The North Carolina Mason

Page 6 The North Carolina Mason March/April 2020 our masonic charities at Work By Beth Grace Mason Editor Folks long to hear it, people work hard to earn it, and it is so rarely handed out. So let's just put it out there. From the North Carolina Masonic Foundation to you: THANK YOU! e NCMF annual gratitude has just been published. Because of the COVID-19 shutdowns, it is will be distributed when the all-clear is sounded and life returns to normalcy. e 12-page report focuses on heroes – everyday heroes like the brothers and sisters out there who give what they can to support our Masonic charities, the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford and WhiteStone: A Masonic and Eastern Star Community. You don't have to leap tall build- ings in a single bound to be an NCMF hero … Just ask Dr. Carla Emerson, an MHCO board member and Masonic widow, one of four heroes featured in the report. "Giving of my time – and giving money – makes me feel like I'm giving something back," she says. Past Master Robert Street, now a resident of WhiteStone, agrees. "rough my life and through what I have learned in this Craft, I have been changed and have seen that giving to others who need help does make me a better man," he said. e report details successes and new programs launched by NCMF. Among the most successful new programs: the Bridge Builder Society. NCMF has inducted its first two members into the society that celebrates donors who contribute $20,000 or more through NCMF. e charter members are Bother Robert Broughton "Bobby" Carr of Mingo #206 and Brother William Pete Franklin of Charles B. Newcomb #740. Other news: NCMF shares its new web site (www.mfnc.org), where you can also access two videos made specially for the Craft: "Keeping the Promise," and "Fathers & Sons." Read the full report at www.mfnc. org. Look for the story in the News section at the bottom of the home page. Foundation gives thanks to ̒Everyday Herosʼ Grand Master Shaun Bradshaw surprised two long-serving brothers with North Car- olina Masonry's top honor. GM Bradshaw in February awarded the Joseph Montfort Medal to Howard Col- trane (left), past master of Liberty #714 and in March, awarded the medal to Past Grand Master Dalton Mayo (right), of Hi- ram #98. Each Grand Master may give three Mont- fort medals during his tenure. Coltrane was the first recipient this year. Joseph Montfort was the only Provin- cial Grand Master for America. He died in March 1776 and is buried in the front yard of his home lodge, Royal White Hart #2 in Halifax. Montfort's memory lives on through this award and through more than 200 dedicated Masons throughout history who have earned the honor. Grand Master bestows Montforts on Coltrane, Mayo

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