Sr. DeMolay MKM Lodge

Tonight I went to the stated meeting for the SR. DeMolay MKM Lodge in Cleveland. Prior to the meeting several of us got together at the Holfbrauhaus Restaurant for dinner. They had great entertainment and food. It was also Wednesday Schnitzel night so the pork dinners were all $9.99. We then went over to the temple for the meeting and MEC Bob Thomas and REC Jeff Addis were also present. The agenda for the meeting was short so I was able to get on the road early.

Grandma's OES Service Pin - 65 (68) years

My grandma is 95 years old and over the last year has had several near death moments but always came back strong. While we were at the nursing home she is at last week presenting a 70 year award in Chapter. I decided to see what pin my Grandmother was due for Eastern Star. We called and found out that she actually had 68 years and was due a 65 year pin. Since we wanted to make sure she got a service pin and weren't sure waiting until 70 years was a good idea tonight we presented her with her 65 (68) year pin. While she has a great deal of trouble speaking it was obvious she was happy to get it. We had most of the family members living around here present and the Worthy Matron when she should have gotten her 50 year pin did this presentation.

Cabiri Picnic

This year our picnic was little different, It was inside and at Antioch which proved to be a good move as the humidity was around 95 and the temperature was also about the same. We had a good turnout and a great meal,. It was good to see several Past Potentates who haven't been able to make anything for a while. It was nice that we were done early as some went upstairs to hear about the Potes trip upcoming and we headed out to get some work done at home.

Meeting with Rod and Robin Carr

Every once in a while it is nice to meet with another Grand Officer and just get to know them better. Today, Rod and Robin Carr got together with Pam and myself to meet for dinner and exchange some paperwork. We ate at the Millstone BBQ just outside of Logan and it is great but very busy, Afterwards we went to a local winery and sat for the rest of the evening talking on a bunch of subject, most of which were not Masonic related. It was definitely a nice day and a nice evening.

Scottish Rite 33 Dinner

Tonight was the annual 33rd dinner in which the new 33rds are announced. This year from Dayton Cliff Koss and Walt Barner were both named to receive their 33rd next year in addition to Steve Goad who was named to receive it last year. We had a nice evening of fellowship and also learned about several upcoming events for the Valley of Dayton before heading home.

Minerva Lodge Dinner outing

My Lodge has started a monthly dinner outing with the ladies which is generally held at a restaurant local to the Miamisburg area. Tonight we met at Bennett's in Mamisburg which is a relatively new restaurant and we had around 10 in attendance. We ate on the patio so it was a little warm and sunny but the food was very good. In addition, it gave us a chance to get to know some members a little better as there was plenty of fellowship time.

PDDGHP Meeting

Tonight several of the PDDGHP's got together in West Carrollton and discussed several ideas to help improve the 3rd District and in specific to improve attendance at Schools of Instruction and Inspections specifically. During the next year we are going to try a stop action ritual and go through each of the degrees. We are going to try to make sure to get at least someone from each Chapter being Inspected next year in that degree to attend. This should give us an opportunity to ensure all are aware of ritual changes. We also discussed several other topics and made plans to help implement some of those ideas as well.

Trinity Chapter 70 year award

Today we handed out a 70 year award for Sam Andrews of my Chapter (Trinity) along with Grand Council who presented a 70 year award as he is also a member of my Council. Our Grand High Priest Robert Blankenhorn did a nice job with the presentation and he related a few comments to us about the Chapter. A big thanks to Pam Blankenhorn who was also present and took the picture for us.

Ormus Grotto Stated

Tonight was our monthly stated meeting for the Grotto (we meet in July/August instead of Jan/Feb). As the Monarch this year, I opened the meeting and we went through the regular order of business. We tried to keep the meeting short as a bad rainstorm was headed our way but accomplished all our business including discussions for the upcoming outing to Valley Vineyards in September..

Shrine Billiken Club Meeting

Today was our monthly get together for the Jesters and as always we told a few bad jokes, introduced a few guests, played a few games of cards and ate before heading out. Our attendance this month was fairly good as we met after work instead of during the day.

Valley 80 Drill Practice

We held another drill practice tonight but I mainly talked with a guy who stopped by the Lodge to out in a petition to join. He was very interested in the Comamndery drill so I explained to him what we were doing. We had a fairly good practice and the team seems to be improving even with several new members participating this year.

Antioch Shrine Greeters

Today was the Greeters Annual Picnic held at the Troy Street Elks Club. We once again had a good turnout of members and Divan representatives. As always they had good food, fellowship and card games. We stayed around for a while after which we headed to Cincinnati to pick up our new dog Scarlett.

Grand Family Meeting

Well after spending the last week in Knoxville helping Laura get ready to start of the University of Knoxville and attending the Parents week activities at the school, we are finally back and today headed to Delaware Ohio for the Grand Family meeting. We also elected a new Grand Treasurer in Garis Pugh as William McCarty is retiring at the end of the fiscal year as of August 31. We discussed the upcoming year for Jeff Addis if he is elected Grand High Priest. We also trained the new DDGHP's and discuss potential legislation being presented. Overall it was a very productive day and we were able to get home at a reasonable hour which is good as tomorrow is slated to be a very hectic  yet fun day as we get our now puppy tomorrow.

Masonic Cooperation Meeting

Today in Delaware Ohio the Lodge, Chapter, Council, Commandery and Scottish Rite got together for a meeting on Masonic Cooperation to discuss what each of the groups are doing, Upcoming dates and special events for each were also shared. While it is impossible to avoid all conflicts this will allow for the major activities to have minimal conflict. In addition it gives us an opportunity to work together on ideas and work as a common group to improve all organizations with a membership predicated on being a Mason. Afterwards several of the Chapter Grand Officers went over to Buns for a meal.

Grand Kings Program

Tonight was the Grand Kings program which we held at Marion's Pizza. It was an event in which we invited the ladies and the District picked up the tab for the pizza and pop. It was very attended with around 50-60 in attendance. MEC Steve Duncan and MEC Jerry Crawford were also in attendance. He greeted each of the new High Priests and presented his program for the year. I think it was nice the ladies were able to hear it as it helped to answer some questions they had about what would be happening in the next year. (I added a few of the pics from the evening)

Shrine ROJ Picnic

Today we had an indoor picnic at Antioch for the ROJ group this afternoon. It was probably a good thing that it was indoors as it was definitely very hot outside. There were games of Euchre and Cornhole along with snacks and liquid refreshments. After a brief meeting to go over upcoming activities and acknowledge a few in attendance, we had a great dinner provided by Rick and Theresa Maynard. It was nice to see Steve Maynard present today a s he has been unable to join us for a while due to health concerns.

Deputy Grand Master Roll Out Program

Tonight was Doug Kaylor's roll out program for if he is elected Grand Master at the next Grand Lodge session. It was held at Huber Heights and was very well attended. There were persons from several additional district in addition to the Second Masonic District. After listening to the program I am especially excited to know about what he as Grand Master will be doing. He is going to continue to focus on the items which have been identified as basic Masonic Values which after all is hopefully the reason we all remain Masons. 

Valley Commandery Drill Practice

Tonight our drill team met and went over who was doing which positions and went step-by-step through the commands.  This was very beneficial as we found several places where we have been doing it wrong for many years. It was also good as we have a few new members of the team.  We were also very happy to know that this year we will most likely place in the top three as there are only three teams in our division.