North Carolina Mason
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November/December 2016 The North Carolina Mason Page 9
Our new grand stewards
Bob Rideout
is year's junior appointment to
the Grand Lodge line is Robert Wayne
Rideout Jr. of Zebulon and White
Stone 155. Rideout, appointed by grand
master-elect A. Gene Cobb Jr., be-
comes the junior grand steward in the
progressive line of the Grand Lodge of
Ancient, Free and Accepted Mason of
North Carolina, those men on the path
to become grand master of Masons in
North Carolina.
An administrative law judge, Ride-
out is married to Stacy Wiggins Ride-
out for more than 18 years. ey have
two children, Ivan aged nine and Daisy
who is seven.
Rideout was born in Newport News,
Virginia, September 24, 1973 to Robert
Wayne and Sandra Gail Phillips Rideout.
Rideout graduated from the Uni-
versity of North Carolina at Wilming-
ton in 1995 with a degree in history.
He attended Louisiana State Univer-
sity (LSU) Law School from which he
graduated in 1998.
He has served as an assistant pub-
lic defender (1998–99), an assistant
district attorney (1999–2005), and
deputy commissioner for the North
Carolina Industrial Commission
(2005–2010). In 2010, he was ap-
pointed a United States administra-
tive law judge, and in 2014, was ap-
pointed to his current position of
hearing office chief administrative
law judge of the Office of Disability
Adjudication and Review in Raleigh.
He is a lieutenant colonel and dec-
orated combat veteran in the United
States Army Reserve where he cur-
rently serves as a military judge. Ride-
out previously served in Iraq (2003–
2004) and Afghanistan (2013–2014).
He has been awarded two Bronze
Star Medals, four Meritorious Service
Medals, four Army Commendation
Medals, and three Army Achievement
Medals. In 2014, LTC Rideout won
the LTG(R) Jack C. Stultz Excellent
Award for Field Grade Office of the
Year. In 2015, he was named Distin-
guish Alumnus by the UNCW Alum-
ni Association.
Bobby Rideout was initiated Sep-
tember 19, 2006; passed October 17,
2006; and was raised a Master Mason
November 2, 2006 in White Stone
155 in Zebulon. He served his lodge
as master in 2011. He was chairman of
the Grand Lodge Committee on Ap-
peals (2013–2014). He was a member
of the Canada Lodge UD, at Kandahar
Air Field in Afghanistan. He is a mem-
ber of the National Sojourners, as well
as the Scottish and York Rites.
ere were two appointments to the
line this year due to the resignation of
Senior Grand Warden Jimmy Hicks.
Don Kehler
Donald Edward Kehler, of Burling-
ton, is our new senior grand steward, He
is one of two appointments by Grand
Master-elect A. Gene Cobb Jr. to the
progressive line of the Grand Lodge of
Ancient, Free and Accepted Mason of
North Carolina, those men on the path
to become grand master of Masons in
North Carolina.
Kehler was born April 20, 1959 in
Hornell, New York, the fourth child of
William James Kehler Jr. and Helen
Ruth Garrison Kehler. ey moved to
Marion, North Carolina when he was
six years old.
He earned an associate degree in
business administration at McDowell
Technical Community College in 1980
and bachelor of technology from Appa-
lachian State University in 1982.
Kehler has been an investment bro-
ker in Burlington since 1982. Kehler
married Melody Underwood McBride
of Davie County in 2005. He is father
to two children, three step children, and
one adopted son.
Don was initiated in Bula 409
March 24, 1986; passed May 19, 1986;
and raised July 21, 1986. He was master
of Bula Lodge in 1992 and was secre-
tary 2000–2009. He has been a certi-
fied lecturer since 2000 and served as
grand lecturer in 2009. He was on the
Grand Lodge Committee on Finance
2008–2011 and the Board of Custo-
dians 2009–2012. He also was district
deputy grand master and lecturer in the
22
nd
Masonic District. He has been sec-
retary the Scottish Rite's Greensboro
Valley since 2013.
ere were two appointments to the
line this year due to the resignation of Se-
nior Grand Warden Jimmy Hicks to pur-
sue university opportunities in Europe.
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