North Carolina Mason
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Page 4 The North Carolina Mason July/August 2014
STATE, from page 3
2014, from page 1
other essential information and materials. You
may register in the main lobby on ursday
and outside the Grand Pavilion on Friday and
Saturday mornings. In order to vote, you must
have your credentials, and you must register.
Again, do not return your credentials to the
Grand Lodge office.
Grand Master Mayo will open the first ses-
sion at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning. at's
when you'll see the formal opening and wel-
coming of special guests. Grand Orator Man-
sour Hatefi, past grand master and grand sec-
retary of the Grand Lodge of the District of
Columbia, will make the keynote address. e
rest of the morning, a number of reports will
be read and others submitted for the record
without reading.
Downtown Winston-Salem has lots of res-
taurants, so you can find a place you like for
the lunch break within easy walking distance
of the hall.
A memorial service for those Masons who
died in the past year will follow the call from
refreshment to labor. e Grand Master's
Report is next. Other reports will also be re-
ceived. Some voting will take place on Friday
afternoon.
For you late-night types, there are several
restaurants and night spots along the streets
around the hotel for you to spend your evening.
Business resumes on Saturday morning at
9:00 a.m. when the last day of the session opens.
at's when more proposed amendments and
resolutions will be considered. An analysis of
those proposals starts on page one of this is-
sue of e North Carolina Mason. We will also
adopt a budget for the year. We will elect Grand
Lodge officers. Business is generally concluded
around lunch time.
To reach the Twin City Quarter, take the
Cherry Street exit off I-40 Business and go
four blocks north. e hotel is taking reserva-
tions now. eir toll-free reservation number is
(800) 320-0934. Be sure to specify that you are
with the Masonic Grand Lodge so you may get
our special rate.
Come to Annual Communication this year
for the fun of it. Bring a Masonic buddy with
you. We hope to see you there!
Asheville
On June 14 Nichols-West Asheville 650 held
their annual miniature golf tournament at Trop-
ical Gardens. Hole sponsorships were available.
e tournament was to help fund the Outdoor
Experiential Project of Hall Fletcher Elemen-
tary School and Masonic charities.
— Terry Gavedon
Mount Hermon 118 was holding their Fam-
ily Picnic at Haw Creek Park July 26.
e lodge recently handed out service awards.
Lester Wright and Harold Talbot got Diamond
Jubilees for 60 years membership. Veteran's Em-
blems for 50 years went to James Henderson and
Ralph Presley.
Mount Hermon recently did stats on their
membership since the turn of the century. In
2000, they raised no new members. ey added
three raisings in 2001, but did none in 2002
or 2003. In 2004 they raised three, and four in
2005, three again in 2006. ey made five new
Masons in 2007 and three more in 2008. ings
really picked up as 11 new men were raised in
2009, nine in 2010, and nine more in 2011. ey
added eight in 2012 and 11 more in 2013. at's
71 since 2000 (47 since 2009). Five of these men
have served as master of the lodge.
— Trestle Board
June 3, Biltmore 446 presented Diamond Ju-
bilees for 60 years membership to Frank Mor-
ris and Jack Manning. Verlin B. Shelton got his
Veteran's Emblem for his 50 years as a member.
— e Lodge Gate
Burnsville
Bald Creek 397 held their Widows' and Past
Masters' Night May 17. — Terry Gevedon
Winston-Salem
is year marks Old Town 751's 40
th
an-
niversary. ey were holding a special obser-
vance May 31. e gathering was to include
games for kids and grownups. ey have also
commissioned a commemorative pin to cel-
ebrate the occasion.
e new Brotherly Love in Action List has
been initiated to give rides to members who
have trouble with night driving.
e annual raffle at Old Town this year will
feature rifles and electronics.
— On the Level at Old Town Lodge
Statesville
e Masonic Family Cookout at Statesville
27 was planned for July 15. ey were to grill
burgers and wienies under the old oak behind
the lodge. ere were also to be baked beans
and watermelon and lemonade and homemade
ice cream. ey were planning to tell stories
(some true) and have fun before the meeting. A
corn hole tournament with random teams was
planned. Dress code for the meeting that night
was relaxed to shorts and flip flops.
Statesville Lodge is planning bus trip to the
George Washington Masonic National Memo-
rial in October.
e Statesville Masonic Book Club meets every
ursday morning at a local restaurant. ey are
currently studying Freemasonry in Black and White.
— e Joppa Informer
Greenville
A raffle was recently held by Greenville 284.
e prizes were an East Carolina University
quilt and a team-autographed Carolina Hurri-
canes hockey stick. — Danny Davis
Apex
e rifle raffle began in March at Apex 584
continues; a bolt-action Savage rifle and scope
will be awarded in September. Earnings from
the raffle will go to the Masonic Home for Chil-
dren in Oxford and to WhiteStone in Greens-
boro. ey were holding a dinner June 14 to also
make money for the Homes.
Creating a French drain along one wall of
the lodge seems to have cured a persistent water
problem for the building.
In July, Oscar Sears was getting his Veteran's
Emblem recognizing his 50 years as a Mason.
— e Trestleboard
Pilot Mountain
Pilot 493 members enjoyed a golf outing May
31. Dickie Crump organized the trip to Pilot
Knob Park. e $30 fee they charged included
a golf cart and lunch (OOOO, World Famous
Squeeze Box Hot Dogs).
On May 12, the lodge enjoyed a Low Coun-
try Boil. — Sam Carson
Roseboro
On May 15, five members of Roseboro 585
received their Veteran's Emblems for 50 years
membership. e awardees were Roland Grant
Hall, David Neil Cain, Roland Bascom Spell, Ro-
land Hubert Hall, and Elbert "Mr. Dink" Jones.
— Bruce Rawls
Robbinsville
After a long, quiet period, Robbinsville 672
raised multiple new Masons June 28. Among
the new members was Chuck Stewart. You may
know him as Deputy Chuck from Discovery
Channel's "Moonshiners." — Gordon Jolly
Candler
Hominy 491 awarded its 2014 scholarship
to Tyler Pittillo. He was chosen by the faculty
of Enka High School. He is bound for UNC-
Charlotte. e lodge is holding a flapjack fund-
raiser at Applebees September 13.
— Terry Gevedon
Hookerton
"Let there be light," was the chorus when J. K.
Hall replaced all the light fixtures at Jerusalem
95. e fixtures had been getting increasingly
tattered with age.
Jerusalem Lodge was to auction off 12
framed prints of the lodge at their June meet-
ing. The prints are from a much praised pen-
cil sketch by Danielle Chapman, an art stu-
dent at East Carolina University.
— e Jerusalem Journal
Catawba
Riverside 606 was recently honored by a reso-
lution of the North Carolina House of Repre-
sentatives. Way to get to your representatives,
Brothers. — Scott Jones
Warsaw
Warsaw 677 is in discussions with St.
John's 13 in Kenansville about consolidating
their lodges. — Warsaw Lodge
Cary
Green Level 277 catechism coaches Tommy
Mills and Scott Cook received Coach's Certifi-
cates June 3. — Stan Latta
GC
SGD
GM
DGM
GT
SGW
DELEGATES
altar
Officer positions
at
Grand Lodge
Annual Communication
Know the 2014 players
By Ric Carter
Most Masons don't think too much about
Grand Lodge officers until Annual Communi-
cation rolls around. Can't tell the players with-
out a program?
Now, you'll be able to identify those guys
opening and closing the meeting. Here's your
program.
Starting just outside the divider is Grand
Tyler omas Bass (Hiram 98) from Clinton.
He'll be helped out by assistant tylers who will
be posted at the several entrances to the meet-
ing room to check your dues card and listen to a
whispered password.
At the front of the auditorium, a lodge
room will be set on and before a riser. It has
much the same form as your blue lodge, but
with a station or two added. Four officers
will be on the stage facing the crowd. Front
and center on the stage will be Grand Master
(GM) Dalton W. Mayo (Hiram 98). Mayo is
retired from the faculty of Sampson Commu-
nity College. He lives in Clinton.
On his right will be Deputy Grand Master
(DGM) Douglas L. Caudle (Statesville 27).
Caudle lives in Taylorsville. He is president of
Piedmont Fiberglass.
On the left side of the stage is Grand Trea-
surer (GT) Lewis R. Ledford (Statesville 27).
Ledford recently retired as director of NC State
Parks. He is now executive director of the Na-
tional Association of State Park Directors. He
and his wife Susan live in Raleigh. Ledford was
grand master in 2011.
On the right of the stage is Grand Secretary
(GS) T. Walton Clapp III (Mystic Tie 237) who
has served in the office since 1997. Clapp resides
in Raleigh with his wife Betty (a Presbyterian
minister) and high school daughter Anh.
Seated at the back of the stage in neat rows
are special guests and past grand masters. e
special guests include officers from state appen-
dant bodies and officers from other grand lodges
and Masonic organizations.
e rest of the officers are on the auditori-
um floor in front of the stage. Facing the stage,
with his back to the delegates, you'll find Se-
nior Grand Warden (SGW ) Bryant D. Webster
(Nichols-West Asheville). Webster is a lawyer
and lives in Black Mountain with his wife ( Ja-
net) and daughter.
Junior Grand Deacon ( JGD) Speed Hallman
(Eagle 19) sits on Webster's right. Hallman and
his wife Susan live in Hillsborough and have two
college-aged sons.
On the south side of the floor, to the del-
egates' right, is Junior Grand Warden ( JGW )
A. Gene Cobb (Royal White Hart 2). Cobb is
minister at St. Luke's United Methodist Church
in Sanford where he lives with his wife Brenda.
eir children are grown.
At the meeting, Cobb is flanked by the grand
stewards. Senior Grand Steward Shaun Brad-
shaw (Stokesdale 428) is nearest the stage, and
Junior Grand Steward R. David Wicker (Oak
Grove 750) is nearest the delegates. Bradshaw
and his wife Sharon live in Greensboro. ey
have a son and daughter. Wicker and his wife
Susan have three nearly grown children and
live in Oxford.
Senior Grand Deacon (SGD) Jimmie B.
Hicks Jr. (St. John's 3) sits before the stage in
front of the grand treasurer, to the grand master's
right. Hicks is a lawyer in New Bern. He has a
teen-aged son and daughter.
Another officer in the Grand Lodge line
we don't have in the blue lodge progression to
master is grand marshal (GMsl). Grand Mar-
shal Dwight M. Sigmon (Catawba 248) holds
that chair beside Grand Chaplain (GC) Andrew
B. Wood (Roseboro 585). Sigmon and his wife
Linda live in Newton and have a grown son and
two grandchildren.
ere, you have it — the starting line up for
the 227
th
Annual Communication of the Grand
Lodge of North Carolina. Don't get cocky,
though. We'll elect new officers at this meeting.
ey'll be installed in December and take us all,
once again, into a new year.
GMsl
GS
JGD
stage
Masonic Districts by one third not too many
years ago. We also instituted a change in resi-
dency which allowed men to join lodges which
were not the closest to their home. Many lodges
have active members who live in other towns,
or districts, or even states. Additionally, it is
now easy for committee members to participate
in meetings by way of phone or video confer-
encing. As a lodge situated near the state line,
Setzer Lodge has several active members who
are South Carolina residents. ese four sec-
tions would allow officers to live outside their
previous restrictions. It should be remembered
that these changes would not alter the fact that
the officer would have to fulfill the duties of
that office or face removal.
More prickly questions arise with Grand
Lodge officers who might live out of state. So-
journing Masons (those living in a jurisdiction
other than their membership) arguably are sub-
ject to the jurisdiction of their residence. Suppose
a grand master in that jurisdiction disliked an ac-
tion of our grand lodge and convicted a North
Carolina officer of un-Masonic conduct? How
many Masonic masters must a Mason answer to?
Group 6, submitted by Lebanon 391, would
allow lodges to hold multiple fundraisers for the
use of the lodge and not charity. Proponents say
that it is getting harder for lodges to meet all
their obligations for their buildings. Opponents
say that a lodge should support itself, not rely on
the kindness of their neighbors to keep dues low.
Are the fundraisers to maintain cheap dues, or
does the lodge allow the community to use their
facility for activities such as Scouts and senior
gatherings? Should both lodges be allowed the
same opportunities?
Group 7 addresses a growing issue with plu-
ral lodge memberships. More and more men are
serving as officers in more than one lodge. While
this often presents no problem, some men are
attempting to serve two lodges as master. is
amendment group would not preclude serving
more than one lodge as master simultaneously,
but it would require that the grand master give a
dispensation for to do so.
Group 8 asks us to allow lodges to rent their
facilities to groups which allow alcoholic bever-
ages. e availability would be controlled, lim-
ited to non-Masonic uses, and excluded from the
lodge room. e group is submitted by Mount
Hermon 118. eir auditorium and dining facil-
ity would benefit greatly from commercial rentals
which include alcohol permits.
Group 9 is a complete rewrite of the Trial
Code. e Trial Code is the sections of e Code
dealing with the discipline of wayward members.
It spells out the procedures for trials, appeals, and
punishments for un-Masonic behaviors and vio-
lations of e Code.
Group 10 would authorize the Board of Cus-
todians to present specialized certificates of pro-
ficiency as they see fit. is would allow explora-
tions of new approaches to improving access to
quality ritual work across the state.
An exact wording and enumerated changes
to The Code called for by these amendments
is in the hands of your lodge secretary. If you
have questions about any of the proposed
changes to The Code, contact the grand secre-
tary's office at