Sons of Norway Vennekretsen Lodge Organizational Meeting

The Sons of Norway (SON) a fraternal benefit organization is working on establishing a lodge in the Atlanta area.  There will be an organizational meeting on January 17, 2008 at the Crown Plaza Ravinia which is located at 4355 Ashford  Dunwoody, Atlanta  The meeting will start at 7 PM.

This would be the first Sons of Norway lodge established in Georgia.   There are currently  52 lodges in the East Coast region:  Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.

The Sons of Norway is the largest Norwegian organization outside of Norway.  The membership exceeds 55,000 members and is found in 34 States, 3 Canadian Providence's and the country of Norway.  The first lodge was formed in Minneapolis, MN in 1895. There are over 400 “local lodges” and 8 District Lodges.  The Atlanta area lodge will be located in District 3 which covers the East Coast from Maine to Florida.

The mission of the SON is to “Promote and Preserve the heritage and culture of Norway and provide quality insurance and financial products to its members.”

Members do not have to be of Norwegian birth or descent but have to be interested in the heritage and culture of Norway.  While many of the members speak Norwegian the meetings are conducted in English.  Close to 50% or the members are female.  We recently had a female President and several of the current National Officers are female as is the 3rd District President.

For more than a century our commitment to promoting and preserving a lasting heritage and culture of Norway has never wavered.  Our founders understood the importance of Norwegian culture to their personal identity in their new adopted country.  The same still holds true for many SON members who want to maintain a connection with the culture of their ancestors’ or reconnect with their heritage.

We support members as they embrace their heritage by being one of the world’s best resources for information about Norway and its vibrant culture.  As a member of the SON you will enjoy exclusive access to informative and educational programs that are designed to increase your feeling of connection to the heritage and culture of Norway.

We offer a cultural skills program that gives members a fun, interactive and hands on education in everything from traditional cooking to folk art to Norwegian language and culture.

SON members also enjoy exclusive access to our lending library of Norwegian books, CDs and videos.  The library is a unique resource that provides members with the opportunity to bring the sounds and sight of Norway into their own home.

The SON places a strong emphasis on fellowship amongst members.  To encourage fellowship amongst all members, SON has an extensive lodge system through North America and Norway.

The thriving fellowship within the SON lodge system continues to be one of our greatest assets.  Our lodge system provides members with and open and welcoming place to meet, exchange ideas and discuss issues import to the SON and Norwegian community.  All lodges meet one or twice monthly.

To facilitate this fellowship each lodge has leadership structure that oversees meeting, activities and social functions.  Today’s SON leaders can be described as enthusiastic, spirited and engaging.  All of which are essential to the healthy fellowship of our members.

There are many financial benefits available to our members including scholarships, travel discounts and many more.

Our children are our future and play a large role in our organization.  We have many activities for children of all ages including scholarships’ for summer camps, language camps and College programs.

Facts: 

  • According to the 2000 census there are 4,477,725 Norwegian/Americans living in the USA and over 4,000 Norwegian/Americans living in the Atlanta Metropolitan area . 
  • We have over 50  members of the SON living in the Atlanta Metropolitan  area and 60 more expressed an interest in joining the SON at the 2007 Atlanta  ScanFest. 
  • In fact, the new lodge has almost half of the 40 members required to start a new lodge at this time.

Ralph Peterson
Vice President 3rd District Sons of Norway

 
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