Held every four years as required by the Illinois Fraternal Insurance Code, our National Convention is attended by members elected as delegates who are empowered with full legislative, judicial, and governing powers. They are responsible for electing the High Court Officers and Trustees Board of Directors to serve four-year terms, and reviewing and revising the Constitution and Bylaws , policies, benefits, and other related items.
A Local Court is made up of a group of COF members in a specific geographic area, often associated with a parish. Every COF member is part of a court based on their address at the time of their policy purchase.
A State Holding Court is a subordinate body where members are assigned when there are no existing Local Courts. To be included in the pool of interested individuals for the February 28, , drawing for convention delegates and alternate delegates, all eligible At-Large Jurisdiction adult members who are interested in being a candidate for selection as a delegate or alternate delegate to the National Quadrennial Convention must be:. The High Court will supervise the blind drawing of names of the delegates and alternate delegates from the applicable pool of candidates to fill all entitled delegate and alternate delegate positions.
The At-Large Jurisdiction Court is entitled to the number of delegates and alternate delegates as provided in Section 81 of the Constitution and Bylaws based on the number of members in good standing belonging to the At-Large Jurisdiction Court as of September 30, 1 delegate and 1 alternate delegate for each members or for a major fraction of members within the At-Large Jurisdiction. The Home Office will notify each selected delegate and alternate delegate of their position by March 31, An aggregation of local courts in a geographic area as determined by the High Court for the purpose of electing delegates to the National Convention.
Elected jurisdiction delegates attend business meetings to vote for delegates to send to the National Convention, some jurisdictions may have Mass, a dinner or banquet, and a fraternal activity preferably service-oriented.
