The North Carolina Mason

July/August 2015 The North Carolina Mason Page 11 and video conferencing, allowing members to partici- pate without driving to Raleigh. ere are talented members of our lodges who live out of state. eir experience and expertise can be a valuable addition to our governance and growth. ere are two versions on the table which would allow committee, board, and commission members to live outside North Carolina. e first version would simply do away with the state residency requirement. e second would allow out- of-staters to serve if the grand master gives his per- mission. It must be mentioned that a North Carolina Mason may live in another state yet live closer to a meeting than a Mason living within the state. Group 2 regards residency of district deputy grand masters. is officer is appointed as the grand master's representative in each district. ere are two proposals here. One would simply require that the DDGM be a member of a lodge in the district to which he is appointed without mention of the address of his residence. e second would also re- quire dispensation (formal permission) of the grand master to serve if the DDGM lives out of state. In Group 3, Grand Master Caudle has proposed uniform fees for the degrees throughout the state. e petition fees would be set by the grand master with approval of the Board of General Purposes. e cost could increase or decrease. According to Caudle, "With low initiation fees it is possible for men to pe- tition more out of curiosity than a sense of purpose. If the fees are higher, then they may investigate the fra- ternity more to make sure that it is a fit for them. is also shows his ability to pay his dues in the future as well and not be a burden to the Lodge. As with many things we once called treasures, we have cheapened what that we give the new initiates. A plastic apron, tiny Bible, and a few books are the norm in many Lodges. We should be presenting them a nice leather or lambskin apron, a family Bible, a nice patent, as well as a selection of books to read. Also, the count- less hours learning and rehearsing the ritual and lec- tures should be accounted for as well. "If the amendment passes, my plan is to recom- mend $300.00 to the Board of General Purposes as the 2016 initiation fees for all NC Lodges." Group 4 brings back the idea of giving past masters a vote at Annual Communication. is ver- sion would allow two past masters from each lodge to get votes. According to Robert McLaughlin of submitting lodge Stump Sound 733, "My primary goal is to increase attendance at Grand Lodge and also allow past masters to be able to vote and speak to issues during the GL session." e submission rationale goes on to say, "[grand lodges] who have [included past masters] have not indicated a signifi- cant increase in their attendance." Critics of the change say this would add more than 50% to the potential attendance of Annual Communi- cation, necessitating moving the meeting to larger ven- ues and drastically raising the costs of the gathering. McLaughlin wants past masters to "have the feeling they are still needed and part of the Frater- nity." Others say that is the purpose of soliciting the advice of lodge elders and past masters' nights, not the governance of the future of Masonry. e proposal says, "it is obvious we must make changes, if we are to survive." Some would suggest that if you must make this change, past masters are the last thing you need. Every past master had his chance to govern our fraternity, this proposal would help them rob their successors of the same opportunity. Elect of- ficers you trust to represent the best interest of Free- masonry, and you do not need to dilute their votes. Group 5 is about fundraisers for lodge use. It would specify that a lodge could ask permission to hold a second fundraiser for lodge purposes if it has already held a charity fundraiser and given the total proceeds to "an approved organization." Recent changes and clarifications in tax regu- lations and enforcement have brought reconsid- eration of the way we handle fundraisers. Expect to see an amendment that will remove all direct Code regulation and move the fundraising control to the Commission on Special Activities to make our legal compliance more responsive and consistent. A re- cent audit of Grand Lodge by the Internal Revenue Service pointed to requiring changes. Group 6 would allow non-private announce- ments of second and third degrees. e Code forbids publishing the names of candidates. Many say "can- didate" does not apply to anyone who has taken a degree. Just to be on the safe side, Montgomery 426 proposed more explicit language. Derek Cheek says, "Since we are in the new age of social media, Montgomery 426 thinks it is vitally important for the friends and associates of new mem- bers to be aware of their entry into the fraternity. Most younger guys want their life events published on so- cial media. Under the old interpretation of e Code, the name of a candidate couldn't be published until they were raised. e amendment would clearly allow names and pictures to be published after initiation." Group 7 concerns repeat amendments, those amendments brought up in successive years. is amendment would forbid the reintroduction of an amendment "substantially similar" to one defeated at Annual Communication for a period of five years. According to Marvin Smith who introduced this proposed amendment at Belhaven 509, "We send the same people every year. Grand Lodge wastes so much time hearing the same ones year after year. We get tired of hearing it, we don't enjoy it. If you keep bringing it up, it will eventually get passed." Opponents say this differs only in degree from trying to make an amendment to e Code which says no one can ever amend e Code again. e composition of the Grand Lodge changes every year as officers of our lodges change. It is their re- sponsibility to send the Grand Lodge in the direc- tion they see as best for the fraternity. It is not prop- er for delegates from a prior year tell them what they may not consider. Group 8 is a simple housekeeping measure, cleaning up a detail missed when changes were made to our funeral procedures a few years back. Group 9 concerns the makeup of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Masonic Founda- tion. e Foundation manages investments which help fund our Masonic charities. Over the years, we have been giving our charities more indepen- dence to protect the interests of our organizations. is change to e Code would allow the Founda- tion to alter the size of its board with its bylaws. e change would let them add more talent to the group which makes investment decisions for the Foundation and add more manpower to handle new, diversified duties such as investments of lodge funds, scholarship funds, the new MESH LLC, and more. e Grand Lodge would continue to nominate members of the Board. . AMENDMENTS, from page 4 Making Hay at 99 STEDMAN — Jim Hay, seated, has a long history of promoting and supporting Freemasonry in the Fayette- ville area. Many of his brothers came to visit Hay at a local rehabilitation center May 18 to celebrate his 99 th birthday. They enjoyed cake and ice cream. Standing are, from left, Past Grand Master Gene Jernigan, Past Grand Master Dalton Mayo, and Hay's wife Dale.

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