The North Carolina Mason

July August 2015 The North Carolina Mason Page 3 GC SGD GM DGM GT SGW DELEGATES altar Officer positions at Grand Lodge Annual Communication GMsl GS JGD stage SGS JGW JGS By Ric Carter Can't tell the players without a pro- gram? Most Masons don't think too much about Grand Lodge officers until Annual Communication rolls around. We can help 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 Kevin Combs (Statesville 27) from Statesville. He'll be helped out by assistant tylers who will be posted at the several entrances to the meeting 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 in front of the stage. It has much the same form as your blue lodge, but with a station or two added. Four of- ficers will be on the stage facing the crowd. Front and center on the stage will be Grand Master (GM) Douglas L. Caudle (Statesville 27). Caudle and his wife Angela live in Statesville and a small farm in Stony Point. ey own and operate Piedmont Fiberglass. On his right will be Deputy Grand Master (DGM) Bryant D. Webster (Nichols-West Asheville 650). Webster is a lawyer and lives in Black Mountain with his wife Janet and daughter Amy. On the left side of the stage is Grand Treasurer (GT) Lewis R. Ledford (Statesville 27). Ledford recently re- tired as director of NC State Parks. He is now executive director of the Nation- al 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 Ra- leigh with his wife Betty (a Presbyte- rian minister) and high school student daughter Anh. Seated at the back of the stage in neat rows are special guests and past grand masters. e special guests in- clude officers from state appendant bodies and officers from other grand lodges and Masonic organizations. e rest of the officers are on the auditorium floor in front of the stage. Facing the stage, with his back to the delegates, you'll find Senior Grand Warden (SGW ) A. Gene Cobb Jr. (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. Junior Grand Deacon ( JGD) Dwight M. "Mack" Sigmon (Catawba 248) sits on Cobb's right. Sigmon and his wife Linda live in Newton and have a grown son and two grandchildren. Sigmon is retired from GE. On the south side of the floor, to the delegates' right, is Junior Grand Warden ( JGW ) Jimmie B. Hicks Jr. (St. John's 3). Hicks is a lawyer in New Bern. He has a grown son and college student daughter. At the meeting, Hicks is flanked by the grand stewards. Senior Grand Steward R. David Wicker (Oak Grove 750) is nearest the stage, and Junior Grand Steward Larry B. ompson Jr. (Blackmer 127) is nearest the del- egates. Wicker is a lawyer. He and his wife Susan have three nearly grown children and live in Oxford. ompson is an environmental supervisor. He and his wife Angela have six children rang- ing from less than one year old to more than 17 years old. ey live in Salisbury. Senior Grand Deacon (SGD) Speed Hallman (Eagle 19) sits before the stage in front of the grand treasurer, to the grand master's right. Hallman and his wife Susan live in Hillsborough. ey have two sons, one in college and one in grad school. Hallman is senior director of development for the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Another officer in the Grand Lodge line we don't have in the blue lodge progression to master is grand marshal (GMsl). Grand Marshal Shaun Bradshaw (Stokesdale 428) holds that chair beside Grand Chap- lain (GC) David R. Cash (PGM) (Campbell 374). Bradshaw is a soft- ware consultant. He and his wife Sha- ron live in Greensboro. ey have a teen-aged son and daughter. ere, you have it — the starting line up for the 228 th Annual Commu- nication of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. Don't get cocky, though. We'll elect new officers at this meet- ing. ey'll be installed in December and take us all, once again, into a new year, and a fresh learning experience for them and for us. Know your officers Credentials have already been sent to your lodge. Please do not mail your credentials to the Grand Lodge office. You must present them at the registration desk to receive ballots and 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 Caudle will open the first session at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning. at's when you'll see the formal opening and welcoming of special guests. Grand Orator Andrew Hammer, Masonic scholar and secretary of Virginia's Alexander Washington 22, 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 restaurants, 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 re- ports will also be received. Some voting will take place on Friday afternoon. We usually break about 4:00 p.m. For you late-night types, there are several restaurants and night spots along the streets around the hotel for you to spend your evening with friends and brothers. 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 four of this issue 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 reservations 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. We hope to see you there! Don't miss a special attraction this year, a charity si- lent auction for MESH Foundation sponsored by the wives of Grand Lodge officers. ey'll be set up near the vendor area in the Embassy Suites. Art, sports tickets and memorabilia, Masonic paraphernalia, gavels, gifts suitable to take home to your wife, and much more will be featured. Don't miss it! Help expand our charity for our seniors. ANN COMM, from page 1

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