Orange-Rockland Masons Online

At our last Masters and Wardens meeting, held on Monday October 9th, the conversation turned (as it often does) toward attendance and getting our Brothers involved. It was therefore serendipitous timing that I had just read an article on the Suffolk Masonic District blog that addressed this very issue. I will include the relevant quote here, but I encourage all of you to visit their site by clicking here. and reading the article entitled Leadership is Expected and Respected. It's well worth the time of anyone interested in harvesting the fruits of our Craft, particularly those who have been in, or aspire to, an office in their Lodge. Here's the quote:

On the night of his installation, one Master announced that he was assigning a specific task to each of the 200 members of the lodge, which he would like to have completed within three months. What he had done involved a great deal of planning which is an essential in leadership. Over a period of months, he had developed a list of things which needed to be done around the lodge. He charged one member to see that each task was accomplished.

No one job involved much time or effort, but it did involve everyone. Tacking down a piece of upholstery on the Junior Warden's station; scrubbing the lavatory; painting the stair rail; repairing strings on aprons; cleaning the glass on the Past Master's pictures; replacing a frayed cord on the Secretary's desk lamp; oiling the hinges on the Preparation Room door; replacing a tile in the kitchen floor; having the window curtains dry cleaned; helping the Secretary address envelopes; preparing a telephone roster; refinishing the Stewards' and Deacons' rods; developing a roster of Widows-and the list went on and on. Each task was matched with a member's name, one who had the time and ability to do it.

To coordinate and supervise the execution of the assignments, the Master assigned his officers. This, too, is an important element of leadership.

In the following weeks, the lodge building was a hub-bub of activity, as the members gathered to carry out their respective responsibilities. Some came during the lunch hour, others in the afternoon and some in the evening. Fellowship reigned as one Brother helped the other. Wives frequently came along to help out, and often brought along refreshments. Even after a job had been finished, many came back to see what else was being done. A coffee-klatch developed. Cribbage and pinochle games often started after the work was done.

The exciting thing that happened though, was the dramatic increase of attendance at even the Stated Meetings. And, at these, the Master was careful to exercise another trait of leadership by recognizing the accomplishments of each member and showing appreciation. Not only did the lodge building sparkle with its improvements, the members had become Masons in the true sense of the word, with a genuine concern for one another.

What do you think? Can you apply this to your Lodge? Did you go to the site to read the article in its entirety? I certainly hope so. As someone who has been reading and teaching a great deal about Leadership, I was deeply impressed by this essay. Please drop me a line (ddgm@o-rmasons.org) and let me know what you think. You'll be entered in a drawing for a bottle or wine or a coupon for ten minutes off your next DDGM Official Visit. I'm serious!

We also have another busy week ahead of us. Tomorrow, Saturday, October 14th, we have an Entered Apprentice Degree at Jerusalem Temple Lodge at 9:00 a.m. (Breakfast at 8:00 a.m.), an Interfaith Service and Breakfast at Wallkill Lodge at 9:00 a.m., and the Meet Your Grand master program in Latham, NY. On Tuesday, you are cordially invited to join us as we travel to Athelstane Lodge for our Official Visit and there's are Entered Apprentice Degrees at Stony Point-Wawayanda Lodge on Wednesday and West Point Lodge on Thursday. We hope to see you at one of these. Until then, have a great week!

DISTRICT NEWS

Child ID System Fundraiser Update
We are more than half way toward meeting our goal! The Orange-Rockland District is raising funds to purchase its own Child ID system, which now consists of a laptop computer, camera, fingerprint digitizer, printer, etc. These systems cost about $2500 and while Grand Lodge now owns over a dozen units, demand is strong, and we'd like to have one in the District. We raised about $500 at the District Apron Re-Presentations, and ORDMA has already matched the four donations made by our Lodges with their donation of $500. We are still asking each Lodge on the District to consider contributing $125 toward the cost. Individual donations are also greatly appreciated with any surplus going toward the purchase of supplies. Please make out and send your checks to Jerusalem Temple Lodge with 'Child ID' in the memo field. If you have any questions, please contact W:. Wayne Flavin.

Blood Drives
We would like to congratulate the Brothers of Wallkill Lodge No. 627 on their very successful Blood Drive, which was held in conjunction with the Lion's Club Car Show in Walden on Sunday October 1st. The program was coordinated by Bro. Stefan 'Doc' Bojsiuk, who has also provided us with an excellent set of guidelines for future programs. Our Grand Master is very interested in seeing our participation in Blood Drives grow, and they are a high visibility community service project that require little in the way of manpower.

The Brothers of Athelstane Lodge ave also asked us to share the word about another upcoming Blood Drive which will be held on Friday, November 3rd from 11:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. at the Louis Kurtz Civic Center. The Center is located at 9 North Main Street at the corner of Lawrence Avenue, one block north of the railroad tracks in Spring Valley. This vital service deserves the participation of the community at large, remember, the gift of life is the most precious gift one can give. Please pass the word along to all.

Meet Your Grand Master Regional Meeting
All Lodge officers are cordially invited and encouraged to attend the Meet Your Grand Master regional meeting which will be held on Saturday, October 14, 2006 at the Latham Masonic Temple in Latham, NY. The Temple is located at 206 Old Loudon Road, Latham, NY 12110. Registration and coffee will be held at 8:00 a.m. and the program will begin at 8:30 a.m. A light lunch will be served before you return home. These programs are usually over by lunchtime and are a unique opportunity for you to address your questions and concerns to the Grand Master in an informal setting. You will also hear about new Grand Lodge programs and share fellowship with Lodge Officers from half a dozen Districts. We hope that you will make every effort to attend this important meeting. Please confirm your attendance with the Senior Grand Deacon, RW Al Dais, at pddgm4m@aol.com.

R:.W:. Eugene Erickson Honored
It is my pleasure announce that R:.W:. Eugene Erickson of Athelstane Lodge, Grand Representative of York Mexico near the Grand Lodge of New York, has been select Veteran of Year for Rockland County. Honors will be bestowed on him by the Rockland County Veterans Coordinating Council on Sunday, November 5, 2006 at "High Noon" at the Rockland County Courthouse, Main Street, New City, NY. This is a well deserved honor for Bro. Erickson and we encourage everyone to come out in support of our distinguished Brother. For more information, please contact Bro. Bill Thorne.

Masters and Wardens Meeting
The Masters and Wardens will meet at Jerusalem Temple Lodge on Monday November 13th at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held prior to the School of Instruction which will convene at 8:00 p.m. The trestleboard for the School will be the Fellowcraft Degree. Please bring your Fellowcrafts for this informative evening. We hope to see everyone there!

Orange-Rockland Child ID Training
It is regrettable that our Community Service chairman, Wor. Wayne Flavin, was the only Brother from the District who was able to attend the training on the new Child ID system last weekend. With the new system now in place, it is imperative that every Lodge participating in the Child ID program have a team trained in the use of the new computer-based system. To facilitate this, a training session will be held on the morning of Saturday October 28th at the Cornwall Masonic Temple in Mountainville, NY at 10:00 a.m. All Lodges are encouraged to send a team to the training, and some other local service and law enforcement organizations have been invited to join us for this training.

Brotherhood Fund Meeting
R:.W:. Robert Stack, Chairman of the Masonic Brotherhood Fund, and members of his team will be at Hoffman Lodge in Middletown, NY on Saturday November 4th to train local Lodge and District chairmen in the procedures necessary to organize and run a successful Brotherhood Fund campaign. Coffee will be served at 9:30 a.m. and the meeting will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m., and is expected to run about two hours. It is important that every Lodge be represented by its Brotherhood Fund Chairman or another designee at this meeting.

2006 DDGM Visits
It's almost that time again! The District Deputy Grand Master, RW Joe Leo, and and his traveling road show will be coming soon to a Lodge near you! Are you ready? Know what to do? We'll cover all the protocol at the School of Instruction on Monday September 11th. To view the schedule, please click here.

GRAND LODGE CRUISE UPDATE

Hello My Brothers,

In response to the many e-mails and posting to our Web Site and NetNews, about the 225th Anniversary Cruise, we have gotten a great response so far. We have reserved more cabins on the Norwegian Dawn and have extended the booking date.

My Brothers, I believe that this is a great cruise we put together. The Grand Lodge Cruise will be taking us from Manhattan to the Western Caribbean and back again from Sunday, January 28 thru Thursday, February 8th, 2007. We do not have to worry about airfare or shuttles to get us to and from the ship. And where else can you go away for $100.00 per person for a room, meals and entertainment? We will be making stops at Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas; Cozumel, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Roatan, Honduras; Grand Cayman, Grand Cayman Islands; and Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

Pricing (including taxes and port charges) start at
$1119.64 pp for a Category KK, inside cabin
$1289.64 pp for a Category E, outside ocean view
$1499.64 pp for a Category BC, balcony
$1799.64 pp for a suite

I can assure you that there will be a lot of activities planned for all of the attendees to have a good time together. We have a Grand Master that likes to have fun and enjoy the fellowship of the Brothers and there Ladies. We are planning to organize a shore excursion early in the cruise that all interested can go on as a group and get to know each other better. We also have a few cocktail parties planned, along with a few meals that we can all attend together as a group.

Want to come and join us and have a great time? Then give Sherri at Cruises-Cruises a call to reserve your cabin now. And don't forget to pass this on to other Brothers that may be interested. The Grand Master would like to see every District, Committee and Trustees Group represented on this upcoming cruise. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at 631-754-8467 or Sherri at Cruises 1-800-245-9806.

Like I said earlier we have had a good response as to date and have secured another block of cabins. We have also extended the booking date, but I do not know how long we can hold these new cabins. Please don't wait any longer, call Sherri at Cruises Cruises @ 1-800-245-9806.

We look forward to seeing you on the ship and enjoying a terrific adventure together!
Fraternally,
R:.W:. Roy Puckhaber, Cruise Chairman

Email address:

DATES TO REMEMBER

Port Jervis Lodge Master Mason Degree	Friday October 13th*	contact
Jerusalem Temple Lodge Entered Apprentice Degree	Saturday October 14, 2006 9am	contact
Wallkill Lodge Interfaith Service and Breakfast	Saturday October 14, 2006	contact
Meet Your Grand Master Regional Meeting (Latham, NY)	Saturday October 14, 2006 8am	contact
DDGM Visit to Athelstane Lodge	Tuesday October 17, 2006*	contact
Stony Point-Wawayanda Lodge Entered Apprentice Degree	Wednesday October 18, 2006*	contact
West Point Lodge Entered Apprentice Degree	Thursday October 19, 2006*	contact
DDGM Visit to Warwick Lodge	Tuesday October 24, 2006*	contact
DDGM Visit to Port Jervis Lodge	Friday October 27, 2006*	contact
Child ID Training	Saturday October 28th 10:00 am	contact
Wallkill Lodge Fellowcraft Degree	Wednesday November 1, 2006	contact
DDGM Visit to Stony Point-Wawayanda Lodge	Wednesday November 1, 2006*	contact
Brotherhood Fund Training Meeting	Saturday November 4, 2006	contact
DDGM Visit to Goshen Lodge	Monday November 6, 2006*	contact
DDGM Visit to Naurashank Lodge	Friday November 10, 2006*	contact
Jerusalem Temple Lodge Fellowcraft Degree	Saturday November 11, 2006 9am	contact
Grand Master's Ball - Long Island	Saturday November 11, 2006*	info
Masters and Wardens Planning Meeting (Mountainville)	Monday November 13th at 7:00 pm	contact
District School of Instruction (Mountainville)	Monday November 13th at 8:00 pm	contact
DDGM Visit to Wallkill Lodge	Wednesday November 15, 2006*	contact
DDGM Visit to Hoffman Lodge	Tuesday November 21, 2006*	contact
Wallkill Lodge Master Mason Degree	Wednesday December 6, 2006	contact
DDGM Visit to Jerusalem Temple Lodge	Saturday December 9, 2006	contact
ORDMA Family Holiday Party	Saturday December 30, 2006	contact
ORDMA Dinner Dance	Saturday March 17th, 2007	contact
Grand Lecturer's Convention	Tuesday April 10th, 2007	contact
* Denotes a dinner will precede or follow the meeting or event. Please check with the contact for details.

SCHOOL OF INSTRUCTION

The Orange-Rockland School of Masonic Instruction will convene on the second Monday of each month, at locations around the District. Instruction will rotate on a monthly basis between Ritual, Grand Lodge educational programs, and seminars on topics like Leadership and Communication.

Our next School will be held on Monday November 13th at Jerusalem Temple Lodge at 8:00 p.m. The work on the trestleboard will be the Fellowcraft Degree. A brief Masters and Wardens meeting will precede the School at 7:00 p.m.

If you have any questions, please contact the DDGM. We'll see you there!

SICKNESS AND DISTRESS

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Bro. Earl B. Post of Port Jervis Lodge. Bro. Post, who was Raised on March 28th, 1941 and was a 64 year member of the Craft, was summoned to the Celestial Lodge Above on October 8th. A Masonic Service was held on Thursday October 12th. Our sympathies go out to Brother Post's family and the Brothers of his Lodge.