From the East
Brothers,
Greetings from the East. January has been a busy month. At our Stated Communication, we welcomed several of our Prince Hall brethren. They presented an interesting short talk on the history of Prince Hall. I look forward to visiting with them again in the near future.
As the Scottish Rite is selling their building and land, we retrieved items from Phalanx’s history from them.
Finally, we finished out the month with an Entered Apprentice degree. We have an excellent group of brothers conducting the degrees and I am proud to be working with them.
February is looking to be just as busy. We will be conducting a Fellowcraft degree at a date to be determined. We are also getting ready for a “Spring Cleaning” of the lodge and putting our history on display.
I look forward to seeing you in Lodge.
Fraternally,
Bill Stout – Master
From the West
Greetings from the West my Brothers,
As we await our February blizzard (annual snowfall whether we need it) that usually cripples the area, we have been basking in rather a tepid winter – thus far. We have been having very productive trustee meetings of late with East Gate lodge and we look forward to some much needed changes SOON to our lodge building. Preliminary conversations are well underway with contractors for an elevator and a general makeover for our building. I will update you at our stated. Just a reminder, if you see something that needs attention at our lodge building let us know. There was a problem with the kitchen gas line being closed down recently with no explanation, leaving the kitchen range and ovens unusable for a scheduled meeting. When the gas company came out, a technician found loose fittings that caused a leak. That line has since been repaired.
Meantime, we have moved our lodge property from the Scottish Rite building, and the Charlotte Scottish Rite bodies are now meeting in our building the first Wednesday of the month – you may notice the extra tables, chairs and banner in the dining hall.
Fraternally,
John Harder, SW, PM
From the South
Brothers,
We are off to a great start this year with another new Entered Apprentice initiated on the 30th. It was the first time in over 2 years that I sat in the East for any degree work, and it was such a pleasure! We have quite a few new brothers joining our ranks, and I would strongly encourage any of our new brothers to participate in degree work. There is no better way to get to know your fraternity and enjoy fellowship on a regular basis. Being a part of a degree team also affords you the opportunity to assist our lodge with making a terrific impression on new candidates as the come into our lodge. As all of you know, the experience of being a candidate in degree work can be a moving one, and it is that much more powerful when all of those involved are well prepared. If you ever have questions about how you can participate please reach out to one of your officers and we will gladly point you in the right direction. I look forward to seeing all of you in lodge soon..
All the best,
Jim Lofton – JW, PM
From the Secretary
Brothers,
We have received a 2017 dues payment from only 63% of our members . If you’ve misplaced that notice, please contact me as soon as possible. I will get you another. Per CODE, members not making payment by March 1 are deemed delinquent. If you are unable to make payment, please contact me or the Master for what will be considered a confidential conversation. We do not wish to lose members who find themselves in difficulty.
Fraternally,
Mike Hamrick, PM
Secretary