Wow!
Where has the time gone?
Wait – is it still
Winter?
Drat!
The above has probably been
repeated many times in households throughout Ohio. Judging by
what we’ve experienced this year, the fact that Buckeye Chuck predicted another
6 weeks of winter should have been no surprise.
Even though the weather has
occasionally been frightful, we’ve been hard at work on a number of
things. The most recent was our EA
Inspection on February 11th.
We have several “new” officers this year, which necessitated more
practices then we usually schedule. Each
did very well, which means the Inspection part of the morning went well too,
both in our opinions and that of our Inspecting Officer. We are happily looking forward to receiving
his written report.
The custom this year in the
15th District is to take a photo of all present. This is posted on the 15th
District Face Book account, and should be prominent here as well. A total of 56 Brothers were in attendance,
which was the largest number present for a 15th District Inspection thus
far this year. Of those, 14 were our
members. An informal tally came up with
12 current or past District Deputy Grand Masters in attendance. An informal breakdown of that number was
interesting. We counted 2 current DDGMs,
plus 2 past DDGMs from our Lodge. Of the
remaining 8, it is believed that each had been our Inspecting Officer during
their active years. We consider that as
remarkable.
Other parts of our
Inspection-day experience did not go as smoothly. For the third consecutive year we experienced
plumbing issues. This time only the
men’s restroom was impacted, and resulted in a quick discussion among our
trustees. The resulting plan is to
replace the commode, faucets for both restroom sinks, and the water heater, which
had separately turned in its resignation around Christmas. This addresses both the current issues and
those anticipated in the near future.
Our recent newsletter
included a multi-purpose questionnaire.
We wanted to make sure we had the most recent contact information, which
is a larger challenge than one might suspect.
For instance, we’ve found that a number of people have disconnected
land-line phones, which was frequently the only phone number we had on file. Some members have moved, and most that have
email have changed their email addresses over time. The majority of questionnaires have been
returned, but we are still hoping for a 100% response.
Those with email and ability
to text have already experienced some of the benefits of the updated
information. We have used both for
meeting and special event reminders.
This not only allows us to distribute information quickly, it is also
cost effective – free!
One aspect of the
questionnaire was requesting information on military service. MWB Rick Schau, Grand Master of Masons in Ohio, has encouraged Lodges to recognize the military
service of our members, and has designed a special commemorative pin for that
purpose. With the successful completion
of our Inspection, we will be turning our attention to planning and scheduling
a special evening for this recognition.
Although details aren’t known yet, it would seem to be a safe guess that
a wonderful meal will be part of the festivities.
Below is our calendar as we
know it now. Adjustments will be made as
received.
February 19,
2018 President’s Day
March 10,
2018 Spring Luncheon and Silent Auction Fund
Raiser for the Child Evangelism
Fellowship. It will be hosted at the Cornerstone Alliance Church, 2010 Marion-Marysville Road, Marion, from 11am
till 2pm. Admission is
free, but they are asking for a $10 donation for lunch.
March 11, 2018 Daylight
Savings Time starts at 2am.
(Spring ahead, Fall back)
March 20, 2018 Spring arrives!
April 1, 2018 Easter
April 6, 2018 15th
District’s Grand Master’s Reception.
To be held at All Occasions in Waldo.
Gathering and Fellowship start at 6pm,
with dinner and the program at 7pm.
May 28, 2018 Memorial Day.
Formerly
known as Decoration Day, it commemorates all men and women who have died in
military service for the United States. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on
Memorial Day and it is traditionally seen as the start of the summer season.
June 3, 2018 Ohio
Masonic Home Day, Springfield, Ohio. See schedule
link on the left side of this page.
June 22, 2018 Opening
Ceremonies of the Ohio Special Olympics.
To be held at the OSU campus, Columbus, Ohio.
July 4, 2018 Independence Day. Celebrate the birth of a
nation!
As of this date, 242
years and counting.
That’s what we know for
now. See you in Lodge!
.
