The Grand Solution

Last year the Grand Master instituted many changes in the governance of the Grand Lodge.  One of the primary changes was to change the number of districts from nine down to six. This also changed how the appointed officers were selected, previously each district was represented in the Grand Line by a brother recommended by their district. The appointed officers last year were personally selected by the Grand Master as will the appointed officers this year. 

One of the arguments for the changes was that some of the districts struggled to find qualified / willing brothers to serve....ok...I will buy into that logic.  What I and many other brothers have a hard time with is the selection process of Grand Line officers....so....I am not one to complain without offering a solution that may be a nice compromise for both sides of the issue....The Grand Solution

There are nine Grand Line officers, four elected and five appointed.  After the next election, I would REDUCE the number of districts to FIVE. Going from six to five would be subtle compared to going from nine to six and should be effective for many decades. I would then go back to having each district recommend the replacement for whatever vacancy happens in the appointed officers.  By having only five districts, there should be an ample number of qualified / willing brothers to serve.
By doing the change after the fall election, no current elected officers will be effected unlike the prior change.  Essentially this would return the good aspect of the old system while accomplishing the goal of the new system.

Testing 1,2,3,4,5,6......

I have now been installed for my sixth time as Master......hmmmm.....not my original "plan"...sit in each chair, enjoy a year as Master and go off and play in Scottish Rite, York Rite, Shrine....what happened....well the funny thing about going through a progressive line and actively participating and doing the work is it is a great experience !  Most shy away from the management / leadership aspect of being Master since it is not apart of their normal life. I work as a manager and running a lodge is a unique challenge that I enjoy. I have taken the time and effort to memorize all of the parts of "standard" ritual so all I need to do is refresh for degree nights.  So the Master part is easy for me.... being Master is never easy, requires constant effort, focus and can be exhausting and frustrating.  So why do it six times......it is also very rewarding and satisfying to see the results of your effort.

As I enter my second term as Master of my second affiliate lodge, I only hope that when the year is over and my successor is installed I can look back and say well done, mission accomplished, the lodge is in better condition than when I took over. I can say that about my two years as Master of my home lodge and my two years as Master of my first affiliate lodge.  Is that not the job of any leader ? Provide a brighter future than when you started.

So here is to 2014, every thing is in place to make it a great year ! So mote it be

Not Wrong - Not Right

This weekend I was reminded that sometimes in life: There maybe nothing "wrong" with your decision but it may not be the "right" thing to do. The current Grand Master removed two appointed officers from the grand line for his term as Grand Master which he is entitled to do just as any elected Master of a blue lodge has the right to do. While there was nothing "wrong" with this action, many of the craft felt it was not the "right" thing to do.  And one thing about masons is we have a strong sense of right and wrong.

He spoke at the blue lodge councils explaining his actions, I remember walking away from the meeting with one thought, he stated if you do not like my decision, you have the power to elect who want to serve the Grand Lodge, While simply the Master of a lodge I understand the reach of my influence and that my cable tow is within the walls of my lodge, so three maybe four votes..... not exactly a voting block.

Perhaps he planted the seed in enough brothers minds where they said, you are right, we do have the vote.  This past Saturday at the GL session, the craft exercised their right to vote and returned one of the appointed officers previously removed to the elected position of JW.  I was happy in the aspect that the Grand Master was correct, we the craft determine who serves the grand lodge and as stated in my previous blog, we have the right to vote.

Where do we go from here largely rests in the hands of the Grand Master elect, I believe and hope that he will focus on returning harmony to forefront of our society.

The RIGHT To Vote

Each year the principle officers (WM,SW,JW) of each lodge head to the fall Grand Lodge session to elect the Grand Lodge officers for the coming year.  Traditionally this has been a courtesy exercise of advancing the line officers to the next position in the line.  Historically we had nine districts and there was a Grand Line officer from each district which had been selected by their district. As in the blue lodges the appointed positions are selected by the incoming Grand Master, traditionally the incoming Grand Master maintained those chosen by their district, occasionally making a change.  The current Grand Master decided to change this and that the incoming Grand Master solely decides who the appointed positions are.

So.......now it is time to remind the blue lodges that THEY elect the top four positions of the Grand Line and that they have the power to decide who they want to represent them.  I used the word "traditionally" often, as masonry is full of tradition and so now it is important to educate the craft of the new reality otherwise we can expect the lemmings to do as expected. The Grand Master talked of the concept of a pool of appointed officers, I have two problems with this concept. First masons traditionally elect the Senior Deacon to the Junior Warden position, so as long as the pool has titles, blue lodge masons will vote accordingly.  Second, blue lodge masons traditionally do not realize that they can elect any master mason in good standing, it does not need to be someone currently in the Grand Line or the "pool".

I have been a lodge officer since 2000 and have been Master of three different lodges, I do not recall any of my lodges ever discussing the upcoming Grand Lodge vote, again tradition made it a non decision.  We would discuss any pending legislation effecting the craft and how the voting officers should vote to represent the will and pleasure of the lodge.

I now think that the lodges should discuss who the voting members should select for the elected positions in the Grand Line.  In addition, if districts are no longer going to have a voice in who goes into the "pool" then it becomes necessary that Blue Lodges Councils organize the lodges of their area to vote for who best represents their interests. The voice of the craft needs to rise up and be heard.

Now more then ever, lodges need to exercise their RIGHT to vote.

Perspective

I grew up on a dairy farm, milking cows and shoveling shit, long days , hard work. I always did well in school so I went to school to be an engineer. After graduating the job market at the time was poor so I got a job in my field as an operator or blue color man. This was a great experience and gave me a perspective and a skill set in my profession that would serve me well. I then went onto work for a family owned company where I after many years I became Vice President. When the original owner of the company passed away the kids took over with a different perspective having never worked at the company or in the field. So several of us decided it was time to move on, I went to another family owned company which has worked out very well.  I continued my education through the years and now have two AS, BS and a MS but the one thing that has served me best is the hard working perspective I gained on the farm and the practical experience gained working in the plant as a blue collar man. I have always been a farm boy at heart not a suit and tie guy and work titles gained through the years have meant little to me as long as they spell my name correct on the pay check.

I also grew up with a deep love for music, I played in bands until my second daughter was born. I enjoy song writing so got involved in a song writing organization and went on to serve as President of the organization for four years.

I petitioned for masonry when I turned 21 and have now been a member for nearly 30 years. My masonic journey is laid out in my previous blogs but to summarize. I was asked to join the officer line of my home lodge, progressed through every chair and served as Master for two years. I affiliated with another lodge and served as Master for two years, I have now affiliated with another lodge and serve as Master.  So I now have the perspective of three different lodges and many years of serving as an officer. 

Recent Grand Lodge decisions have upset many of the craft but more especially those with a deeper perspective and understanding of the fraternity.  Upon reflection, I remember sitting in my first Grand Lodge session waiting to vote and saying well who are we voting for ? This annual ritual was pretty much a simple task of progressing the officers who had been recommended by their districts and appointed to the grand line.  All of the hard work had been done by the individual districts, who best could serve and represent the desires of the craft from that district.  Unless you have served as a principle officer of a lodge, at a minimum, you have no perspective relative to this.

So now the Grand Lodge in an effort to invoke the two year term has eliminated the concept of representation by district and has decided that they are the wisest to choose who should represent the Grand Lodge and the needs of the craft.  Essentially invoking a system of taxation without representation. Based on the current selections, these decisions are based on service to Grand Lodge or patronage to the Grand Master.

I am sure these are good brothers and will serve well, that is not the question, it is a matter of who determines who best can serve. The current Grand Master had the time to travel far and wide during his time in the grand line, most do not and have not.  I have always ruled my lodges by consensus as I feel the need to gather perspectives before making a decision. This how our old system worked for decades and it is my belief that the Past Grand Masters from our district served the state and our district well.

Post or not to Post

I have started and not posted several blogs this year as my mind would always say - to post or not to post - that is the question............I am a passionate leader and I realize that therefore I also know that with passion comes the strong emotions relating to subjects that touch my masonic world.  The last six months of CT masonry has been wrought with emotions and a time of reflection was needed.  My conclusion, at least for me personally is, let the purple do what the purple want to do, I will not waste my thoughts and time on trying to find logic in an illogical world. History will be the judge of the current line of thought and it probably will not be kind.  For me, my focus will be on what has always been the most important aspect of masonry for me, the local lodge and the relationships forged working in the quarries with my fellow brothers.

I will now post some of previous thoughts as I see I have been pretty consistant in my view points.  Neal Diamond wrote a song "Forever In Blue Jeans" and I will always be a blue lodge brother nothing more, nothing less, for that is where my passion and my heart dwells.

Grand Master II

The current Grand Lodge desires to change the term of office of the Grand Master to two years..........hmmmmm............okay I agree with the reasons given and the logic behind it.  I am an engineer by trade and logic appeals to me.  In addition I served as Master of my home lodge for two years and as well as I was prepared going into my first year, I found my second year much more enjoyable already knowing the ins and outs of the position after my first year.  I had only planned on being Master one year but necessity arose where I needed to serve the second year.  I then went on to serve as Master of my first affiliate lodge for two years.  This was necessary since I needed to build and develop an officer line behind me so that the lodge could be self sufficient after I was out of office. They are now in their third year of new Masters for the first time in nearly thirty years, mission accomplished.  So now I am in my first year as Master of my second affiliate lodge and like my first affiliate lodge it will probably be necessary that I serve for two years in order to properly develop their officer line for future success.  So I know from experience what it is like to serve as Master for two years and yes it can be more effective than a one year term.

So........I would hope that if voted into effect and unfortunately the path being taken to get there makes it doubtful, but that is another blog......that the craft would have the right to vote to re-elect the Grand Master to a second term and that the Grand Master would have the right to only serve one term if so desired.  Basically the same way we do the President, both decide if it is appropriate to serve a second term.

Back In The East

2013 finds me back in the East for my fifth term as Master in my third lodge. A rare achievement in the craft or one that most brothers would simply not want to try.....  I however like to remain challenged by the unique issues that each lodge faces. My new lodge faces financial challenges like many lodges across the state but one I have not faced before in my other two lodges. One of my goals for the upcoming year is to increase membership to generate more dues to fund the lodge. My track record shows that I am capable of doing this having added twenty two new members to my home lodge during my two years in office. I was always proud of this and yet I was recently told by a Grand Lodge officer that I had failed as Master since now five years later, seven have been dropped NPD. First if I had been in charge for the last five years he would have a valid statistic but lodges ebb and flow with the change of each new Master and you can only really judge a Master by his term in office. I received the Masters Achievement award by the Grand Lodge each of my years in office so by their standards.......I looked at the seven brothers dropped and I my conclusion was typical of what all lodges see: one joined for the wrong reason, three were a father and his sons who once the father unfortunately took ill their priorities shifted, the three others were co-workers who joined but could not attend because of the shift nature of their work changed.  So basically life has a tendency to shift peoples priorities. 

My home lodge rarely has repeat Masters so management changes on a frequent basis as a lot of lodges do. All new Masters have their strengths and weaknesses as we are all individuals. We all gasp at the compensation packages given to top notch CEO's but history has shown great leadership usually gives great results.  Yet we change leaders like socks and expect great results from some men who have never managed in their lives.  Yes we can set up customs and structure to support these brothers but the Master is still "the man in charge".  So back to the NPD issue, you can't judge a manager but what a team does years after he no longer manages. It does beg the question, does our system of management still work.....or is it as old as the fraternity and needs to change.

Third Time Is A Charm ????

Well tis the season for elections and one never knows....

This past year was my first year in ten years that I was not an officer, while I appreciated the lack of pressure to attend since I "did not need to be there" I also knew what I've always known and that is I'm not a good passenger. So when I was asked if I would consider becoming a Junior Warden, I said hmmmmm. Then when I was asked if I would be willing to do the east for the degrees, oh really. And if you want to be Master the following year.......well well well.

So I'm off to my third lodge with hope that I can have the same impact I had on my second lodge, a now vibrant lodge with a strong officer line and great degree work.

So here's to 2012: Third Time's a Charm

Driving The Bus

I was Master of my home lodge for two years, normally it was a progressive line and everyone served one year but my senior deacon had to drop out and we decided to keep the top three officers the same and move everyone else up behind us as opposed to trying to fill the whole.


The brother who served as my SW for two years took over and a few months into his term he commented that " it was much easier riding on the bus as opposed to driving the bus". He said I made it look so easy to be Master that he expected it to be easy. I think alot of officers watch and ride along and don't think much about what they would do when they are behind the wheel. And yes you are driving the bus; you are deciding the direction of your lodge and a lot of brothers are coming along for the ride.


So you have to decide when it is your turn to drive, are you going to hit cruise control or put the pedal down ? Of course with any big journey, pre-planning makes the trip all that smoother, so mapping out your course well ahead of time makes it go all the better.

Most of all, enjoy the journey on the path you pick, when it is your turn.

1-1-11 A New Beginning

2010 I did not do a single post, as they say, sometimes life comes at you fast. As I start 2011 I have no offices elected or appointed for the first time in ten years. Ten years ago I started in the officer line of my home lodge, through the years I joined the Scottish Rite, the Shrine, The York Rite and served as President of Blue Lodge Council. As I was reaching the end of my journey in my home lodge I affiliated with another Blue Lodge. I served as Master of my home lodge for two years and then as Master of my affiliate lodge for two years. Now I have time to reflect on this journey and share my thoughts.


As I said I served as Master for four years, a great honor and privilege. What I learned in those years is that to be effective a Master should: communicate, energize and socialize. Simply sending out two trestle boards a year does not cut it for communication. E-mail is quick and easy and is a great supplement to keep members up to date on upcoming events. Energize, the Master should be the biggest cheerleader, if the Master doesn't believe no one will believe. Socialize, get the members to get to know eachother through social activities such as dinners, CHIP programs, anything than just sitting there watching the Master blabbing.

POWER

I am Master hear me roar !!! I am Potentate bow before me !!! I am Grand (you fill in the blank) kiss my ring.............

Luckily most men don't seek power and even luckier most that do humbly seek not for their own benefit. But history is full of those who seek it for their own glory or who once get it become intoxicated with its effect. Our fraternity is set up with a system of government that is a dictatorship, one of the most abused systems in the history of the world since in this system the man at the top is the "The Man". To think that because of the nature and philosophy of our fraternity that we are immune to abuse would be naive. Now I still believe this is the right form of government for our fraternity and it has worked well for centuries. Most Masters only have one year to govern and any other form of government would simply be to cumbersome to operate under. Hopefully the cream still rises to the top but with thinning numbers and less willing to step up to the plate I think the odds have greatly increased for the wrong people to succeed.

I recently listened to a horror story that happened in one of our appendent bodies, the "leader" did so much damage in his one year that the ramifications will be felt for years to come. In a recent blog by a fellow mason he accounts on how after a degree a Grand Line officer suddenly quizzed his candidate on proficiency. I found this outrageous, what would possess a brother to potentially embarrass a candidate, the Master and the Lodge. I am sorry but talk about drunk with power, hopefully I will only be sitting on the sidelines when this one comes to power. I watched in disgust earlier this year after serving as Master on an elite degree team how the peacocks fluffed each other after the degree. I left thinking this is not the fraternity I know and love, will I serve again ????????

I guess us purest can still can still be proud of what we accomplish at the local level and help ensure that brotherly love still prevails. I will end with this word of caution: When you select Stewards this year, is this a man you want to lead your lodge ?

THE NUMBERS GAME

In my last blog I commented on the leasons learned from GM, although the issues facing GM are different than the problems facing our fraternity there is a common theme, the numbers game. In GM's case through the years they slowly lost market share and hence the volume necessary to maintain the size of their organization. In our case we have far fewer members than we did decades ago and time seems less available, so lets do the numbers game.......


Let's say I join the fraternity and fall in love with the organization therefore I attend all the meetings, twice a month. The next thing I do is join the officers line which leads to practice nights so lets say one extra night a month so we are up to three nights. Now we decide we want further light in masonry so we join one of the rites, lets say the York Rite. Wow this great, I love every aspect they have to offer so now I attend a night of Chapter, a night of Council, a night of Commandery every month therefore three more nights a month. So now we are up to six nights a month but wait I hear the Shrine has a lot to offer and supports a great cause so we join that, great, wonderful, we join a unit so now we do two nights a month for the Shrine. So lets see now we are up to eight nights a month. Realistic maybe for some but for most not really so what happens we spend our time where we can or devote all our time to the part of the fraternity we enjoy the most and become simply a dues paying member of the others.

Freemasonry - GM

The failure of GM and the conclusions reached during the reorganization should cause masons to pause and at least take a moment to ponder; do we have too many brands and too many dealerships to support for the size of our current membership ?

Unfortunately our fraternity like many volunteer organizations has shrunk in numbers over the years/decades and yet we still have almost the same number of lodges and appendent bodies. While I am a member in most of the appendent bodies; Scottish Rite, York Rite and the Shrine and I enjoy the aspects that each has to offer, I do question if there is enough brothers to go around to effectively support and perhaps more important lead all these associated organizations......

Yet the appendent bodies is where some of, in my opinion, the most effective charity work is done; Shrine burn hospitals, Scottish Rite Learning Centers, etc....with the blue lodges as the cornerstone of entire thing.

So here is the dilemma, if I only have so much cement (time, members) how thin do I spread it before the whole thing becomes weak? Even on a more micro scale, how long should lodges (dealerships) hold onto charters when they really are no longer effective and no longer create more cement (members) to support the larger picture.

Another aspect which we see throughout lodges and the fraternity as a whole is what we have decided to do, or should I say has been a natural circumstance is water down our cement by having the same leaders throughout multiple lines, multiple lodges, etc....

Like GM, we need to decide can we still effectively manage all these brands the way they are currently structured ? I think the value of the appendent bodies is still there but I do feel some reorganization is needed and perhaps as they say it is time to right size the organization.

Expectations

How does a volunteer organization establish any consistancy and standards.....expectations. Why are some lodges much stronger than others even with similar membership.....expectations. There is no pay associated with what we do or how well we do it only pride in a job well done.

One of our Past Masters once told me that a lodge is only as good as its ritual. Once you let your ritual slide the whole lodge slides and I have to agree with him since good ritual work is the cornerstone of any lodge. How does a lodge establish good ritual practices......expectations. It should be expected that if you are a Steward you will perform the first section lecture. In my home lodge it is expected that if you are the Senior Deacon you will perform the Middle Chamber lecture. The Junior Warden does the EA Degree, the Senior Warden does the FC Degree and the Master is expected to do all three degrees. Any officer starting in the line knows these expectations, period.

The problem is a lot of lodges have trouble getting brothers to become officers and to do so they often lower the expectation of the position, the any warm body will do syndrome. While this may work for a short while in the long run without developing upcoming officers the seats end up getting filled with Past Masters who eventually burn out. This is what basically happened to my affiliate lodge. I am now proud to say that they have a full progressive line and all the officers know the expectations of the positions.

What changed ? Expectations, plain in simple. How did they change ? New Leadership, as with sports teams what do teams do when they are not getting the desired results, they change managers, they change expectations. All Masters have their own unique style and leading a volunteer organization is not easy since the key word is volunteer. Therefore not all styles work or should I say are effective.

IGNITE OUR PASSIONS

We as masons are taught to subdue our passions and improve ourselves in masonry....while this has its own unique meaning I suggest that what we need to do "ignite our passions and improve masonry".

As a volunteer organization everyone chooses their personal level of participation. Many join and fade away only to be dropped for NPD a few years later. While becoming an officer is not for everyone, those that choose to do so must realize that when they become Master they are the guiding force for their lodge for a year. It is easy for complacency to set in as anything beyond complacency takes effort. We all have lives that are very busy and time is a precious commodity, it is easy to kick your masonic duties to the curb.

As with all organizations leadership is the key and passionate leadership ignites the fire of others, which in turn encourages them to invite others. Members need to feel excited about what is happening in their lodge or feel what is happening is worth while and more importantly worth their time. So I say to you up and coming Masters, ignite your passion and make your year worthy of the rank you have achieved.

THE TWO DEGREES OF MASONRY

I often work with a traveling degree team that performs the Master Mason Degree. In my years working with the team I noticed that we keep going to the same lodges over and over. While I understand many lodges have reached the point where they no longer have the man power to perform this degree or have not built back up to such a level I also feel many lodges simply don't try. It becomes all too easy to have a degree team come in or to farm candidates out to other lodges. One of these most frequented lodges has brought in many new candidates in the past few years and has developed a officer line. As we all know, if you don't perform a degree, you don't learn it. Therefore all they are doing by constantly using a degree team is developing an officer line that only knows the first two degrees.

There are strong lodges and weak lodges in every district and it is not uncommon for neighboring lodges to assist eachother. I think it is far more useful for a lodge to bring in the help needed to perform the degree than to outsource it.

PURPLE AMOUNG US

Now that most lodges have their new officers installed it is time to get down to business again. Which of course means performing degree work for this years candidates. Along with this of course comes the visit by the purple people. I remember when I was a junior officer this was a big deal and I remember how everyone got so nervous about it. Now as "veteran" officer I realize it is really nothing at all but a formality that is required once a year by the Grand Lodge. I am also willing to bet that the DD will be more nervous about doing the inspection than the lodge will be about doing the degree. Our Grand Lodge is now pushing for that on inspection nights, all officers should be in their installed positions and that work should be performed by members of that lodge only, no outside help. While I realize that lodges should be graded by the work that they perform and not by some outside ringers brought in that night, I also see the other side of this.

What gets lost in all of this is that the degrees are all about the candidates and if the degrees are done much better with outside help so be it. Why should Grand Lodge prove their point at the expense of the candidates, most lodges know where they stand on the quality of their degree work and often take steps to make up for their inadequacies by moving officers around and supplementing with outside help.

I would like to take this one step further and I will propose this to our district that at the end of the inspection period that the scores given to each lodge should be presented at the Blue Lodge Council. Are we not grown men ? Did not most of us go to college and see our grades posted ? There is no greater motivator than peer pressure. How would you like to be the lodge in your district with the lowest score ? Perhaps it is time for a merger if you always are. And you can bet the strong lodges would work hard for the perfect score.

STARDATE12252008

Having always been an avid Star Trek fan I was watching the movie Generations last night. While it was not one of my favorites there was scene that particularly caught my attention. Kirk and Picard were talking and Kirk told Picard not give up the Captains seat, not for promotion, new opportunities, etc. He said because in that seat you can make difference. I am not by any means saying that Masters should hold on to the East, what I am saying is that Masters should realize they can make a difference. Too often brothers get to the East and count the days until they are out of office. The year or years in office should be cherished and enjoyed and you should finish your term proud of your name being counted among the select few.


My views on lodge leadership have morphed during my time in the officer line. I used to be so proud of my home lodge having a progressive line with no Past Masters and Masters served one year and were done. While still am a strong advocate of the progressive line I no longer view have a few Past Masters in the line if necessary as a bad thing as long as they don't get locked into a position which deters the development of new officers. My philosophy on the officer line is now the same as that of becoming a member; becoming an officer should be an act of their own fee will and accord. Too often lodges in desperation beg new brothers to join the officer line many of whom are not ready to be there, don't belong there or don't really wish to be there. I have seen the effects of these and now conclude that it is better to fill holes in the line with PM's than to try to force square pegs in round holes.

A NEW BEGINNING

Last week I was installed as Master of my affiliate lodge and even though I just finished being Master of my home lodge for two years I am truly excited about this new opportunity to serve the craft. Being Master is a honor and a position of great responsibility, our fraternity is set up so that Master determines the level of activity of the lodge; hence to set the craft to work and give them good and wholesome instructions for their labors.

Each lodge has its own characteristics and customs. my affiliate lodge is much different than my home lodge and I am trying to take the best of both worlds as I prepare for the upcoming year. They have a full progressive line from JW on down and all the chairs are filled with brothers ready to do the work. This has not been seen in this lodge for many, many years. My main goal will be to continue to build the membership and to keep the new members engaged. We have a very busy year ahead of us as one of our members will be installed as Grand Master in March.

I was fortunate to have the Past Master who served my home lodge the year before me affiliate as well and will serve as SW this year. We are both solid ritualists and will be able to set the example for the junior officers. He however has no interest in serving as Master so I will be in the East for two years. I am confident that if the lodge continues along its current course in two years they will be one of the strongest lodges in the district and my work will have been well worth the effort.

Then I will be looking for my next new beginning..........