Membership in Sons in Retirement is open to men of good character who are retired or semi-retired, regardless of age.
This page explains a little about the regular rhythm of meetings that is key to the SIR experience.
How Prospective Members can Contact Us
Information about how to contact us and become a SIR member is provided on the Join Us page.
BEC (Branch Executive Committee) Meeting
The BEC Meeting for SIR Branch One is held at 10:00 a.m. on the second Wednesday of every month. New members are introduced and inducted at the end of the meeting (after their Member Orientation Meeting). All members are welcome, but only elected Officers and Directors vote on matters pertaining to the operation of the branch. If you’re interested in the detailed structure of the meetings you can check out the BEC Minutes.
General Luncheon Meeting
The General Luncheon Meeting for SIR Branch One is held on the second Wednesday of every month, and it is where members get together, socialize, renew acquaintances, and make new friends. This is the only meeting that is mandatory for every member to attend. Meeting attendance to the General Luncheon Meeting is a basic necessity dating back to the beginning of the SIR organization.
The normal business of our branch is conducted at these meetings. The meeting begins by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance followed by singing of the Star Spangled Banner. Induction of any new members is also performed at each meeting (except at the Special Meetings). Once a year in August, there is an election of officers for the ensuing year. After the new officers have been elected, they are installed into their respective offices by a state official of Sons in Retirement.
The annual dues for membership at SIR Branch One are $35 in 2023.
There are two special lunch meetings that members are “attendance optional”: Spring Luncheon in May or June, and the Holiday Luncheon in December. They are usually held on the second Wednesday of those months. Members’ wives or special guests are invited to attend these two special meetings. There is usually some special entertainment performed during these meetings, and they may be held at a different venue. These meetings are conducted in the same manner as ordinary General Luncheon meetings except there will be no induction of new members. Reservations for these special meetings should be made in advance in order to insure availability.
The dress code for the General Luncheon Meetings is “business casual,” which has become somewhat less formal over the years as business dress in California as changed. There is only one exception, which is the meeting in August. This is called the Wild Shirt Day, and one should endeavor to wear the wildest shirt that he has in his collection. There are prizes awarded to those who have the wildest or best-looking shirts.
If you’re interested in the detailed structure of the meetings you can check out the General Meeting Minutes.
Beyond the monthly lunch meetings, most of the activities have regular meetings.
Basic Rules for Members
It is required that members attend all General Luncheon Meetings unless prevented by illness or absence from the area. Members are considered to be in attendance only when they are present for the entire meeting, including lunch, business, and the scheduled program. Traditionally, members had been obligated to notify if they would not attend the meeting. To facilitate getting a more accurate count for the caterer, effective in 2022 members will be obligated to state if they will attend, and if they want the regular or alternate entrée.
Any member who misses three consecutive meetings without notifying the Attendance Committee Chairman will be contacted and asked to explain their absence. After all, we first want to make sure you’re OK! Any member who misses six General Luncheon Meetings in one year may be subject to membership termination. Missed meetings can be made up by attending another branch of Sons in Retirement as a visitor and mailing a Certificate of Attendance of that branch to the Membership Committee Chairman. It will be considered as credit to one’s attendance. There are several other branches close by where you can make up missed meetings. SIR depends on members attending the General Luncheon Meeting: its vital to our “critical mass.” In this respect, SIR is not like most other organizations in which, if one pays their yearly dues, they will remain a member even though they never show up for any meetings.
New Members
Any member of Sons in Retirement is eligible to sponsor a new member. The sponsor is the sole judge of the new member’s character and acceptability. It is very important that SIR gains new members.
All proposed applicants are required to attend one General Luncheon Meeting as a guest of their Sponsor before they can apply for membership. At this meeting the applicant will be presented with an application for membership along with other information about Sons in Retirement by the Registrar Chairman. He should fill out the application, have it signed by his sponsor, and then return it to the Membership Committee Chairman at least two weeks before the next General Luncheon Meeting.
A short time after the application is received by the Membership Committee Chairman the applicant will receive a letter inviting him to the next General Luncheon Meeting. He is requested to attend the New Member Orientation Meeting at 10:15 A.M., along with his sponsor, the morning of the General Luncheon Meeting. At this meeting he will be given information about the rules, regulations, and various procedures of SIR Damian Reynolds Branch One, as well as other information about SIR. He will also be given his new lapel badge, wallet card, membership roster, and several pages of information about the SIR Organization to be taken home and read at his leisure. There will also be a Past Big Sir present toward the end of the meeting who will give a short presentation of the history of the SIR organization.
After the New Member Orientation Meeting the applicant joins the BEC meeting where he will be asked to introduce himself and will be inducted as members of Damian Reynolds SIR Branch One. The Membership Director will then pin each new member with the symbol of our club, The Golden Chanticleer. The new member will have his picture taken for the Bulletin and then is free to meet and socialize with other SIR members. The Elks Club Bar will be open for those who wish to have a drink. The new member’s table reservation card (tent) and that of his sponsor will be at the table that is reserved for new members.
Lunch will be served at 12:00 noon. During the luncheon meeting the new members and other guests will be asked to stand and be introduced.
Name Badges
Each new member will receive a name badge at the New Member Orientation Meeting before he becomes a new member. These badges are to be pinned onto the member’s lapel or shirt where it can be easily seen at every General Luncheon Meeting, in order that others can readily recognize each other by name. The badge will have his full name displayed in bold type as well as his nickname in larger bold type. The badge will also display his Badge Number which has been randomly assigned to him from a computer base. This number will remain with him as long he remains a member of Sons in Retirement. The Name Badge will also display at the bottom of the card his former employment before he retired.
Badge numbers of members are used for Branch One’s filing system, rather than by the alphabetical listing by names. Members will be asked their badge numbers when picking up their Name Badges or Tents at the General Luncheon Meetings, rather than their names. This procedure speeds up the lines that are formed when picking up these items.
The Name Badge that is first given to any new member has a green background, which signifies that he is a new member, and will encourage other members to welcome him into the SIR’s organization. There is an identical Name Badge underneath the green badge that is white or buff, which signifies that the wearer is a regular member. The green badge is removed after the third meeting. There are other badges with different color backgrounds which helps identify Branch members as follows:
| Color of Badge | Membership Status |
| White or Buff | Regular Member |
| Grey | Member with Attendance Relief |
| Green | New Member (first 3 meetings) |
| Blue | Present and Past Directors |
| Gold | Present and Past Officers |
| Red | Present Big Sir, Past Big Sir, and Life Sir |
Table Reservation Card (Tent)
Each new member will receive a Tent at the New Member Orientation Meeting before he becomes a new member. It is used to reserve his place at a table in the Dining Room where he wishes to eat, as long as the table is not reserved or there is not another Tent at that particular place. It sits like a tent, hence its name, and has the member’s name engraved on each side of the flap, along with the SIR’s emblem and name of the branch. It also has his Badge Number engraved at the top right-hand corner, by means of which the card is stored in the Tent Box. Once the tent is placed at a table in the Dining Room, no one is allowed to move the tent without the approval of the member the tent belongs to.
Wallet Card
Each new member will receive a wallet card at the New Member Orientation Meeting. This is a card each member can carry in his wallet, and is useful for a member who happens to forget his Badge Number.