The North Carolina Mason

Page 6 The North Carolina Mason May/June 2017 our masonic charities at Work By Tina Gilreath MHCO Financial Development and Com- munications Coordinator Your Masonic Home for Children has been extra busy in the past two months, planning for the future, while taking care of business every day! A Strategic Planning Retreat was held March 24-25 with almost 50 people - MHCO personnel, board members, alumni, community part- ners, and other stakeholders - in attendance. Friday evening's activities included reflecting on MHCO's past, sharing resident and staff experiences, discussing the current organizational profile, and analyzing where MHCO stands currently including internal strengths and weaknesses and external threats and opportunities for growth. Saturday's activities included workshops for envisioning the future and strategizing how to close the gap between MHCO's operations in 2017 and vision for 2021. Breakout groups revised the mission, vision, and quality statements and developed a new tagline. Goals, objectives, and initiatives were devel- oped to enhance the sustainability of MHCO including utilization and stewardship of resources, community partnerships, and recruitment and retention of employees. e strategic plan ideas will be compiled and discussed at the May meeting of the Board of Directors for feasibility and implementation. is retreat was the first of many discussions about the bright and promising future of MHCO. anks to all who attended! e Great Landscape Event It was cold and rainy but that didn't stop friends of MHCO from working at our Home for the 2017Great Landscape Event! Flower beds were mulched, God's Half Acre was spruced up, things were painted, trash was collected, and our York Rite Chapel got a major over- haul! Special thanks to all those who came out!! Some 50 people gathered to participate in a weekend Strategic Planning retreat and focused on strengthening the home for years to come. Home of the Future: Stakeholders gather to imagine 2021 at MHCO Bad weather didn't stop volunteers from helping out at Landscaping Day! Participants: Lebanon Lodge #391 Boy Scout Troop #629 James B. Green Lodge #735 Hiram Lodge #40 Andrew Jackson Lodge #576 Oxford Lodge #122 Oxford Preparatory School Currituck Lodge #463 Creedmoor Lodge #499 Chris Richardson, NC Masonic Foundation Perquimans Lodge #106 Girl Scout Troop #508 & 961 Creedmoor United Methodist Church Break Through Physical Therapy Selma Lodge #320 Lowes Henderson Girl Scout Troop #1119 Hall Lodge #53 Youngsville Lodge #377 MHCO Staff and Families Scholarships given to 12 North Carolina High School seniors have won a 2017 Cathey Scholarship, a Masonic award honoring academic achievement and community involve- ment. In 2000, then-Grand Master Charles Cathey initiated a drive to raise money to fund scholarships that help deserving North Carolina students pay college expenses. Fellow NC Freemasons generously supported PGM Cathey's call to help and named the scholarships in his honor. Twelve scholarships of $1,000 were awarded this academic year. Some 200 applications are received every year. A committee of brothers reviews applications and makes final selections. To be consid- ered for the scholarship, applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, or the equivalent average under the school's grading system, and be enrolled in an accred- ited North Carolina high school. The scholarship committee also considers other factors. Scholarship awards may be used only for tuition, fees, room, board and/or books. Winners are: Hannah Wilkins of Hurdle Mills; Cedar Ridge High Shane Dubbs of Laurinburg; Scotland High Cole Roberts of Asheville; Enka High Trevor Rogers of Franklin; Franklin High Timothy Facemire of Mebane; East Alamance High Katelyn Clarke of Sanford; Southern Lee High Maxwell Loelius of Charlotte; Independence High Cody Stultz of Asheboro; Southwestern Randolph High Thomas Wallace of Leland; North Brunswick High Jennae Jacobs of Waxhaw; Marvin Ridge High Angelina Nacca of Princeton; Wayne School of Engineering Sarah Woods of Columbus; Polk County Unity High

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