This week, I got the opportunity from my employer to work for a day of volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity building sight. While I have lots of stories from that day and it was very rewarding, I had a sad takeaway. The site of the build had been the Italian American Club of Summit. The low-income housing development had bought out the club, and we were building where their bocce courts and koi pond had been. Apple-maps still identifies it as the Italian American Club

.The takeaway? No club or fraternal organization is guaranteed to last forever. And the key to staying power isn’t just headcount – our future is anchored in our values and purpose. When you were initiated into the Ancient Order of Hibernians, you made the promise to take the test of the Order’. That means signing up for and obtaining your Major Degree at a formal ceremony.

A Major Degree ceremony will be held on December 3rd at the Saint Aedan’s parish meeting center. Registration of participants starts at 11:00am, and the ceremony will run from roughly noon to 3pm. Your incidental cost of the ceremony will be paid by the Division. Completing the Major Degree is a key aspect to continuing the Order. There are numerous other benefits to holding the degree – for instance, it is a contributing factor when we assess high school scholarships and it’s a requirement for holding higher office in the Order. There is a signup sheet at the pub. If you don’t have your Major Degree, please do what you can to attend, and there is an online signup list on our website at: https://praoh.org/event/major-degree/. Our goal would be to have at least 60 members of Division 3 get their major degree!