Newsletter from the Grand Secretary
Hollis G. Dixon, Grand Secretary
March 2009
Northern Star Lodge Building Lost to Fire: Since fire destroyed the Lodge Hall in North Anson on December 20, 2008, the officers and members of Northern Star Lodge have been meeting at the lodge hall in Madison. During this time, many Masons and lodges have sent donations to the lodge so that they can build another building. Wor. Brother Roger A. Emmons agreed to handle the donations and maintain a rebuilding fund account for that purpose. He has informed me that a number of checks have been received that were made payable to the lodge itself rather than the rebuilding fund. Brother Emmons asks that you make your donation checks payable to the:
Thirteenth District Officers Association. [He is the Treasurer of that Assoc.]
and mail them to: Roger A. Emmons
18 Merryweather Road
Belgrade ME 04917-3057
AFFILIATIONS: It has been brought to my attention that a couple of lodges in this jurisdiction have voted to accept Brethren from another Maine lodge without verifying that they are in good standing with their primary lodge. In at least one case, the Brother stated that he had demitted from his primary lodge. Later, the primary lodge suspended him for Non-Payment of Dues. It is possible that the Brother thought that he was demitted when he wasn’t.
Whenever your lodge receives an application for affiliation, you must verify that he is in good standing with his primary lodge. If that is a Maine lodge, you may contact their Secretary directly. However, if his primary lodge is out of state, you must go through the Grand Secretary and he will contact the Grand Secretary of the other state to request a Certificate of Good Standing from his primary lodge. To understand the various ways that a Brother can demit from his lodge, you should read Section 134 on Page 1-46 of the Constitution.
Candidates for Grand Lodge Office or Committee: The deadline for submitting a letter of Intent to run for election to a particular Grand Lodge Office is March 15th. Likewise, if you wish to be elected for a position on a Grand Lodge Committee that requires election, you must submit a letter of intent to the Grand Secretary by March 15th.
Conference of Grand Secretaries: Last year, the Conference of Grand Masters of North America directed their Masonic Renewal Committee to develop a Web Site that all Grand Lodges could access for the purpose of sharing some of their programs, such as membership, leadership, education, candidate development, fund raisers, public relations and charities. Some of the material on this site will be password protected and available only to Grand Lodge Officers. This site will be, “A Reference Library for Masonic Leaders.” To access the site go to www.masonicrenewal.org It is expected that this site will benefit all Grand Lodge Jurisdictions.
Fraternally,
Hollis G. Dixon
Grand Secretary
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