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.