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Issue No. 105 May 5, 2008 |
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R:.W:. Joseph R. Leo R:.W:. David L. Blasch V:.W:. Robert W. Adams V:.W:. John W. Cola V:.W:. Scott A. Klein Lodges of the Athelstane Cornerstone Goshen Hoffman Hudson River Jerusalem Temple Naurashank Port Jervis Stony Point-Wawayanda Wallkill Warwick West Point Archives No.
1 5/5/06 |
Here we are, my Brothers, at the end of the adventure. It’s Monday May 5th and Grand Lodge Session has closed for the day. Tomorrow morning, we will elect our new Grand Master and shortly after his Installation after lunch, the name of your new District Deputy Grand Master and Grand Steward will be read and their journey will begin. I wish both Bob and Louis the very best of luck in their work and travels, and enjoin you all to show them the support that you have shown me if not more whenever possible. There’s a lot of good stuff to reflect on. I’d like to begin by thanking the dedicated Brothers who have served as District Leaders and Committee Chairmen for us over the last two years. Grand Lodge introduced more new programs in the last two years than we saw in the previous ten and you guys took them up and ran with them time and again. We didn’t pick and choose what we thought we could do, we didn’t do the ones we liked and ignored the ones that didn’t thrill us; in other words we didn’t apply the Chinese restaurant menu approach to doing our jobs, we simply did as we were asked. It took a lot of work, but I could not be prouder of any band of Brothers for such consistent, long term, and quality hard work. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’d also like to thank my good friend and traveling companion, RW Dave Blasch, who has worked incredibly hard to bring Grand Lodge’s educational programs to the District and a steadying hand and voice of reason to its sometimes impetuous DDGM. Thank you, David, for everything you’ve done and everything you are. I could not have asked for a finer Staff Officer to work with. We still have a lunch coming! To the Lodge Officers I have worked with these last two years, thank you for so often biting off more than you could chew, going where others said “we don’t go”, for putting that recalcitrant “we” aside long enough to glimpse the future of our Craft and basking in its brightness; letting that light nourish your Fortitude, and stepping up to meet new challenges. We had a rare opportunity these last two years to effect some real changes necessary for our Craft to continue and grow. Thanks to your courage and foresight, your sharing in the vision and making the goals your own, there will be great years of Masonry ahead of us. And finally, my Brothers all, thank you for everything you have taught me over the last six years as I traveled this District first as your Assistant Grand Lecturer, then as your Grand Sword Bearer, and finally as your District Deputy Grand Master. I’ve learned a lot. All of you have contributed something to a most intensive on the job training program. Many of you shared your passions, talents, and joys with me. Others taught me the real meaning of courage and fidelity, steadfastness in the face of adversity, and simple honesty and authenticity by the example you set in your day to day lives. And in exemplification of that honesty in hopes that some rubbed off on me, I’ll caution my successor that there are also some who will teach you the hard way to develop a thick skin, watch your back, and learn that why people say things can be as important as what they say. OK, sorry about that, there endeth the lesson. 99% of you really do have my most heartfelt thanks. Thank you all. I guess that’s all I have time for. The allegorical cab is at the door waiting to take me to my last rubber chicken dinner as your District Deputy. My fellow Grand Lodge Brothers, which includes the Masters of your Lodges, will pat each other on the back, wear some hors d’ouvres, and try to get our $80 worth from the open bar then elect your new Grand Lodge in the morning. Wow, that actually sounds kinda scary, but that’s how it all works. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be grumbling about Masonic politics and complaining that they didn’t have all these new-fangled programs when I was a DD… except that we did, and we got them all out to you, and you made the best of them. Future generations of Freemasons will thank you for these two years some day. Until then, you have mine. Ready? Here it comes… after over a hundred issues of this newsletter, always closed the same way, I um… won’t see you next week! DISTRICT NEWS
Masters and Wardens Meeting UPCOMING CHILD ID PROGRAMS
Child ID System ORDMA NEWS
DATES TO REMEMBER
SCHOOL OF INSTRUCTION
The Orange-Rockland District School of Instruction is currently in limbo because of a lack of requests to host it. If your Lodge would like to hold a SoI program on a ritual topic of your choosing, please contact the DDGM. In the meanwhile, Jerusalem Temple Lodge will be hosting a monthly School at 9:00 a.m. on the third Saturdays and Stony Point-Wawayanda expects to start a School of their own shortly. Please contact these Lodges for more details. Leadership Thoughts
Improve Your Decision Making When you woke up this morning, you made a decision to get out of bed. Unless you had a really terrible night's sleep, the decision probably wasn't all that difficult to make and required very little thought. Wouldn't it be nice if all our decisions were that easy? Unfortunately, some of the decisions we make at work are far from easy and, therefore, require serious thought. They affect us, our colleagues, our department and, at times, our organization. The more important and complex the decision, the more important it is that it be the best decision possible. Decisions such as these require critical thinking. Most people think the word "critical" means finding fault or judging harshly. The dictionary, however, defines critical as "involving skillful judgment as to truth, merit, etc." Critical thinking dates back to the time of Socrates, the Greek philosopher. The Socratic method is a cornerstone of Western thought. Critical thinking rests on the assumption that everything has a logic that can be uncovered through questioning. It involves examining how we think and questioning our assumptions and beliefs. Critical thinking cannot be done in haste; it is a slow, deliberate process whereby we examine what we know, what we think we know, what we don't know and even what we don't know we don't know! Critical thinking is also humble thinking. It admits that no one person has all the answers. It values collaboration and proceeds on the basis that two heads are better than one and three better than two. Although critical thinking is slow and deliberate, it is vital for making successful decisions in today's business environment. Every day we deal with complex issues and problems that require us to make difficult decisions that often affect others. We must make certain that our decisions are thoroughly thought out. We can do this by applying the techniques of critical thinking to our decision making process. Listed below are questions that will help you begin to apply critical thinking to your decision making:
Asking these questions requires time and patience, both of which seem to be in short supply in today's business environment. But making the time and exercising the patience to ask the questions is critical if we are to make truly good business decisions. Copyright 2006-2008 Orange-Rockland District, GLNY F&AM. All rights reserved. |
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