett said. “It was a daunting task, but taking it in little chunks, it was very manageable to get done.”

With the report complete, the next challenge was finding creative ways to work around gathering capacities that had been reduced from 100 people to 25 due to Covid-related restrictions. Ill. Brother Burnett said the offering of online degrees by Supreme Council was suddenly a welcome change to keep members engaged.

Last fiscal year, the Valley of Worcester welcomed 18 new Scottish Rite members who were able to witness the 4th degree through Scottish Rite, NMJ’s virtual degrees.

“Now we question how many times we may have lost a candidate because the online opportunity wasn’t available to them,” Burnett said.

By the time three heads of bodies within the Valley of Worcester met in February 2021, they learned they already had 63 Valley of Excellence points. Brother Robbie, 33°, said he was stunned by how much had already been accomplished.

“To be honest there was a lot of doubt when competing with other Valleys that had larger sizes, budgets, and resources,” Brother Burnett said. The most difficult category to tackle was fundraising, as they had never formerly budgeted for Valley donations in the past. With just 24 hours left to raise the recommended amount of donations for their Valley, his Valley was almost ready to throw in the towel for that category.

“Here again, Bob [Kefalas] took us out of our comfort zone and said, ‘Don’t just give up; figure it out,'” Burnett said. And that’s just what they did. They put together a call list of men who had notoriously given large donations in the past and asked if they would be willing to donate again. Once again, these Brothers came through. In just 8 hours, the Valley raised $1,720 in charitable contributions and an additional $7,274 for the Blue Envelope campaign.

Ill. Brother Burnett said his Valley ultimately decided that some programs would simply be inappropriate as a Zoom event, such as MSA presentations, veteran awards, and a special event for widows. The line items where the Valley was left with zero points were simply out of their control, and they’re OK with that. Their Valley knows that the Valley of Excellence is achievable, and that’s half the battle!

“We had a recipe for success in 2020 that has no reason to not be successful in 2021. We’ll be mindful that we don’t rest on our laurels; it still requires work,” Valley Secretary Burnett said.

Illustrious Brothers of the Valley of Worcester at Annual Session