The North Carolina Mason

March/April 2018 The North Carolina Mason Page 7 PIG JIG LEWIS from page 1 from page 6 HOW TO GIVE evening before the event. Your lodge also gets 10 free tickets to sell to offset your costs and raise money for your charity. While you prepare your hog, there is ample opportunity to socialize with brothers from different lodges. It gets better! e Pig Jig isn't just our fundraiser; it can be yours too! As you know, all lodges have to hold at least one charity event each year. Your lodge need only apply to the Grand Lodge for a charity event to be held on the same day as the Pig Jig. Raleigh #500 will sell you tickets at a greatly discounted rate, which you in turn sell in your community at $15.00 each. e profit is yours to distribute to the charity of your choice or for use within your own lodge (subject to approval by the Grand Lodge). In addition, winners in each of the categories may choose to donate a portion of the proceeds from the event to a Masonic charity of their choosing (details to soon follow). We encourage you to invite your family and friends to enjoy a day of barbecue, fun, games, and education. Kolada says. WhiteStone board Chairman and Past Grand Master Gene Jernigan is looking forward to the future. "I'm excited about what we have accom- plished together and what we will accom- plish as we go forward. We are so happy to have Mark Lewis on board," he says. "I feel fortunate that we found him – especially because we told Mark Kolada when the search began that all he had to do was find another Mark!" Lewis says he looks forward to the work – and to another change he plans to make soon. While he is not now a Mason, he says he will be filing a petition soon. He also looks forward to getting to know and working with the sisters of the Order of the Eastern Star, who strongly support the home. "I started at the Ohio Masonic Home 22 years ago and I have so many fond memo- ries of my time there and the many great people I met. In large part, that's what drew me to WhiteStone," he says. "Knowing how great those Masons in Springfield were, I have been looking forward to this!" By Jeff Hensley NCMF Chief Development Officer We have all been taught at an early age: save now for some day you will want to retire! Folks who heeded this advice very likely estab- lished early in their careers Individual Retirement Accounts (or IRAs as they are commonly called). IRAs allow an individual to save for retirement with either tax-free growth or on a tax-deferred basis, depending on the type of IRA. But did you know that you can use your IRA for charitable purposes—to give to the Masonic Home for Children, e North Carolina Masonic Foundation, and WhiteStone: A Masonic and Eastern Star Community? You can do this in two ways: Create your own "charitable IRA" by desig- nating one or more of our charities as a benefi- ciary of all or just a percentage of your IRA. It can still support you (and your spouse) during life, but later, when you and your spouse have passed, it is distributed to the charitable beneficiaries that you have designated. If you are a US citizen over the age of 70 years and six months, you have the opportunity to avoid potential income tax liabilities on your IRA funds when they are given to one of our charities. IRAs require a minimum distribution at the age of 70 years and six months. But if you don't need those resources or they represent a tax burden to you, simply designate them to the charity or charities of your choice. In fact, you can make a gift of up to $100,000 per individual, per year from your IRA, without treating the distribution as taxable income. So your retirement funds can go further than you ever thought. ey can support you and your loved ones in joyful years of retire- ment, but they can also have a lasting impact on our charities long after we are all gone. For more information on how you can give to our Masonic charities through your IRA, please contact me at jhensley@mfnc.org, NCMF Western Region Director Dee Blake at dblake@ mfnc.org, or NCMF Eastern Region Director Chris Richardson at crichardson@mfnc.org Turn your IRA into a gift for our Masonic charities e Board Grand Master Speed Hallman, Wadesboro Dewey R. Preslar, Jr., Chairman, Salisbury Don Steichen, Vice Chairman, Raleigh Melissa Hogan, Treasurer, Mebane Dr. Carla Emerson, Kernersville Dr. Deirdre S. Christy, Black Mountain Jon Welborn, Mocksville Dr. Tony Cozart, Oxford Maria Lowder, Salisbury Nicki Perry, Louisburg Anthony Sessoms, Clinton Mack Sigmon, Newton Michael Sterling, Cary Shaun Bradshaw, Greensboro Raul Herrera, Hillsborough Committee Members David Wicker, Secretary, Oxford Jeff Hensley, Cary Thomas Eller, Salisbury Kathy Johnson, Garner Phil Johnson, Hertford Kirby Matthews, Denton Dennis Sims, Asheville Amos Speight, Fayetteville, Ga Johnny Surles, Pollocksville The Rev. Cathie Caimano, Huntersville Louise Taylor, Garysburg 2018 MHCO Board of Directors

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