The North Carolina Mason

September/October 2016 The North Carolina Mason Page 5 Building a stronger Foundation Leaving a better campsite By Bryant D. Webster Grand Master One of the time-hon- ored principles of the Boy Scouts of America, of which I have long been a member, is that you al- ways leave the campsite better than you found it. Every time we headed home, our Scouts and lead- ers would line up across one side of the area, sepa- rate to where our fingers were just touching, and slowly walk together across the site, picking up any left articles, bits of trash, and anything that did not belong there. We would reverse, again checking our steps. We would repeat the process at a 90 degree angle, such that we were making a complete grid across the site. We would repeat this practice until no person was finding any trash or foreign objects. It did not matter how cold it was, how hard it was raining, or how much of a hurry we were in, we nev- er skipped this regimen. We referred to the process as "policing the area." Policing the area is a concept I still practice today, and I bridle at the idea of using any public or pri- vate facility and not leaving it better than we found it. It is my strong desire to apply this principle to our year of service together in the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. I want us to leave the Grand Lodge of North Carolina better than we found it. ere are several ideas taught by policing an area which are worthy of specific mention: 1. Pick up after yourself: Don't leave a mess for oth- ers. 2. Don't just pick up after yourself: Clean up the messes of previous users, and leave it nicer for those coming later. 3. Make things better for others you don't even know is not optional — it is priority one. 4. We have to do this together: One person is not very effective policing the area, but if we all concentrate our efforts, we can ensure that every- thing is squared away properly. So, are we leaving a better campsite? What have we delivered of value this year? We have provided a Lodge Self-Assessment, to help lodges to look in the mirror, see where they are, and plan for im- provement. We have provided a primer on estate planning documents to more than 3,000 Masons in district meetings, lodge Masonic education programs, and Annual Communication, encour- aging our Brothers to protect their families and provide for our charities. Many brothers have fol- lowed up on this with real action. We have a Music Committee that is helping our lodges understand and use the music in our Bahnson Manual and beyond. We have demonstrated the kind of dif- ference lighting can make in the lodge experi- ence. We have an Education Committee which is actively producing new programs, including a Reading List, a successful Speaker's Bureau, the Restorations Lecture Series, and the new Davie Leadership Academy. We have brought the Pre- stonian Lecturer to North Carolina twice. We have issued dispensations for two new lodges: MESH Lodge UD and Lux Libertas Lodge UD. We have issued charters for two new lodg- es: State College 770 and MESH 771. We have promoted and explained and strengthened the North Carolina Masonic Foundation, including hiring a new chief development officer. We have fostered and strengthened our relationships with our appendant bodies. We have reminded our Brothers, in lodges large and small, that we are all regular Masons, and we know who the "most important man in Masonry" really is. We have collected thousands of cans of food and money for our neighbors in need through the Masons Can program. Please accept my thanks for all of your efforts to make these accomplishments possible. ey are OUR accomplishments. No one man can do much of anything by himself — not even a grand master. Working together, we have policed our area and left a better campsite. ank you also for all of the honorary memberships, wonder- ful meals, meaningful gifts, and every kindness and courtesy I have been afforded as I traveled across "the Goodliest Land." My travels both in North Carolina and outside our jurisdiction con- vince me that we are onto something good here in the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. We are forming lodges to meet the needs and desires of our Masons. We are training our leaders through Wilkerson College and Davie Leadership Acad- emy, and providing easy to use resources to add Masonic Education and improve the lodge ex- perience. We have young officer lines and great excitement and enthusiasm about Freemasonry in every part of this state. To our past grand masters, thank you for your continued service to our fraternity, and for all the kindnesses you have shown me. Your support, your wisdom, your willingness to answer my calls or emails, and your steadfast resolve to aid when asked but never to meddle is greatly appreciated. To all of our committees, boards, and commis- sions, you are the engines which drive our gentle craft forward; thank you for the hard work you do to superintend the "sausage making" which is nec- essary but unseen in most organizations, including ours. To our Grand Lodge officers, thank you to you and your families for all of the sacrifices that you make to serve the Grand Lodge and each of its members. Very few know the countless hours and countless dollars you spend in selfless service to make this thing go. I know, and I thank you. To all of the most important men in Masonry, thank you for all the things you do daily to shine the light of our fraternity in every farm, county, village, town, city, and crossroads community in this state — you are the personification of Freemasonry; thank you for being the Light! To my family, thank you for being willing to bear the sacrifices and to allow me to serve this great organization in this way. I appreciate my Dad serving as grand tyler, and I thank my parents and my brother for providing a safe haven for me to rest and to work in Durham and in Goldsboro, central to the state, as I traveled on Grand Lodge busi- ness. To Jan and Amy, thank you for allowing me to join in this work. I wish I could share in the accomplishments and achievements, and yet some- how erase all the miles. You have kept hearth and home together in my absence. I look forward to being much more present for you. I cannot say enough to show my appreciation to the Grand Lodge of North Carolina for affording me the opportunity to lead and to serve this year. e joy of my laughter, the smiles you have seen in person and on Facebook and elsewhere, are real. I will forever nurture these treasures of brotherly love in my heart. Policing the area implies that it is time to leave, and I will soon shed the mantle of the East in favor of a new leader. at is entirely right, just, and welcomed. We will be well-served by Gene Cobb and the officers who follow him. I have a large windshield and a small rear view mir- ror. I will look forward to other and different op- portunities to serve my fellow man and to continue this journey of self-improvement. Our foundation is strengthened. We must continue building. As we look forward, and go forward together, let us heed the words of the poet, Robert Frost, in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening": e woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

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