Greetings from sunny Florida. At least I think it's sunny, I've been getting to work before the sun comes up and leaving after its gone to bed, but what else is new? At least things are a little less hectic in the District with our Installations behind us. We can now look forward to some of our traditional summer events like the Renegades Baseball Game and Chicken Barbecues. Alas, the summer months will be busy for our Lodge officers as we look to planning our trestleboards and charting the course of our Lodges for the next decade.
West Point Lodge is making final plans for their 4th of July activities. They need help with both the Annual 5K Run and a large Child ID program that day. If you can be of any assistance for all or part of the day, please contact Wor. Dave Ramsey.
Do you remember last week's homework assignment? We need every Lodge represented at our next Masters and Wardens meeting on Monday July 9th. We will be discussing an important new Grand Lodge program to assist Lodges with preparing 2, 5, and 10 year plans for finances, membership, and development. This is a good meeting for ALL of your officers to attend, after all, is your Master in ten years in your line now? We also need complete contact information for your Lodge Communications, Community Service, Education, Awards, and Membership Chairmen. If anyne reading this is interested in working with one of these committees in your Lodge, please let your Worshipful Master know!
Jerusalem Temple Lodge is getting down to the wire for ticket sales for their Renegades Baseball outing. Details are available elsewhere in this issue. Please contact Wor. Wayne Flavin ASAP if you wish to attend so he can get a head count. Remember, $25 gets you into the game and all the hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, and soft drinks you can eat or drink. Don't forget, tickets are also still available for Wallkill's Chicken Barbecue and Hudson River's Annual Pig Roast.
I will be working out of state until the end of next week, but will be available by e-mail. See you next week!
DISTRICT NEWS
Masters and Wardens Meeting
The Masters and Wardens will meet at Jerusalem Temple Lodge on Monday
July 9th at 7:30 p.m. Please note the change in starting time. The
School of Instruction will henceforth be held on other evenings and
locations around the District. It is important that all of our newly-elected
Masters, Wardens, Deacons, and other officers in your line attend this meeting
because we will be reviewing the 2/5/10 year forecasting initiative and how
to do it. Please remember that these meetings and
this newsletter are the primary coordination and communication venues
in this District and each Lodge is responsible for the information
disseminated therein . If your Lodge is not represented, the officers
are still responsible for obtaining the information from othuer Lodges
in attendance. Thus attendance is expected of Masters and Wardens
but everyone is welcome to attend and we hope to see other elected
and appointed officers there!
Renegades Baseball Night
Jerusalem Temple Lodge will sponsor another outing to see the
Hudson Valley Renegades play on Saturday July 28th. This year's outing will be special because it is being sponsored in conjunction with several veteran's organizations, and we will be arranging to have a group of disabled veterans from the Castle Point VA Hospital join us. The evening is $25 and includes admission to the game and all the hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hotdogs and chicken sandwiches you can eat along with soft drinks and the usual fixings. For more information, click here. We hope you can join us!
2007-2008 Individual Development Course (iDC) Registration for next year’s Individual Development Course will be available soon. This course provides skills useful in every aspect of our lives and helps to develop us in our roles at work, our homes, our communities, and our Craft. The course focuses on personal skills such as time management, goal setting, and self-discipline; interpersonal skills such as public speaking, e-mail and written materials, dealing with difficult people, running effective meetings, and the group process; and other important skills such as problem and data analysis, brainstorming, surveys, and project management. These are skills that apply to all areas of our lives and next year’s course, scheduled to begin in September and run one Saturday a month for six months, will be open to spouses as well as Masons. We hope to see many of you take advantage of this important and very valuable opportunity. For more information, please contact the DDGM.
Orange-Rockland Central Chapter, Order of DeMolay DeMolay is a Masonic youth program for boys ages 12-21, which teaches leadership within a fun, moral framework in line with our own principles and tenets. The local Chapter, which meets at Wallkill Lodge in Walden, is in desperate need of advisors, Brothers willing to give up a few hours a month to mentor and work with these inspiring young men. There’s no commitment required to obtain information, give us a call and see what it’s all about. For more information, please contact R:.W:. Hank Stoveland.
UPCOMING CHILD ID PROGRAMS
Child ID System
The District Child ID System is available to Lodges who have two Brothers
trained in its use. These Brothers may sign out the system by contacting
Wor. Robert Morlang, Jr.. Please allow
a month in advance to reserve the system and allow the District Committee
to order the necessary supplies for your program. Please remember
that all unused materials must be returned with the system, there
is to be no stockpiling of supplies for future programs.
Thank You ORDMA!
We would like to thank the Orange-Rockland District Masonic Association
for their generous donation of $500 toward a second Child ID system.
We still have a ways to go, anyone wishing to make a donation should
contact Wor. Robert Morlang, Jr.
Upcoming Programs
West Point Lodge will be holding a large Child ID program on Wednesday,
July 4th in Highland Falls. Assistance is requested. For
more information, please contact the
Secretary.
ORDMA NEWS
Next ORDMA Meeting
The next meeting of the Orange-Rockland District Masonic Association
(ORDMA) will be held in September. Have a great summer!
2007-2008 Calendars ORDMA is collecting dates for next year's District Pocket Calendar, which will be available in early Fall 2007. These handy pocket calendars contain all of our District's Lodge and Concordant Bodies meetings, important events, Lodge and District officers, and directions to our Lodges. The calendars cost $5 each and the proceeds go to support our District's community service and charitable efforts, including our new District child ID system. To submit events for inclusion in the calendar, please contact any of ORDMA's officers.
* Denotes a dinner will precede or
follow the meeting or event. Please check with the contact for
details.
2007-2008 DDGM Visits
Athelstane Lodge No. 839
Tuesday October 16th, 2007
Cornerstone Lodge No. 711
Wednesday December 12th, 2007
Goshen Lodge No. 365
Monday September 17th
Hoffman Lodge No. 412
Tuesday November 20th, 2007
Hudson River Lodge No. 309
Wednesday November 14th, 2007
Jerusalem Temple Lodge No. 721
Saturday January 12th, 2009
Naurashank Lodge No. 589
Friday October 12th, 2007
Port Jervis Lodge No. 328
Friday September 14th
Stony Point-Wawayanda Lodge No. 313
Wednesday September 19th, 2007
Wallkill Lodge No. 627
Wednesday December 19th, 2007
Warwick Lodge No. 544
Tuesday October 23rd, 2007
West Point Lodge No. 877
Thursday October 4th, 2007
SCHOOL OF INSTRUCTION
The Orange-Rockland District School of Instruction is on a hiatus for the summer. We will re-open in August to review the Opening and Closing, and should you wish to hold other rehearsals for your new officers over the summer, your AGLs will be glad to attend provided you give them sufficient notice. The School will recommence in September, rotating on a different evening each month throughout the District at the invitation of individual Lodges. More details will be provided as the time draws closer, Have a great summer! If you have any questions, please contact the DDGM.
Leadership Essentials
WHAT ARE YOU COMMITTED TO? by Dr. John C. Maxwell
What do you think of when you hear the word commitment?
Perhaps you picture a loving husband caring for his invalid wife.
Maybe you envision a business owner who puts her resources and
reputation on the line to lead her company through a crisis.
Perhaps you see a dedicated teacher who spends hours of his own
time tutoring underprivileged children. Or maybe the scene that
comes to mind is one of a group of soldiers who willingly enters
harm's way to protect their countrymen.
These are all wonderful examples of commitment. But have you
considered the fact that individuals who act in less admirable
ways also are committed? People who watch the clock at work are
committed to making it through the day so they can go home.
People who spend most of their free time in front of the
television are committed to taking life easy. People who cheat
on their income taxes are committed to beating the system.
Do you understand what I'm saying? When it comes to living a
life of significance, the vital question isn't, "Am I committed?"
It's, "What am I committed to?"
Over the years, I've had the opportunity to observe many
remarkable individuals who I refer to as "make-a-difference
people"—the kind of folks you want on your team and in your life
because they're constantly making positive things happen. As I
wrote in the last issue of "Leadership Wired," "make-a-
difference" people stand out from everyone else because they are
connected—to a great leader, to a powerful vision and to other
people who want to make a difference.
Another critical factor that sets "make-a-difference people"
apart is their deep level of commitment in four key areas:
1. Make-a-difference people are committed to excellence.
Conforming to someone else's standard of excellence isn't an
option; they set their own bar, and they set it high. If you
want to be a difference-maker, your bar of excellence should be
higher than anyone else's. In other words, you should expect
more out of yourself than anyone else expects out of you.
2. Make-a-difference people are committed to service.
George Burns once said, "When you stop giving and offering
something to the rest of the world, it's time to turn out the
lights." That is so true. Anyone can call himself a servant-
leader, but that description is meaningless unless it's
accompanied by action. True servanthood manifests itself in the
following four ways:
It puts others ahead of an individual agenda. True servants
aren't in it for themselves; they're committed to the growth and
well-being of the people they're serving.
It begins with security. Service often takes us out of our
comfort zone, and in order to function effectively in such
unfamiliar territory, confidence is a necessity.
It initiates service to others. It doesn't wait to be served.
It doesn't wait to be asked to serve. It goes first.
It is not position-conscious. You show me a person who serves,
and I'll show you someone who cares little about titles.
3. Make-a-difference people are committed to growth.
I have found that there are three types of people on earth: the
unlearned, the learned and the learning. If you want to make a
positive contribution with your life, never stop stretching and
growing. Make a concerted effort to learn today what will help
you do better tomorrow. If you grow in the right areas today,
you'll reap the right rewards tomorrow.
4. Make-a-difference people are committed to giving.
The reason for this is simple: Giving is the highest level of
living. Here are four ways to develop a giving spirit in your
life:
Be grateful for whatever you have. It's hard to be generous
when you always want more for yourself.
Put people first. The measure of a leader is not the number of
people who serve him, but the number of people whom he serves.
Don't allow the desire for possessions to control you. This is
so critical. Do you control your money, or does your money
control you?
Develop the habit of giving. Author Richard Foster made a
profound statement about this: "Just the very act of letting go
of money or some other treasure does something within us," he
said. "It destroys the demon greed."
Now that I've described the characteristics that set make-a-
difference people apart, it's time to get personal. Do you want
to make a difference in your business, your community, your
family or any other area of life that is important you? If your
answer is yes, I have one more question for you. Are you making
a difference—wherever you are, whatever you're doing?
I certainly hope so. But if not, don't get discouraged.
Instead, as I said last time, get busy. There's no time like the
present to become a make-a-difference person.
HELP WANTED
Master Mason Degree Assistance Needed Jerusalem Temple Lodge requires assistance with a Master Mason Degree on Saturday August 11th. Speaking and non-speaking roles are available. The degree will begin at 9:00 a.m. with breakfast preceding it at 8:00 a.m. If you can assist, please contact R:.W:. Joe Leo.
Copyright 2006-2007 Orange-Rockland District,
GLNY F&AM. All rights reserved.
Next ORDMA Meeting