• Schedule
• Speakers
• Committees
• Board of Directors
• Convention History

The Event

Welcome to the 46th Woodmen National Convention Web site. The Convention is the cornerstone of our organization's representative form of government, serving as Woodmen's "supreme legislative and governing body," according to the Constitution and Laws.

The 2009 Woodmen National Convention will bring together more than 400 National Representatives, Jurisdictional officers and others representing 27 Jurisdictions. The National Representatives were selected at Jursidictional Conventions in April and May. The remainder of the voting members of the convention include the Woodmen Board of Directors, Jurisdictional Presidents and Past Presidents, and the Legislative and Judiciary Committees.

Form of Government

The National Convention allows all Woodmen members – through their elected representatives – to choose the leaders of the organization and to vote on important constitutional matters.

All adult Woodmen members – those over the age of 16 – are members of a local Woodmen lodge in their community. Woodmen lodges conduct volunteer projects throughout the year and hold social activities for members and their families.

Every two years, each lodge elect delegates to attend a Woodmen Jurisdictional Convention. There are 27 Woodmen Jurisdictions across the United States, each comprised of the lodges located within a state or group of neighboring states.

During the Jurisdictional Conventions, delegates discuss and vote on various fraternal and business matters, elect Jurisdictional officers and share information about the activities of their respective lodges. Jurisdictional Conventions also provide an important social function, as members gather to exchange new ideas and create personal relationships that strengthen Woodmen's fraternal mission.

Every four years, delegates at the Jurisdictional Conventions elect national representatives to attend the National Convention. The number of national representatives each Jurisdiction can send to the National Convention is directly proportional to the number of members who live within that Jurisdiction.

For example, there are nearly 100,000 Woodmen members living in North Carolina, and about 50,000 members living in Louisiana. Therefore, the North Carolina Jurisdiction elects about twice the number of national representatives as the Louisiana Jurisdiction.

Along with National Representatives, the other voting members of the National Convention include the President and Past President of each Jurisdiction; the members of the Judiciary Committee and Legislative Committee; and the Board of Directors.