Master's Message March 2016

Greetings Brethren,

I hope that everyone is doing well and has been enjoying this mostly mild winter.  On February 2nd, we had our monthly communication and it was an honor to have fellow Adelphoi member, and present Grand Master, M:.W:. Raymond E. Hassell in attendance along with his Grand Marshall, R:.W:. General Rick Baccus.  It was also very exciting to see the return of Brother Charles Read to our meeting as he is still recovering from his illness.  It was an honor to be present as the Grand Master awarded Brother Charles Reade with the Meritorious Service Award from the Grand Lodge for his years of work with our Veterans. Congratulations and thank you!

Another enjoyable sight for, was me to look to the south and see our ninety one year old Junior Warden, Brother Charles Niles, sitting in that chair.  With a little work Charlie, you might get to know some of the lines!  I say that in jest as most of you are aware that R:.W:. Charlie has been a Master Mason for more than 60 years and is a walking encyclopedia of Freemasonry.  Thank you Charlie!

At the meeting, I also discussed the desire to do something substantive this year to increase our fundraising.  To that end, I created a committee to be chaired by Past Master John Takian charged with exploring the possibility of sponsoring a carnival or other multiday event to help us achieve our fundraising goals.  All brethren who are interested in being on this committee are urged to contact our Secretary, Brother Ed Kdonian.

On February 12th we had our annual Valentine’s dinner at Agawam Hunt and I would like to thank our Senior Steward Mike Allienello for the great work he did in organizing the event.  It was a great night of dining, dancing, and comradery and I thank you all for making the night so wonderful.
 
Lastly, on a very serious note, many of you may have seen recently a terrorist plot to do harm to a group of Freemasons while they held their monthly communication.  Unfortunately, across the globe, this has not been the first time that this has occurred.  What surprises me is that the principles of Freemasonry are designed to make good men better through tolerance, acceptance, and respect of our fellow man and to make ourselves better husbands, fathers, and neighbors.  Unfortunately, such great qualities seem to pose a threat to some.  With that said, let’s all remember to be thankful to our Troops and Law Enforcement that continue to place themselves in harm’s way in order to protect all of us and our families as well as this great Country.  

Fraternally,

Raymond J. Blinn Jr.,
Presiding Master