The North Carolina Mason

March/April 2016 The North Carolina Mason Page 13 Statesville e lodges here held their 27 th An- nual Masonic Community Blood Drive in January. Sheetz joined them this year by supplying doughnuts and coffee in the morning and sandwiches in the af- ternoon. e drive brought in 156 units in Statesville and 210 units at another five donor locations. Next year's edition will be held January 6, 2017. e Temple Board here is holding a gun and cross-bow charity raffle with sales running from January 19 through July 5. ey held a Masonic Charity Breakfast on March 19. Liver mush headlined the meal that raised money for our Masonic Homes. — e Joppa Informer Stateville 27 had some interesting programs at lodge recently. Ben Wallace visited on February 2 with his presenta- tion "Veiled in Allegory and Illustrated by Symbols." Don Barrier did a program about Masonic music February 16. — Duane Smyth Cherry Point Cherry Point 688 held their break- fast fundraiser February 27. Proceeds went to the Masonic Home for Chil- dren in Oxford. — Bill Sanford Hallsboro e 17 th Masonic District's Masonic Pheasant Hunt was held at Honey Hill Hunting Preserve February 13. Pro- ceeds were going to the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford. — Ken Wical Salisbury Sophia 767 had a very special guest lecturer Christina McKinley on Febru- ary 26. McKinley is a cast regular on the History Channel's Brad Meltzer's Decoded." — 17 th Masonic District Concord Stokes 32 will hold their Annual Chicken Dinner on April 30. eir An- nual Casino Night is set for November 12. — Vance McGee STATE, from previous Southport Pythagoras 249 is forming a commit- tee to plan their 150 th anniversary. e tentative expectation is to coordinate it with Independence Day weekend. — Newsletter Princeton St. Patrick's 617 held their annual fundraiser supper for the Masonic Home for Children on March 5. — W. C. Barrett Elizabethtown On February 8, Bladen 646 enjoyed a presentation on the immortality of the soul from Greg Conner. — 17 th Masonic District Christmas stew time HOLLY SPRINGS — During their town Christmas parade, Holly Springs 115 held its second annual charity Brunswick stew event. By every mea- sure, it was an overwhelming success for our charities. They will again serve their signature homemade Brunswick Stew during next year's Holly Springs Christmas parade on December 12. Seen here are Tim Merritt, Tylor How- ard, Don Acker, John Dullaghan, Bob Padalino, Stan Rimmer, Todd Dyches, Don Murphy, and David Morley. — Vinnie DeBenedetto Home Board Chairman, Oxford Orphanage Alum- nus, and Past Grand master Dan Rice spoke of the impact Sizemore had in rearing him as a young man and in raising him as a Masonic leader. Grand Mas- ter Bryant Webster thanked Sizemore for the heart and constitution exhibited in his decades of working with families and children, and serving as the agent of change in so many lives. Alumni and co-workers took the podium telling of the impact and influence of Donald Sizemore on their lives. Sizemore never lived more than three miles from the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford. He began his career at Oxford Orphanage on June 1, 1964 as the cottage counselor for the oldest boys' cottage. In the years following, he served as a caseworker, the Little League Baseball and Football coach, the head of the Sunday School Department, and finally as admissions director. He served with seven superintendents dur- ing his years at the Home. He first joined the Ma- sonic fraternity April 4, 1965 as a member of Oxford 122 where he served as master and later as secretary for more than 30 years. He is a charter member of Orphans 761, received the Distinguished Secretary's Award and the highest award that can be bestowed upon a Freemason by the Grand Lodge of North Car- olina, the Joseph Montfort Award. With this night, this naming, and this recognition, Sizemore will welcome all children in search of hope and a home as he did more than 40 faithful years to his Home in Oxford. SIZEMORE, from page 1 RALEIGH — e North Carolina Masonic Pig Jig is a unique event held annually at the North Car- olina State Fair Grounds. irty or more Masonic cooking teams will duke it out to get bragging rights to the best barbecue in the state. e event is the biggest joint project of North Carolina's two Masonic parent organizations; Grand Lodge AF & AM and Prince Hall Grand Lodge. Men from many lodges, rites, and shrines come together for joyful competition to see old friends and make new ones. e Eleventh Annual Masonic Carolina Pig Jig Barbecue is coming up Saturday, May 21. As in the past, it will be held in conjunction with the Got to Be NC Festival. e Festival is a mini-State Fair held each spring. Want to sample dozens of different barbecue reci- pes? e Pig Jig will be serving May 21 from 11:00 a.m. until the barbecue is gone. Tickets are $15 for 12 years old and up, kids seven to eleven eat for five dol- lars, and under seven years chow for free. Adult tick- ets are available online at . For more information write Carolina Pig Jig, c/o Sean Rollman, 904 Wakestone Court, Raleigh, NC 27609, or call Rollman at (919) 609-0883 or email him at . An early bird special for en- tries is available through April 15. Over its history, the Pig Jig has raised more than $100,000 for charities. Last year they sent $5,000 to the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford and $5,000 to the Central Children's Home there. It's Pig Jig time! A Pig Jig team prepares their secret formula. Correction e article in our last issue about Le- roy Whitfield's Certified Lecturer lon- gevity award should have said the award was for 60 years. We regret the error.

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