The North Carolina Mason

March/April 2017 The North Carolina Mason Page 9 CHARITY, from page 6 MiLeposts BUXTON – Cape Hat- teras Lodge #698 Master Bob- by Cox, left, presents service awards to: (l to r) Bobby Gas- kins, 50-year Veteran's Emblem; Jay Harding, 25-year award; and Byrum Veal, 50-year Veteran's Emblem. Chaplain Jimmy Gray, far right, assists in the presen- tation. Also receiving recog- nition, but not pictured, was William Bembra Miller who received his Diamond Jubilee award celebrating his 60 years as a Mason. Governor honors three North Carolina Masons ree longtime North Carolina Freemasons have been welcomed into the prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian honor given by a North Carolina governor. e honorees: Carteret County Sheriff Asa B. Buck III, a Mason since 1996 and past master of Franklin #109; James R. Stevens, Judge Advocate and a Mason since 1975; And J.B. Price of Mill Creek #125. All three awards were given by outgoing Gov. Pat McCrory. e order is bestowed upon individuals who have displayed exemplary service to their North Carolina communities and to the state. e award is given with an anthem or toast written in 1904: Here's to the land of the long leaf pine, e summer land where the sun doth shine, Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great, Here's to "down home," e Old North State! A list of past recipients of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award can be viewed at http://longleaf- pinesociety.org/new/roster/index.php/roster/view Jimmy Stevens, right, smiles with then-Gov. Pat Mc- Crory shortly after the surprise presentation of his award at a Wake County Sheriff's Department staff get-together. Stevens, now Judge Advocate, retired as a major after working for Wake County Sheriff Don- nie Harrison for 14 years. Prior to that, he was a Garner police officer and retired from the NC State Highway Patrol. Stevens said receiving the honor brought back a wonderful memory from his child- hood. "One day in third grade, our teacher taught us about the Order of the Long Leaf Pine and what an honor it was," he said. "I thought then … how could there be a greater honor?" Sheriff Asa Buck III, right, who has logged 18 years of law enforcement service in Carteret County, accepts his award from Steve Keen, former state director of Regional Field Operations. During the surprise award presentation, Buck thanked his family, his sup- porters in the community and his staff. "They're the ones out getting the job done for you every day. I'm just one person, but it's our staff. They are where the rubber meets the road," he said. J.B. Price, second from left, receives his award from state Rep. John Bell, second from right, during the Grantham Volunteer Fire Department's awards ban- quet. Price retired from the department after 23 years of service. Price, a 32nd Degree Master Mason, is a member of the York and Scottish Rites, the Wil- son County Shrine Club, the Wilson County Mon- ster Trucks and is a Sudan Roadrunner. Defense Department) refused to work with 49 (at that time) different Grand Lodges, but would work with just one agency. MSA's goal from the start was to provide services to the Grand Lodges that they could not perform as easily individually. e first Disaster Relief Appeal was issued in 1923 for the Grand Lodge of Japan, and since then, more than $10 million in relief donations have been received from Grand Lodges and individual Masons and distributed by MSA.

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