Brethren and Ladies! Happy New Year! I hope your Holidays were safe, filled with absolute joy, and each of you had time to spend with your families during this fantastic time of the year. As the New Year is now upon us, I would be remiss not mentioning the final two events the Lodge held in 2011 – the Annual Children’s Christmas Party and Installation of 2012 Officers.
Our Annual Children’s Christmas Party hosted by the OES ladies and emceed by Bro. Mike Ellis was a huge success and the hot-dog meal and games were fantastic. I know the kids really enjoyed seeing Santa by the smiles on their faces! The Installation of our new elected Officers led by the Installing Officer – Bro. Nick Sharp and Marshall – Bro. Tommy Baggett enjoyed a huge crowd followed by a magnificent reception hosted by the Worshipful Master and his wife Linda. Although each of these events had huge crowds making this a success- I wish more Brothers and their families could have attended.
Our New Junior Past Master David Thompson, prior to relinquishing his Gavel to our new Worshipful Master commented that the highlight of his Year was raising over $8K for Christina Perry’s medical expenses. What originally started out as a $1K goal rapidly grew to a significant amount of money that defrayed significant medical costs. Because of you and many sister Lodges and Brothers across our state, Christina is at home resting comfortably after receiving the medical treatment she needed so desperately.
Additionally, we were able to provide 18 Christmas Food baskets this Christmas Season thanks to your generosity. Bros. Dale Crawford, Allen DeShields, Jr., Tommy Baggett, Keith Davis, Mike Ellis, and “Tiny” played a significant role putting this program together and making sure these baskets were delivered before Christmas. I would be remiss in not mentioning Peggy DeShields’ efforts as well.
Our newly elected officers have already started to work. The Worshipful Master has a jammed packed annual calendar which includes a local Cave Degree, degree work with a KY Lodge, and a Fishing Tournament just to name a few. Please stay-tuned for updates on these and several other big events or simply drop by the Lodge and I will be glad to “catch” you up on upcoming scheduled activities. We would sure like to see you there should your schedule allow. In the event that you cannot drive – let us know – there are many Bro. on hand to give you a ride.
January is already a busy month. We have two MM Degrees scheduled for January 19th. We all know how important this night was for each of us so I hope you can find time in your schedule to witness their “big night”. Unfortunately there are some nights that we wonder if we even have enough to open the Lodge. Our new Junior Warden, Bro. Charlie Griffin has planned an excellent meal schedule for all upcoming degree work, so if you find the time to come to the Lodge to “break bread” before the degree then please join us. A home-cooked Lasagna Dinner is currently on the menu thanks to Kecia Davis, Cindy Slater, and “Granny” Bradshaw! You will be able to see the complete night’s menu under the Junior Warden Notes on the new website: queencitylodge.org.
On January 31st, Worshipful Grand Lecturer Jim F. Templeton will be at the Lodge for School of Instruction which begins at 7:00. At 5:30 the Worshipful Master will host Bro. Templeton for dinner at the Sango Café. If you would like to join for dinner then meet us at the Lodge at 5:15 and we will all head over to the Sango Café for a quick meal. If you have never been to a School of Instruction – you ought to come. They are extremely informative and Bro. Templeton is very entertaining.
I want to remind everyone that the 3rd Thursday of every month, Bro. Don McIntosh conducts an Open Discussion Education Night from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm in the Lodge Library. I have been to these discussions and they are extremely informative and everyone can participate. However, the attendance at times is extremely low. You are always welcome to attend. If you have a specific topic you wish to talk about, a Masonic question that you would like to get answered, or you simply just want to listen in – then come join us if your schedule permits. The January 19th meeting has been canceled due to the MM Degree activity that night, but Bro. McIntosh has assured me that the February meeting will go as scheduled.
Additionally, Bro. McIntosh, as Education Committee Chairman is always looking for any Master Mason that would like to give a 5-15-minute short talk on a Masonic topic of choice. If you are interested in giving a short presentation, then let me know and I will pass him the message or come by the Lodge during a stated meeting and meet with him. Currently on the schedule:
January 12th Shedding Light on What it Means to be “Brought to Light”
February 9th Bro. Harry S. Truman
March 8th Masonic Charity
If you did not know, Bro. Jerry Wyckoff and several other Brothers are always on hand Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:00 to 7:00 (unless it is OES Stated Meeting or Degree Night) to practice ritual work, or provide answers to ritual questions, or assist in Lecture refresher work. If you are interested simply drop by and join in.
I would like everyone to take a look at the new Lodge website makeover at queencitylodge.org. Scott Shumate, the Lodge Webmaster, has done a fantastic job getting this project off of the ground and I think you will see when you visit that information flow to the members will quickly improve. A work in progress, this website will even allow you social networkers the ability to stay in touch with the Lodge activities via Facebook and/or Twitter. There are still many enhancements that we are working on including the ability to pay dues online and compiling a District 7 version of MoLight to track our sister Lodge activity within our District. Please let him know what you would like to see in addition to what he has already accomplished. We will work to make it happen! You can reach him at webmaster@queencitylodge.org.
Hope to see you and your families and friends on Saturday, January 7th for our monthly Lodge Breakfast. Many folks work hard to put it on including Bro. Dale Crawford, his wife Verna, Charlie Griffin, Linda Alford, Jerry Wyckoff, Allen DeShields, John Wilm, Dave and Jacqueline Thompson just to name a few. All proceeds for this breakfast go to our Larry C. Alford II Scholarship Fund and the food is FANTASTIC!
Lastly, I need to remind those that have not paid their 2012 Dues to please remit payment immediately; these were due December 31st. You can still remit your dues payment by dropping by the Secretary’s Office at the Lodge or mailing your $90 payment to the address below. All proceeds received beyond the $90 will be applied to the Building Fund. For those of you that have already paid – Thank you!
Queen City Lodge No. 761
PO Box 761
Clarksville, TN 37041
Until Next Month!
Steve Slater, Secretary
