Formerly | Woodmen of the World |
---|---|
Company type | Fraternal benefit society |
Industry | Insurance |
Founded | June 6, 1890 in Omaha, Nebraska |
Founder | Joseph Cullen Root |
Headquarters | Woodmen Tower 1700 Farnam Street, , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Patrick L. Dees (Chairman and CEO) Denise M. McCauley (COO) Jon R. Aerni (CFO) |
US$952 million (2021) | |
Total assets | US$11.5 billion (2021) |
Rating | A+ |
Website | www |
Footnotes /references [1] [2] [3] |
WoodmenLife (officially Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society) is a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society founded in 1890, based in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that operates a large privately held insurance company for its members. [4]
The history of the organization includes numerous philanthropic efforts and community outreach projects; distinctive headstones depicting tree stumps across the United States and Canada before 1930, a program to present American flags, and broadcast interests that owned the first television station where Johnny Carson worked.
The organization was founded in 1890 in Omaha, Nebraska, by Joseph Cullen Root. Root founded Modern Woodmen of America (MWA) in Lyons, Iowa, in 1883, after hearing a sermon about "pioneer woodsmen clearing away the forest to provide for their families". Taking his own surname to heart, he wanted to start a society that "would clear away problems of financial security for its members". [5] [2]
After internal dissension within the MWA, Root was ejected from the organization that he had founded. When moving to Omaha, Root decided to start again with a new group he called the Modern Woodmen of the World. He soon dropped the "Modern", and the organization became "Woodmen of the World". [6]
Woodmen of the World began marketing itself as WoodmenLife on June 1, 2015. [7]
Over the years a number of smaller fraternal organizations have been absorbed into WoodmenLife, including the United Order of the Golden Cross (a temperance movement association founded by J. H. Morgan) in 1962, the benefits operation of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers in 1962, and the New England Order of Protection in 1969. [8]
The Woodmen of the World had a female auxiliary called the Woodmen Circles from the early 1890s. Its local units were called local "Groves" and they were governed by a "Supreme Forest", subject to the Sovereign Camp of the Woodmen of the World. [9] The Circle eventually reached 130,000 members, but it was absorbed by the Woodmen in 1965. [10]
During the Woodmen Circle convention of 1897, delegates from nine western states declared their intention to leave the national organization. They formed a new organization called the "Pacific Circle, Women of Woodcraft". It changed its name to the Neighbors of Woodcraft in 1917, [11] but it merged with the Woodmen of the World in July 2001. [2]
The first Boys of Woodcraft unit was founded in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1903, by J.M. Taylor. [2] In 1979, the Boys of Woodcraft Sportsmen's Clubs and the Girls of Woodcraft merged into the Woodmen Rangers and Rangerettes. This youth affiliate had 115,471 members in 1979. [12]
In the current constitution youth affiliates are called Youth Chapters which are affiliated to adult Chapters. [13]
The organization used to own a 19-story tower at 14th and Farnam streets which was the tallest building between Chicago and the West Coast at the time of its dedication in 1912. [14] WOW built its current 30-story Woodmen Tower in 1969. It was Nebraska's tallest building until the completion of the 45-story First National Bank Tower in 2002.
The original WOW building was demolished in 1977. [15]
The organization played an important role in broadcast history, until it was forced to divest itself of these holdings because of its not-for-profit status. On November 27, 1922, the society began broadcasting on the radio station "WOAW", with a signal that reached ships in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans from its 500-watt (later 1,000 watt, and eventually 5,000 watt) transmitters.[ dubious ] In 1926, the station became WOW after the ship SS Henry J. Bibble, which had held the call sign, was retired from service. [16]
The organization's not-for-profit status was to cause a legal battle over ownership of the station. In 1943, the station was leased to an independent organization, Radio Station WOW, Inc. The U.S. Supreme Court voided this lease, returning it to the society, but keeping the license in the hands of the station. In 1949, the radio station began the television station WOW-TV. Among its first performers was Johnny Carson, who had a daily show called The Squirrel's Nest, where he told jokes, conducted humorous interviews and staged various skits. [17]
Stock in the broadcasting company was bought out by Meredith Corporation in 1958, effectively ending the society's relationship with the station, but the use of the "WOW" call sign continued. The television station became WOWT in 1975 to obtain FCC approval of its sale to Chronicle Broadcasting.
In 1999, Journal Broadcast Group changed the unusual three-letter radio call sign to KOMJ, later KXSP, for the AM station. The FM station became KQCH.
A physical legacy of the organization are "Treestones" or "tree-stump tombstones" marking the grave of a Woodman of the World. [18] The sawed off tree limbs represent a life cut short. [19] These headstones were used because, "until the 1920s, membership in the Woodmen of the World provided each member with a tombstone." [18]
Historically, the top of the organizational structure of WoodmenLife was the "Sovereign Camp", which met quadrennially. When the Sovereign Camp was not in session the organizations was run by a board of directors. States were called either "Jurisdictions" or "Head Camps". Local groups were called either "Camps", "Courts" or "Groves". There were 4,000 locals in 1979. [20]
Locals are now called Chapters which are part of geographical Jurisdictions. Chapters elect delegates to the Jurisdictional Conventions held every two years who in turn elect delegates to the National Conventions which are held every four. [21] The governing body of WoodmenLife is the National Convention. [22] In between conventions the organization is run by a board of directors which includes the president and CEO; executive vice president; secretary and general counsel; executive vice president, chief financial officer (CFO); executive vice president, chief operating officer (COO); and up to ten additional members. [23]
In the film About Schmidt (2002), Jack Nicholson plays a retired Woodmen executive actuary.
WoodmenLife has been awarded a rating of A+, the second highest ranking out of 15, for its financial strength and operating performance by A.M. Best. [24]
Knights of the Maccabees was a fraternal organization formed in 1878 in London, Ontario, Canada. Most active in the U.S. state of Michigan, the group's fraternal aspects took a backseat to providing low-cost insurance to members. In the society's early years it also provided other final-expense related benefits such as society cemeteries.
The International Workers Order (IWO) was an insurance, mutual benefit and fraternal organization founded in 1930 and disbanded in 1954 as the result of legal action undertaken by the state of New York in 1951 on the grounds that the organization was too closely linked to the Communist Party. At its height in the years immediately following World War II, the IWO reached nearly 200,000 members and provided low-cost health and life insurance, medical and dental clinics, and supported foreign-language newspapers, cultural and educational activities. The organization also operated a summer camp and cemeteries for its members.
The Slovene National Benefit Society, known in Slovenian as Slovenska narodna podporna jednota, and by its Slovene initials S.N.P.J. is an ethnic fraternal benefit and social organization for Slovene immigrants and their descendants in the United States. Founded in 1904, it is headquartered in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA near Imperial. SNPJ publishes a newspaper, Prosveta.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, is an American Fortune 500 not-for-profit financial services organization headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Appleton, Wisconsin, and founded by Lutherans. As a member-owned fraternal benefit society, it operates under a chapter system, serving nearly 2.3 million members.
Woodman, Woodmen or Woodmans may refer to:
KXSP is a commercial radio station licensed to Omaha, Nebraska. The station is owned by SummitMedia and it airs a sports format. Most weekday afternoon and evening programming is from local hosts, while during mornings, late nights and weekends, KXSP carries the ESPN Radio Network.
The WoodmenLife Tower is a 478.02 feet (145.70 m) high-rise building at 1700 Farnam Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, and headquarters of WoodmenLife insurance company. Construction of the building began in 1966 and was completed in the spring of 1969. At its completion, the WoodmenLife Tower was the tallest building in the state of Nebraska, overtaking the Nebraska State Capital Building. The WoodmenLife tower would hold this record until 2002, when it was overtaken by First National Bank Tower. The building was featured heavily in the 2002 movie About Schmidt, starring Jack Nicholson and directed by Alexander Payne.
Modern Woodmen of America (MWA) is one of the largest fraternal benefit societies in the United States, with more than 750,000 members. Total assets reached US$15.4 billion in 2016. Though it shares the same founder, it is not affiliated financially in any way with another, similarly-styled fraternal benefit society, WoodmenLife, and despite the name "Modern" is actually older than its counterpart.
Wow, WOW or WoW may refer to:
The Ancient Order of United Workmen (AOUW) was a fraternal organization in the United States and Canada, providing mutual social and financial support after the American Civil War. It was the first of the "fraternal benefit societies", organizations that would offer insurance as well as sickness, accident, death and burial policies.
Danish Brotherhood in America is a fraternal organization that was founded in 1882 in Omaha, Nebraska. It had about 8,000 members in 2010. A period report said of the Danish Brotherhood, "This is by far the strongest and most influential secular organization about the Danes in America."
The former Woodmen of the World Building in Omaha, Nebraska, was located at 1323 Farnam Street. Built in 1912 by the architectural firms of Holabird & Roche and Fisher and Lawrie, the building was the headquarters of Woodmen of the World (WOW) from 1912 until 1934. WOW relocated in 1934 to the Bee Newspaper Building at 17th and Farnam, also known as the Insurance Building.
Assured Life Association, formerly Woodmen of the World and/or Assured Life Association, having officially changed its name to on January 1, 2015, is a fraternal benefit society based in Denver, Colorado, whose beginnings can be traced to the same founder as Modern Woodmen of America and Woodmen of the World in 1890. Today, Assured Life Association is not affiliated with either organization. Aside from offering insurance benefits the organization is a non-profit Life Insurer organized to give back revenues to its member customers through direct benefits such as college scholarships and summer camp grants for youth and through discounts on other products and services. The Society also has a member-directed matching charitable giving program. Four national community service projects are promoted among Society member customers each year.
The American Fraternal Alliance (AFA) is an umbrella group of fraternal orders in the United States. It was founded as the National Fraternal Congress of America in 1913, in Chicago and adopted its current name in 2011.
Royal Neighbors of America is a Life insurance company targeted towards women.
The Neighbors of Woodcraft were a fraternal benefit society that originated as a splinter of the female auxiliary of the Woodmen of the World.