The North Carolina Mason

September/October 2014

North Carolina Mason

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Page 8 The North Carolina Mason September/October 2014 In this issue of The NC Mason page 1 The North Carolina Mason The Grand Lodge of North Carolina, AF&AM 600 College Street Oxford, North Carolina 27565 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED NON-PROFIT ORG. AUTO U.S. POSTAGE PAID OXFORD, NC 27565 PERMIT NO. 56 Annual Communication met in Winston-Salem page 1 The Mocksville Picnic is our oldest get-together page 8 NC Mason makes campus memorial On the cover Annual Communication concludes The Mason NORTH CAROLINA SEP/OCT 2014 Mocksville continues one of NC Masonry's oldest traditions see TREY, page 2 Voting at Annual Communication governs the present as well as the future of Masonry in North Carolina. We report this year's action in this issue. Ric Carter photo GREENSBORO — is year marks a turning point for Masonic charity at WhiteStone, A Masonic and Eastern Star Community. In July, the NC Masonic and Eastern Star Home Foundation awarded funds to six fraternal applicants to help them move into WhiteStone. e approved applicants include two Ma- sons, one Eastern Star member, two widows of Masons, and the mother of a Mason. ese are the first new WhiteStone residents to enter with assistance since 2005. at was the year charitable support for new residents was suspended when shortfalls in chari- table giving necessitated that fraternal contributions go to sup- port residents already in the Home. e MESH Foundation was established in 2012 to adminis- ter Masonic and Eastern Star donations to WhiteStone residents, provide financial assistance to fraternally related residents, and as- sist those needing financial support to enter the Home. e Foun- dation ensures that every donated dollar benefits fraternal residents in need. By 2013, an increasing number of lodges contributed di- rectly to the MESH Foundation, enabling it to give $340,000 for charity at WhiteStone compared to $98,000 the previous year. Last year the Foundation took advantage of the unexpected availability of space in WhiteStone's Bennett Building to reserve four one-bedroom apartments and two studio apartments for charitable purposes. Two of these spaces are now occupied by the applicants admitted in July. WhiteStone reported that 2013 financial assistance was pro- vided to 43 fraternal residents in the form of room and board, medical supplies, pharmacy needs, and other expenses that they otherwise could not afford. WhiteStone subsidized 25 Eastern Star Members, two Masonic members, and 16 Masonic-affiliated family members at a total estimated cost of $1,334,000. Of these 43 residents, 21 were in Medicaid nursing home beds partially subsidized by the state and WhiteStone, and 22 lived in residen- tial apartments. In addition to the subsidies that either our chari- ties or the state provide, the residents contribute as much as they can afford toward the costs of their care. WhiteStone also operates a medical equipment loan program and information hotline for fraternal members across the state. e Home loans surplus equipment to fraternal members and provides guidance for members and their families who need in- formation on Medicaid, Medicare, and VA support and services. Applications for MESH Foundation assistance are on the Grand Lodge website under News and Events/Media Articles and are also available from the Grand Secretary's office. Lodges and individuals are encouraged to send their charitable contribu- tions directly to the MESH Foundation at 700 S. Holden Road, Greensboro, NC 27407. For more information on WhiteStone call Mark Kolada at (336) 547-2992 or contact him at . MESH charity growing GREENVILLE — As a kid, East Carolina University stu- dent Donald "Trey" Martin III, a member of St. Patrick's 617 in Princeton, would hang around his dad's shop welding scrap pieces of metal, trying to make a bigger or taller creation than his last. Now that boyhood pastime is the 28-year-old's major at ECU. Last spring Martin's design for a sculpture — the centerpiece of the Student Memorial Garden — was selected from three stu- dent finalists in a campus-wide vote. Since then, Martin devoted thousands of hours to complet- ing the almost 12-foot bronze and granite piece in time for the unveiling and dedication February 22 of last year. It helped that his dad, Ed, who is a master welder, and his dad's equipment in Johnston County have been at Trey's side. Dad even helped him install the piece in the middle of a rare eastern North Carolina snowfall. "I can't stand to spend money on something I can do myself and having the tools to manipulate metal at my fingertips solves a lot of that," he said. "It's been a big learning experience. I've learned more doing this than I have doing anything else." "ere was a lot of bending and banging together on the an- vil," Trey said. "It's one total piece from the very bottom to the very top, it's all connected, all blended." Forklifts, chain hoists, and a handmade rotating cutter, while not everyday art tools, were used in the creation of the bronze piece. ousands of pounds of sand were used to create the sand molds that provided the outline of the piece. "Everything is just so heavy," Trey makes a memorial By Crystal Baity Trey said. "You can't just grab something and toss it around." Several friends, current and recent ECU graduates in the School of Art and Design, helped with the sculpture. Sculpture professors Dr. Carl Billingsley and Dr. Hanna Jubran, who over- Photos by Cliff Hollis

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