The Section Journey to Excellence (JTE) program was put in place to encourage section leadership to help the lodges in their sections to improve and to provide guidance for improvement for section operations. 2013 marks the second year of JTE measurement for section operations. The 2013 JTE performance recognition program chart is attached along with an attached chart showing the results of all reporting sections. Of the forty eight sections in the country, forty two reported results. Six sections did not report results and were thus deemed “not qualified” for 2013. Nationally, the average section results were equivalent to a Silver rated section with 1075 points. Broken down by regions, Southern and Northeast Regions average section results were “Gold”, Central Region was a “Silver” and Western Region a “Bronze”. These results were influenced by the non-reporting sections as indicated in the results chart.
The items most easily met by the sections included items 1, 4, and 2 in that order. The sections did admirably in following the Field Operations Guide (FOG) for fiscal management, section conclave planning and execution and conclave participation. This is anticipated as the FOG has been in place for several years prior to the incorporation of JTE and the business of the section is and has been centered on the conclave.
The items that were a challenge were items 7, 5 and 11 in that order. Sections are still determining their role in helping lodges achieve improvement in their JTE. Attendance at regional and national events is dependent on the health of the lodges within the section. Although these lodges want greater participation, they are having issues with their own program. The last item, a timely conclave report, still has some sections not meeting report deadlines. Accountability of sections submitting timely reports needs to be improved.
The Section JTE will be continued into 2014 with review and changes to the requirements in the next few weeks. The Forms Section will be updated with the latest Section JTE information.