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National
Honor Guard Society
Leadership & Accountability Page
building a national institution with integrity, discipline, and mission-first governance.
The national honor guard society is being built as a board-led, nonprofit professional society dedicated to serving the honor guard community with transparency, accountability, vendor neutrality, and respect for the responsibility of ceremonial service
NHGS is being built to outlive any one founder, instructor, vendor, agency, or board member.
Mission-first decision-making
Board oversight
Committee review
Vendor-neutral governance
Financial accountability
Respect for agency authority
A Board-Led National Society
The National Honor Guard Society is organized to be led by a Board of Directors with responsibility for mission oversight, strategic direction, governance, policy, financial stewardship, and long-term institutional credibility.
The Society is not being built as a personality-driven organization. It is being structured so that decisions are guided by mission, standards, ethics, and the needs of the Honor Guard community.
Our Founding Board of Directors
The Board of Directors provides governance, oversight, and strategic direction for the National Honor Guard Society. Board members are selected to support balanced representation, professional credibility, and commitment to the Society’s mission.
The National Honor Guard Society is governed by a multidisciplinary Board of Directors united by a shared commitment to dignity, professionalism, service, and ceremonial excellence. Board members bring experience from Honor Guard operations, public safety, military service, nonprofit governance, law, finance, education, organizational leadership, and related professional fields. Together, they provide strategic direction, fiduciary oversight, and mission-focused leadership as the Society develops national standards and best practices, expands access to credible training and resources, strengthens professional collaboration, and supports Honor Guard personnel and ceremonial units across the country. Their collective experience ensures that the Society’s work remains practical, inclusive, accountable, and responsive to the needs of the diverse communities it serves.
Advisory Board
In addition to formal board governance, the Society intends to include advisory voices that help inform its work, strengthen accountability, and keep the mission connected to the people and communities Honor Guard service affects.
Family & Survivor Perspective
The Society recognizes the importance of Gold Star, line-of-duty death, and survivor-family perspectives in shaping work that affects ceremonies of remembrance, loss, and public honor.
Funeral Service Perspective
Funeral professionals play a critical role in ceremonial coordination, family care, logistics, and the proper setting for honors. Their perspective helps ensure standards and resources remain practical and respectful.
Military Veteran Perspective
Military veteran perspective helps preserve tradition, protocol awareness, and respect for the customs that influence many ceremonial practices across public safety and community honors.
Committee-Based Work
The Society’s work will be carried out through committees and working groups that allow subject-matter review, balanced input, and focused execution.
Standards & Doctrine Committee
Develops standards, recommended best practices, terminology, reference architecture, and doctrine-related guidance for Honor Guard service. This committee supports consistency while respecting agency policy and applicable law.
Credentialing & Professional Development Committee
Develops credentialing pathways, professional development models, recognition criteria, and continuing education concepts for Honor Guard members, instructors, teams, and training providers.
Grants & Scholarships Committee
Supports the future development of funding pathways to help members and units access training, equipment, travel assistance, scholarships, and readiness resources.
Membership & Outreach Working Group
Supports member engagement, interest-list development, communications, outreach to agencies and associations, and connection across the national Honor Guard community.
Governance Principles
The Society’s governance approach is designed to protect the mission, promote trust, and support a durable national institution.
Mission-First Leadership
Decisions should be guided by the Society’s charitable and educational mission, not by personal interest, commercial advantage, or organizational ego.
Vendor Neutrality
The Society is not intended to promote or advantage one instructor, company, vendor, training provider, or discipline. Standards and programs should remain independent, balanced, and community-focused.
Balanced Representation
NHGS seeks leadership and advisory input from across disciplines, regions, and professional backgrounds so the Society reflects the broader Honor Guard community.
Financial Stewardship
As a nonprofit organization, the Society must use its resources responsibly, transparently, and in furtherance of its mission.
Standards Integrity
Standards, recommended best practices, and credentialing concepts should be developed through careful review, subject-matter input, and respect for applicable law, agency policy, and existing authority.
Accountability & Transparency
The Society should operate with clear policies, documented decisions, responsible governance practices, and a willingness to be accountable to its members, partners, donors, and the public.
Legal & Policy Guardrails
The Society’s standards, resources, and professional development materials are intended to support the Honor Guard community as voluntary educational and professional resources. They do not replace applicable law, agency policy, collective bargaining requirements, military regulation, governmental authority, or the judgment of authorized officials.
Non-Regulatory Role
NHGS is not a governmental regulator and does not control agency policy, operational authority, benefits determinations, or official classifications.
Respect for Agency Authority
The Society’s resources are intended to support agencies and teams while respecting local command structure, policy, law, and operational requirements.
Educational Purpose
Standards and recommended practices are intended to educate, guide, and support professional development, not to create legal mandates.
Review & Development
The Society is building its governance, policy, standards, and credentialing materials through deliberate review, board oversight, and subject-matter input.
Charter
Foundational governance document describing the Society’s purpose, structure, and institutional framework.
Bylaws
Board governance document addressing leadership structure, meetings, voting, officer roles, and organizational procedures.
Financial Policy
Policy framework for responsible financial management, internal controls, approvals, reporting, and stewardship.
Conflict of Interest Policy
Policy designed to identify, disclose, and manage conflicts that could affect the Society’s independence or credibility.
Standards Development Process
Framework for how standards and recommended best practices are reviewed, developed, revised, and approved.
Annual Report (In Development)
Future public report summarizing the Society’s work, finances, progress, and impact.
Accountability Documents
As the Society develops, it will maintain governance and accountability documents that help guide its operations, protect its mission, and support responsible nonprofit stewardship.
Our Commitment to Accountability
The National Honor Guard Society is being built with the understanding that trust must be earned. As the Society grows, we will continue developing governance practices, policies, standards processes, and reporting structures that support transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship of the mission.
We will not always be able to do everything at once, but we will be clear about what we are building, why it matters, and how it serves the Honor Guard community.
Help Build a Society Worthy of the Mission
The National Honor Guard Society is being built by people who believe ceremonial service deserves national support, professional standards, responsible governance, and long-term institutional stewardship.
Whether you serve on an Honor Guard, lead an agency, support public safety, advise nonprofit organizations, or believe in preserving the dignity of honors, we invite you to be part of this work.
Leadership Matters Because the Mission Matters
Honor Guard service is built on trust. Families, agencies, communities, and members rely on ceremonial teams to represent service, sacrifice, tradition, and dignity during moments that cannot be repeated.
The National Honor Guard Society is being built with that same sense of responsibility. Its leadership structure, governance practices, committee model, and accountability standards are intended to protect the mission, support balanced decision-making, and ensure the Society serves the Honor Guard community as a whole.
