Jurisdiction At-Large Delegate and Alternate Application to the COF National Convention

The in-person 2024 National Convention will be held at the Westin Chicago Northwest in Itasca, Illinois, from August 9-11, 2024.
 
The National Convention will kick off on the evening of Monday, August 5, with a one-night online portion and will continue in Itasca -- fully in person -- the following weekend.
 
Located 20 minutes west of O'Hare International Airport and about 30 miles from Downtown Chicago, the Westin Chicago Northwest will host all in-person National Convention activities.
RULES FOR THE SELECTION OF DELEGATES AND ALTERNATES TO THE NATIONAL CONVENTION FROM STATES WITHOUT JURISDICTION COURTS
 
Fraternal benefit societies are legally required to have a representative form of government. This means that all members must have the right to participate in the governance of Catholic Order of Foresters (“COF”). Since the COF governance process involves election of delegates to the National Quadrennial Convention by a Jurisdiction Convention and some members belong to Local Courts that have no Jurisdiction Court or do not belong to a Local Court and reside in a state without a Jurisdiction Holding Court, the High Court previously created an At-Large Jurisdiction for all such members. The COF National Constitution & Bylaws (“C&B”) provides at Section 5 that the National Convention’s membership will include members of the High Court, all members of the National Convention Committees, and all Accredited Delegates from all Jurisdictions. To that end, the following rules shall apply for the selection of delegates and alternates from the At-Large Jurisdiction to the National Quadrennial Convention:
 
  1. The Home Office of COF shall publish in the Official Publication of COF (“Catholic Forester magazine”) these rules for selection of delegates and alternates from the At-Large Jurisdiction (“Rules”).
  2. The Home Office shall publish on a page on the COF website (catholicforester.org), these Rules.
  3. COF adult members (“Members”) are part of the At-Large Jurisdiction Court if they belong to a Local Court located within ANY STATE OTHER THAN one of the following Jurisdictions: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky or the New England Jurisdiction (consisting of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Maryland) or if they belong to a Local Court and they do not reside in one of the aforementioned Jurisdictions.
  4. Members of the At-Large Jurisdiction Court are eligible to be selected as a delegate or alternate to the National Quadrennial Convention.
  5. The At-Large Jurisdiction Court is entitled to the number of delegates and alternates as provided in Section 81 of the C&B based on the number of Members in good standing belonging to the At-Large Jurisdiction Court as of September 30, 2023 (1 delegate and 1 alternate for each 500 members or for a major fraction of members within the At-Large Jurisdiction).
  6. To become a candidate for selection as a delegate or alternate to National Quadrennial Convention, eligible Members shall complete an application and submit it to the Home Office.
  7. The application will be posted on the COF website by December 1, 2023, and must be completed and submitted online. Successful submission will be confirmed via email sent to the address provided by the Member completing the application. If confirmation is not received, the Member should call the Home Office to verify receipt.
  8. All applications must be submitted on or before February 1, 2024 (“Due Date”).
  9. All applications submitted by qualified Members of the At-Large Jurisdiction Court by the Due Date shall be included in a drawing for delegates and alternates to be held on or before February 28, 2024.
  10. The High Court shall supervise the drawing of names of the delegates and alternates from the applicable pool of candidates.
  11. Names will be blindly drawn one-by-one until all entitled delegate positions are filled. Subsequently, the same process will be used to fill alternate positions.
  12. If there are not enough candidates to fill all positions, unfilled positions are forfeited.
  13. The Home Office shall notify each delegate and alternate of their selection by March 31, 2024.


Application

Certification

I certify that I am part of the At-Large Jurisdiction Court as I do not belong to a local court located in the North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, or New England Jurisdiction (consisting of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Maryland) and I do not reside in one of the aforementioned jurisdictions.

I further attest that I am a Catholic Order of Foresters adult member (age 18 years and older) in good standing and entitled to represent At-Large Jurisdiction at the National Convention if I am selected.

I understand to be a National Convention delegate that I must have my own personal email address, a desktop or laptop device, and preferably a smartphone or similar communication device to receive push notifications.

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